Seasonal variation in the distribution of daily stepping in 11-13 year old school children

Seasonality studies in adolescent’s physical activity(PA) tend to report total PA (e.g. steps/day) rather than more specific detail such as steps/hour. This study compared the detailed changes in PA between seasons. Thirty three adolescents (baseline age 12.2 ± 0.3y) wore the activPAL activity monitor for 8 days on two occasions. Steps/day were higher in summer (Mdn = 12,879) than winter (Mdn = 0,512), p.05), however, boys had significantly higher step counts in summer between ’13:00-14:00’ (p=.023), ’19:00-20:00’ (p=.032)and ‘20:00-21:00’ (p=.023). Total steps/day masked sex differences within specific hours of the day, particularly evening times. Detailed daily patterns of PA are required to fully understand differences between sexes and across seasons

Mapping spoken language and cognitive deficits in post-stroke aphasia

Aphasia is an acquired disorder caused by damage, most commonly due to stroke, to brain regions involved in speech and language. While language impairment is the defining symptom of aphasia, the co-occurrence of non-language cognitive deficits and their importance in predicting rehabilitation and recovery outcomes is well documented. However, people with aphasia (PWA) are rarely tested on higher-order cognitive functions, making it difficult for studies to associate these functions with a consistent lesion correlate. Broca's area is a particular brain region of interest that has long been implicated in speech and language production. Contrary to classic models of speech and language, cumulative evidence shows that Broca's area and surrounding regions in the left inferior frontal cortex (LIFC) are involved in, but not specific to, speech production. In this study we aimed to explore the brain-behaviour relationships between tests of cognitive skill and language abilities in thirty-six adults with long-term speech production deficits caused by post-stroke aphasia. Our findings suggest that non-linguistic cognitive functions, namely executive functions and verbal working memory, explain more of the behavioural variance in PWA than classical language models imply. Additionally, lesions to the LIFC, including Broca's area, were associated with non-linguistic executive (dys)function, suggesting that lesions to this area are associated with non-language-specific higher-order cognitive deficits in aphasia. Whether executive (dys)function - and its neural correlate in Broca's area - contributes directly to PWA's language production deficits or simply co-occurs with it, adding to communication difficulties, remains unclear. These findings support contemporary models of speech production that place language processing within the context of domain-general perception, action and conceptual knowledge. An understanding of the covariance between language and non-language deficits and their underlying neural correlates will inform better targeted aphasia treatment and outcomes

Changes in the Prevalence of Child and Youth Mental Disorders and Perceived Need for Professional Help between 1983 and 2014: Evidence from the Ontario Child Health Study

© The Author(s) 2019. Objectives: To examine: 1) changes in the prevalence of mental disorders and perceived need for professional help among children (ages 4 to 11) and youth (ages 12 to 16) between 1983 and 2014 in Ontario and 2) whether these changes vary by age and sex, urban-rural residency, poverty, lone-parent status, and immigrant background. Methods: The 1983 (n = 2836) and 2014 (n = 5785) Ontario Child Health Studies are provincially representative cross-sectional surveys with identical self-report checklist measures of conduct disorder, hyperactivity, and emotional disorder, as well as perceived need for professional help, assessed by integrating parent and teacher responses (ages 4 to 11) and parent and youth responses (ages 12 to 16). Results: The overall prevalence of perceived need for professional help increased from 6.8% to 18.9% among 4- to 16-year-olds. An increase in any disorder among children (15.4% to 19.6%) was attributable to increases in hyperactivity among males (8.9% to 15.7%). Although the prevalence of any disorder did not change among youth, conduct disorder decreased (7.2% to 2.5%) while emotional disorder increased (9.2% to 13.2%). The prevalence of any disorder increased more in rural and small to medium urban areas versus large urban areas. The prevalence of any disorder decreased for children and youth in immigrant but not nonimmigrant families. Conclusions: Although there have been decreases in the prevalence of conduct disorder, increases in other mental disorders and perceived need for professional help underscore the continued need for effective prevention and intervention programs

In Vivo Measurement of Cerebral Mitochondrial Metabolism Using Broadband Near Infrared Spectroscopy Following Neonatal Stroke

Neonatal stroke presents with features of encephalopathy and can result in significant morbidity and mortality. We investigated the cerebral metabolic and haemodynamic changes following neonatal stroke in a term infant at 24 h of life. Changes in oxidation state of cytochrome-c-oxidase (oxCCO) concentration were monitored along with changes in oxy- and deoxy- haemoglobin using a new broadband near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) system. Repeated transient changes in cerebral haemodynamics and metabolism were noted over a 3-h study period with decrease in oxyhaemoglobin (HbO2), deoxy haemoglobin (HHb) and oxCCO in both cerebral hemispheres without significant changes in systemic observations. A clear asymmetry was noted in the degree of change between the two cerebral hemispheres. Changes in cerebral oxygenation (measured as HbDiff=HbO2-HHb) and cerebral metabolism (measured as oxCCO) were highly coupled on the injured side of the brain

Use of oxygen-loaded nanobubbles to improve tissue oxygenation: bone-relevant mechanisms of action and effects on osteoclast differentiation

Gas-loaded nanobubbles have potential as a method of oxygen delivery to increase tumour oxygenation and therapeutically alleviate tumour hypoxia. However, the mechanism(s) whereby oxygen-loaded nanobubbles increase tumour oxygenation are unknown; with their calculated oxygen-carrying capacity being insufficient to explain this effect. Intra-tumoural hypoxia is a prime therapeutic target, at least partly due to hypoxia-dependent stimulation of the formation and function of bone-resorbing osteoclasts which establish metastatic cells in bone. This study aims to investigate potential mechanism(s) of oxygen delivery and in particular the possible use of oxygen-loaded nanobubbles in preventing bone metastasis via effects on osteoclasts. Lecithin-based nanobubbles preferentially interacted with phagocytic cells (monocytes, osteoclasts) via a combination of lipid transfer, clathrin-dependent endocytosis and phagocytosis. This interaction caused general suppression of osteoclast differentiation via inhibition of cell fusion. Additionally, repeat exposure to oxygen-loaded nanobubbles inhibited osteoclast formation to a greater extent than nitrogen-loaded nanobubbles. This gas-dependent effect was driven by differential effects on the fusion of mononuclear precursor cells to form pre-osteoclasts, partly due to elevated potentiation of RANKL-induced ROS by nitrogen-loaded nanobubbles. Our findings suggest that oxygen-loaded nanobubbles could represent a promising therapeutic strategy for cancer therapy; reducing osteoclast formation and therefore bone metastasis via preferential interaction with monocytes/macrophages within the tumour and bone microenvironment, in addition to known effects of directly improving tumour oxygenation

The Effect of Pulmonary Surfactant on the In Vitro Activity of Iclaprim Against Common Respiratory Bacterial Pathogens

The in vitro antimicrobial activity of iclaprim, a novel diaminopyrimidine, against common respiratory bacteria remained unchanged in the presence of pulmonary surfactant (Survanta®) at concentrations that greatly antagonized the antimicrobial activity of daptomycin. These results indicate that iclaprim could be a potential treatment for pneumonia caused by susceptible and multidrug resistant bacteria

Using social media to support small group learning

Abstract Background Medical curricula are increasingly using small group learning and less didactic lecture-based teaching. This creates new challenges and opportunities in how students are best supported with information technology. We explored how university-supported and external social media could support collaborative small group working on our new undergraduate medical curriculum. Methods We made available a curation platform (Scoop.it) and a wiki within our virtual learning environment as part of year 1 Case-Based Learning, and did not discourage the use of other tools such as Facebook. We undertook student surveys to capture perceptions of the tools and information on how they were used, and employed software user metrics to explore the extent to which they were used during the year. Results Student groups developed a preferred way of working early in the course. Most groups used Facebook to facilitate communication within the group, and to host documents and notes. There were more barriers to using the wiki and curation platform, although some groups did make extensive use of them. Staff engagement was variable, with some tutors reviewing the content posted on the wiki and curation platform in face-to-face sessions, but not outside these times. A small number of staff posted resources and reviewed student posts on the curation platform. Conclusions Optimum use of these tools depends on sufficient training of both staff and students, and an opportunity to practice using them, with ongoing support. The platforms can all support collaborative learning, and may help develop digital literacy, critical appraisal skills, and awareness of wider health issues in society

Children’s Mental Health Need and Expenditures in Ontario: Findings from the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study

© The Author(s) 2019. Objective: To estimate the alignment between the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) expenditures for children’s mental health services and population need, and to quantify the value of adjusting for need in addition to population size in formula-based expenditure allocations. Two need definitions are used: “assessed need,” as the presence of a mental disorder, and “perceived need,” as the subjective perception of a mental health problem. Methods: Children’s mental health need and service contact estimates (from the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study), expenditure data (from government administrative data), and population counts (from the 2011 Canadian Census) were combined to generate formula-based expenditure allocations based on 1) population size and 2) need (population size adjusted for levels of need). Allocations were compared at the service area and region level and for the 2 need definitions (assessed and perceived). Results: Comparisons were made for 13 of 33 MCYS service areas and all 5 regions. The percentage of MCYS expenditure reallocation needed to achieve an allocation based on assessed need was 25.5% at the service area level and 25.6% at the region level. Based on perceived need, these amounts were 19.4% and 27.2%, respectively. The value of needs-adjustment ranged from 8.0% to 22.7% of total expenditures, depending on the definition of need. Conclusion: Making needs adjustments to population counts using population estimates of children’s mental health need (assessed or perceived) provides additional value for informing and evaluating allocation decisions. This study provides much-needed and current information about the match between expenditures and children’s mental health need