Can Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation Reduce Simulator Adaptation Syndrome?

Electrical stimulation of the vestibular sensory system during virtual environment simulations has been proposed as a method to reduce the incidence of simulator adaptation syndrome (SAS). However, there is limited empirical evidence to support this hypothesis. It is especially important to provide vestibular stimulation in driving simulators because an absence of vestibular cues may alter driver behaviour and reduce vehicle control. This study examined the application of galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) as a technique to reduce symptoms of SAS and improve vehicular control in a fixed-based driving simulator. Nineteen participants drove two visually distinct virtual environments (high and low visual cues). In addition, each of these worlds was experienced with and without GVS. Post-drive scores on the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) were used to evaluate the effect of GVS on SAS. In addition, three driving variables were measured to examine driving performance: steering variability, lane departures, and average vehicular speed. GVS application while driving resulted in significant decreases in total SSQ and disorientation symptoms. Greater vehicular control was also observed (as shown by reduced steering variability) when GVS was used in combination with visual cues along the simulated edge of the road. These results support that GVS may be used in fixed-base driving simulators to create vestibular motion cues and reduce SAS

A School Nurse-Delivered Intervention for Overweight and Obese Adolescents: Lessons Learned

Dr. Pbert will present work from an academic and community partnership between UMMS and the School Health Unit of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to design and test a brief intervention for school nurses to provide weight management assistance to overweight and obese adolescents in the school health setting. She will discuss why the school nurse and school health setting are promising venues for addressing adolescent overweight, present results from their pilot study, and discuss facilitators, barriers and strategies to implementing this treatment model

Discriminating between Cognitive and Supportive Group Therapies for Chronic Mental Illness

This descriptive and comparative study employed a Q-sort process to describe common factors of therapy in two group therapies for inpatients with chronic mental illness. While pharmacological treatments for chronic mental illness are prominent, there is growing evidence that cognitive therapy is also efficacious. Groups examined were part of a larger study comparing the added benefits of cognitive versus supportive group therapy to the treatment milieu. In general, items described the therapist’s attitudes and behaviors, the participants’ attitudes and behaviors, or the group interactions. Results present items that were most and least characteristic of each therapy and items that discriminate between the two modalities. Therapists in both groups demonstrated good therapy skills. However, the cognitive group was described as being more motivated and active than the supportive group, indicating that the groups differed in terms of common as well as specific factors of treatment

Prospectus, May 14, 1987

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1987/1016/thumbnail.jp

Frequency of 22q11 deletions in patients with conotruncal defects

AbstractObjectives. This study was designed to determine the frequency of 22q11 deletions in a large, prospectively ascertained sample of patients with conotruncal defects and to evaluate the deletion frequency when additional cardiac findings are also considered.Background. Chromosome 22q11 deletions are present in the majority of patients with DiGeorge, velocardiofacial and conotruncal anomaly face syndromes in which conotruncal defects are a cardinal feature. Previous studies suggest that a substantial number of patients with congenital heart disease have a 22q11 deletion.Methods. Two hundred fifty-one patients with conotruncal defects were prospectively enrolled into the study and screened for the presence of a 22q11 deletion.Results. Deletions were found in 50.0% with interrupted aortic arch (IAA), 34.5% of patients with truncus arteriosus (TA), and 15.9% with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). Two of 6 patients with a posterior malalignment type ventricular septal defect (PMVSD) and only 1 of 20 patients with double outlet right ventricle were found to have a 22q11 deletion. None of the 45 patients with transposition of the great arteries had a deletion. The frequency of 22q11 deletions was higher in patients with anomalies of the pulmonary arteries, aortic arch or its major branches as compared to patients with a normal left aortic arch regardless of intracardiac anatomy.Conclusions. A substantial proportion of patients with IAA, TA, TOF and PMVSD have a deletion of chromosome 22q11. Deletions are more common in patients with aortic arch or vessel anomalies. These results begin to define guidelines for deletion screening of patients with conotruncal defects

Simian hemorrhagic fever virus infection of rhesus macaques as a model of viral hemorrhagic fever: Clinical characterization and risk factors for severe disease

AbstractSimian Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (SHFV) has caused sporadic outbreaks of hemorrhagic fevers in macaques at primate research facilities. SHFV is a BSL-2 pathogen that has not been linked to human disease; as such, investigation of SHFV pathogenesis in non-human primates (NHPs) could serve as a model for hemorrhagic fever viruses such as Ebola, Marburg, and Lassa viruses. Here we describe the pathogenesis of SHFV in rhesus macaques inoculated with doses ranging from 50PFU to 500,000PFU. Disease severity was independent of dose with an overall mortality rate of 64% with signs of hemorrhagic fever and multiple organ system involvement. Analyses comparing survivors and non-survivors were performed to identify factors associated with survival revealing differences in the kinetics of viremia, immunosuppression, and regulation of hemostasis. Notable similarities between the pathogenesis of SHFV in NHPs and hemorrhagic fever viruses in humans suggest that SHFV may serve as a suitable model of BSL-4 pathogens

Interpretation of positive troponin results among patients with and without myocardial infarction.

Measuring cardiac troponins is integral to diagnosing acute myocardial infarction (AMI); however, troponins may be elevated without AMI, and the use of multiple different assays confounds comparisons. We considered characteristics and serial troponin values in emergency department chest pain patients with and without AMI to interpret troponin excursions. We compared serial troponin in 124 AMI and non-AMI patients from the observational Performance of Triage Cardiac Markers in the Clinical Setting (PEARL) study who presented with chest pain and had at least one troponin value exceeding the 99th percentile of normal. Because 8 assays were used during data collection, we employed a method of scaling the troponin value to the corresponding assay\u27s 99th percentile upper reference limit to standardize the results. In 81 AMI patients, 96% had elevated troponin at the first test following initial elevation, compared to 73% of the 43 non-AMI patients

The Spitzer Survey of Interstellar Clouds in the Gould Belt. IV. Lupus V and VI Observed with IRAC and MIPS

We present Gould's Belt (GB) Spitzer IRAC and MIPS observations of the Lupus V and VI clouds and discuss them in combination with near-infrared (2MASS) data. Our observations complement those obtained for other Lupus clouds within the frame of the Spitzer "Core to Disk" (c2d) Legacy Survey. We found 43 Young Stellar Object (YSO) candidates in Lupus V and 45 in Lupus VI, including 2 transition disks, using the standard c2d/GB selection method. None of these sources was classified as a pre-main sequence star from previous optical, near-IR and X-ray surveys. A large majority of these YSO candidates appear to be surrounded by thin disks (Class III; ~79% in Lupus V and ~87% in Lupus VI). These Class III abundances differ significantly from those observed for the other Lupus clouds and c2d/GB surveyed star-forming regions, where objects with optically thick disks (Class II) dominate the young population. We investigate various scenarios that can explain this discrepancy. In particular, we show that disk photo-evaporation due to nearby OB stars is not responsible for the high fraction of Class III objects. The gas surface densities measured for Lupus V and VI lies below the star-formation threshold (AV {\eqsim}8.6 mag), while this is not the case for other Lupus clouds. Thus, few Myrs older age for the YSOs in Lupus V and VI with respect to other Lupus clouds is the most likely explanation of the high fraction of Class III objects in these clouds, while a higher characteristic stellar mass might be a contributing factor. Better constraints on the age and binary fraction ofComment: 42 Pages, 19 Figures, Accepted for publication on Ap