A Wii Bit of Fun: A Novel Platform to Deliver Effective Balance Training to Older Adults

BACKGROUND: Falls and fall-related injuries are symptomatic of an aging population. This study aimed to design, develop, and deliver a novel method of balance training, using an interactive game-based system to promote engagement, with the inclusion of older adults at both high and low risk of experiencing a fall.STUDY DESIGN: Eighty-two older adults (65 years of age and older) were recruited from sheltered accommodation and local activity groups. Forty volunteers were randomly selected and received 5 weeks of balance game training (5 males, 35 females; mean, 77.18 ± 6.59 years), whereas the remaining control participants recorded levels of physical activity (20 males, 22 females; mean, 76.62 ± 7.28 years). The effect of balance game training was measured on levels of functional balance and balance confidence in individuals with and without quantifiable balance impairments.RESULTS: Balance game training had a significant effect on levels of functional balance and balance confidence (P Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Noninvasive imaging of the thirteen-lined ground squirrel photoreceptor mosaic.

Ground squirrels are an increasingly important model for studying visual processing, retinal circuitry, and cone photoreceptor function. Here, we demonstrate that the photoreceptor mosaic can be longitudinally imaged noninvasively in the 13-lined ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) using confocal and nonconfocal split-detection adaptive optics scanning ophthalmoscopy using 790 nm light. Photoreceptor density, spacing, and Voronoi analysis are consistent with that of the human cone mosaic. The high imaging success rate and consistent image quality in this study reinforce the ground squirrel as a practical model to aid drug discovery and testing through longitudinal imaging on the cellular scale

Breaking voice identity perception: Expressive voices are more confusable for listeners.

The human voice is a highly flexible instrument for self-expression, yet voice identity perception is largely studied using controlled speech recordings. Using two voice-sorting tasks with naturally varying stimuli, we compared the performance of listeners who were familiar and unfamiliar with the TV show Breaking Bad. Listeners organised audio clips of speech with (1) low-expressiveness and (2) high-expressiveness into perceived identities. We predicted that increased expressiveness (e.g., shouting, strained voice) would significantly impair performance. Overall, while unfamiliar listeners were less able to generalise identity across exemplars, the two groups performed equivalently well when telling voices apart when dealing with low-expressiveness stimuli. However, high vocal expressiveness significantly impaired telling apart in both the groups: this led to increased misidentifications, where sounds from one character were assigned to the other. These misidentifications were highly consistent for familiar listeners but less consistent for unfamiliar listeners. Our data suggest that vocal flexibility has powerful effects on identity perception, where changes in the acoustic properties of vocal signals introduced by expressiveness lead to effects apparent in familiar and unfamiliar listeners alike. At the same time, expressiveness appears to have affected other aspects of voice identity processing selectively in one listener group but not the other, thus revealing complex interactions of stimulus properties and listener characteristics (i.e., familiarity) in identity processing

‘Doing the best we can’: Registered Nurses' experiences and perceptions of patient safety in intensive care during COVID-19

Aims: To explore registered nurses' experiences of patient safety in intensive care during COVID-19.Design: A qualitative interview study informed by constructivism. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted and audio- recorded with 19 registered nurses who worked in intensive care during COVID-19 between May and July 2021. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed utilizing framework. Results: Two key themes were identified. ‘On a war footing’—an unprecedented situation which describes the situation nurses faced, and the actions are taken to prepare for the safe delivery of care. ‘Doing the best we can’—Safe Delivery of Care which describes the ramifications of the actions taken on short- and long-term patient safety including organization of care, missed and suboptimal care and communication. Both themes were embedded in the landscape of Staff Well-being and Peer Support. Conclusion: Nurses reported an increase in patient safety risks which they attributed to the dilution of skill mix and fragmentation of care. Nurses demonstrated an under-standing of the holistic and long-term impacts on patient safety and recovery from critical illness. Impact: This study explored the perceived impact of COVID-19 on patient safety in intensive care from a nursing perspective. Dilution of skill mix, where specialist critical care registered nurses were diluted with registered nurses with no critical care experience, and the fragmentation of care was perceived to lead to reduced quality of care and increased adverse events and risk of harm which were not consistently formally reported. Furthermore, nurses demonstrated a holistic and long-term appreciation of patient safety. These findings should be considered as part of future nursing work-force modelling and patient safety strategies by intensive care leaders and managers. No public or patient contribution to this study. The study aims and objectives were developed in collaboration with health care professional

Contradictions of slate formation resolved?

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62973/1/392348a0.pd

Local alignment of generalized k-base encoded DNA sequence

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>DNA sequence comparison is a well-studied problem, in which two DNA sequences are compared using a weighted edit distance. Recent DNA sequencing technologies however observe an encoded form of the sequence, rather than each DNA base individually. The encoded DNA sequence may contain technical errors, and therefore encoded sequencing errors must be incorporated when comparing an encoded DNA sequence to a reference DNA sequence.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Although two-base encoding is currently used in practice, many other encoding schemes are possible, whereby two ore more bases are encoded at a time. A generalized <it>k</it>-base encoding scheme is presented, whereby feasible higher order encodings are better able to differentiate errors in the encoded sequence from true DNA sequence variants. A generalized version of the previous two-base encoding DNA sequence comparison algorithm is used to compare a <it>k</it>-base encoded sequence to a DNA reference sequence. Finally, simulations are performed to evaluate the power, the false positive and false negative SNP discovery rates, and the performance time of <it>k</it>-base encoding compared to previous methods as well as to the standard DNA sequence comparison algorithm.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The novel generalized <it>k</it>-base encoding scheme and resulting local alignment algorithm permits the development of higher fidelity ligation-based next generation sequencing technology. This bioinformatic solution affords greater robustness to errors, as well as lower false SNP discovery rates, only at the cost of computational time.</p

Oxytocin, a Novel Treatment for Methamphetamine Use Disorder

The treatment of substance abuse with oxytocin is a novel approach to a challenging public health issue that continues to contribute to a growing economic cost for societies worldwide. Methamphetamine addiction is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, and despite advances in understanding the neurobiology of methamphetamine addiction, treatment options are limited. There are no medications that the Food and Drug Administration currently approves for stimulant use disorder. Off-label use of therapies for stimulant misuse include antidepressants, anxiolytics, and milder stimulants as replacement agents. Due to the shortcomings of these attempts to treat a complicated psychiatric disorder, recent attention to oxytocin therapy (OT) has gained momentum in clinical studies as a possible therapy in the context of social stress, social anxiety, social cognition, and psychosis. Oxytocin produces enhanced connectivity between cortical regions. The results from studies in rodents with OT suggest that central neuromodulation of oxytocin may be beneficial across transition states of stimulant dependence and may alleviate intense withdrawal symptoms. Studies of oxytocin in the context of other drugs of abuse, including cocaine, cannabis, and alcohol, also support the potential of oxytocin to treat stimulant use disorder, methamphetamine type. Methamphetamine abuse continues to be a significant cause of distress and dysfunction throughout the world. The effects of oxytocin on methamphetamine use outlined in this review should act as a catalyst for further investigation into the efficacy of treating stimulant use disorder, methamphetamine type with oxytocin in humans. More human-based research should initiate studies involving the long-term efficacy, side effects, and patient selection