Psychosocial Outcomes in Long-Term Cochlear Implant Users

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to investigate psychosocial outcomes in a sample of prelingually deaf, early-implanted children, adolescents, and young adults who are long-term cochlear implant (CI) users and to examine the extent to which language and executive functioning predict psychosocial outcomes. DESIGN: Psychosocial outcomes were measured using two well-validated, parent-completed checklists: the Behavior Assessment System for Children and the Conduct Hyperactive Attention Problem Oppositional Symptom. Neurocognitive skills were measured using gold standard, performance-based assessments of language and executive functioning. RESULTS: CI users were at greater risk for clinically significant deficits in areas related to attention, oppositional behavior, hyperactivity-impulsivity, and social-adaptive skills compared with their normal-hearing peers, although the majority of CI users scored within average ranges relative to Behavior Assessment System for Children norms. Regression analyses revealed that language, visual-spatial working memory, and inhibition-concentration skills predicted psychosocial outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that underlying delays and deficits in language and executive functioning may place some CI users at a risk for difficulties in psychosocial adjustment

Serum microRNA-122 predicts survival in patients with liver cirrhosis

Background: Liver cirrhosis is associated with high morbidity and mortality. MicroRNAs (miRs) circulating in the blood are an emerging new class of biomarkers. In particular, the serum level of the liver-specific miR-122 might be a clinically useful new parameter in patients with acute or chronic liver disease. Aim: Here we investigated if the serum level of miR-122 might be a prognostic parameter in patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods: 107 patients with liver cirrhosis in the test cohort and 143 patients in the validation cohort were prospectively enrolled into the present study. RNA was extracted from the sera obtained at the time of study enrollment and the level of miR-122 was assessed. Serum miR-122 levels were assessed by quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and were compared to overall survival time and to different complications of liver cirrhosis. Results: Serum miR-122 levels were reduced in patients with hepatic decompensation in comparison to patients with compensated liver disease. Patients with ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and hepatorenal syndrome had significantly lower miR-122 levels than patients without these complications. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the miR-122 serum levels were associated with survival independently from the MELD score, sex and age. Conclusions: Serum miR-122 is a new independent marker for prediction of survival of patients with liver cirrhosis

The Longitudinal Effects of Sleep Quality on Executive Function

Poor sleep quality is common today. However, our understanding of how sleep quality affects cognition over time is limited. The current study thus investigates the relationship between sleep quality and executive function longitudinally. Data from Waves 2 and 3 of the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) research project, an ongoing longitudinal study on health and well-being in mid-life adults, was used. During Wave 2, 881 participants were administered the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and performed the Stop and Go Task (SGT), which measures executive function. Nine years later, during Wave 3, these 881 participants were again administered the SGT. Executive function decline was assessed as the change in task performance on SGT from Wave 2 to Wave 3. A main effect of global sleep quality on decline in executive function, when controlling for age, was supported (F(2,878)=10.868, p\u3c.001). Specifically, lower global sleep quality was significantly predictive of executive function decline over a nine-year period in middle-aged adults. These findings provide insight into how a potentially modifiable lifestyle factor — sleep quality — may predict longitudinal cognitive decline. Evidence-based interventions that seek to improve sleep quality are proposed as a potential factor for preserving cognitive function as we age

In dogs diagnosed with osteoarthritis, how safe and effective is long-term treatment with bedinvetmab in providing analgesia?

PICO question In dogs diagnosed with osteoarthritis (OA), how safe is treatment with bedinvetmab, when compared to a placebo and how effective in long-term reduction of the severity of the clinical signs associated with OA-related pain?   Clinical bottom line Category of research Treatment. Number and type of study designs reviewed Two papers were critically reviewed. One was a randomised, blinded, multi-arm laboratory safety study; the other a multi-center field trial consisting of a block-randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled phase, followed by a non-comparative, open-label case series study. Strength of evidence Weak. Outcomes reported One study rated the reduction of the severity of clinical signs associated with OA pain using owner Canine Brief Pain Inventory (CBPI) ratings and non-validated veterinary clinical assessments (VCAs). Safety was addressed by evaluating adverse health effects (AHEs), concentration of antidrug antibodies (ADAs), and clinical pathology. Significant improvements in pain scores and VCAs were reported in this treatment study. The second safety-only study used clinical observation to evaluate AHEs. Both studies reported AHEs. Conclusion A single study suggests that treatment with bedinvetmab is effective. Two studies support the drug having few AHEs. Both studies have significant design limitations preventing the evaluation of bedinvetmab effectiveness. There is weak / inconclusive evidence for long-term efficacy and short-term safety of OA treatment with bedinvetmab. The decision to use bedinvetmab remains dependent on the judgement and experience of the clinician. How to apply this evidence in practice The application of evidence into practice should take into account multiple factors, not limited to: individual clinical expertise, patient’s circumstances and owners’ values, country, location or clinic where you work, the individual case in front of you, the availability of therapies and resources. Knowledge Summaries are a resource to help reinforce or inform decision making. They do not override the responsibility or judgement of the practitioner to do what is best for the animal in their care

Immigration et religion dans le Nord Franche-Comté (1871-1918)

Le Nord Franche-Comté, territoire de l’Est de la France, frontalier de la Suisse et de l’Allemagne entre 1871 et 1918, connaît de profondes mutations économiques principalement industrielles, mais aussi agricoles et commerciales. Cela nécessite de faire appel de manière croissante à une main-d’œuvre étrangère majoritairement catholique, ce qui provoque un rééquilibrage confessionnel au sein du Pays de Montbéliard luthérien. L’annexion de l’Alsace-Lorraine entraîne également l’arrivée dans ce territoire de religieuses de nationalité allemande comme les sœurs de Ribeauvillé. Enfin le déclenchement de la première guerre mondiale ne provoque pas le départ de tous les étrangers, mais marque d’une part la mise en place de mesures de rigueur qui s’appliquent peu à peu aux religieuses et d’autre part une augmentation des tensions confessionnelles, alors même que l’arrivée de réfugiés catholiques en pays protestant pose de nombreux problèmes.The North Franche-Comté, territory in eastern France, bordering Switzerland and Germany between 1871 and 1918, knows deep economic changes mainly industrial but also agricultural and commercial. This requires to call more foreign workers predominantly Catholics, which causes a confessional balance in the lutheran Pays de Montbéliard. The annexation of Alsace-Lorraine also generates the arrival of religious sisters, in this area, for example the “sœurs de Ribeauvillé”. Finally, the outbreak of the First World War does not cause the departure of all foreigners, but in one hand special measures are introduced and gradually apply to religious ; in other hand confessional tensions increase. Furthermore, in the same time, the arrival of catholic refugees in protestant villages makes many problems

Assessment of Working Memory Capacity in Preschool Children Using the Missing Scan Task

The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility and validity of a modified version of Buschke's missing scan methodology, the Missing Scan Task (MST), to assess working memory capacity (WMC) and cognitive control processes in preschool children 3-6 years in age. Forty typically developing monolingual English-speaking children between 36 and 84 months in age participated in the study. The children were tested on measures of WMC (MST), verbal and nonverbal memory (NEPSY Narrative Memory and Memory for Designs subtests), and language skills (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, fourth edition). Children showed increased working memory capacity scores with age, as measured by the MST, with significant differences between 3- and 5-year-olds and 3- and 6-year-olds. Significant correlations were also found between the MST and language and verbal and nonverbal memory scores. MSTscores still remained significantly correlated with the other measures of memory even after age and global language were accounted for in a regression analysis, demonstrating that the MST captures unique variance related specifically to WMC and cognitive control processes used to retrieve and scan information in short-term memory (STM). The results of this study demonstrate that the MST is a feasible and valid methodology for assessing WMC in preschool children as young 3 years of age