Concurrent and longitudinal associations between touchscreen use and executive functions at preschool-age

Introduction: The prevalence of touchscreen devices has recently risen amongst young children. Some evidence suggests that increased touchscreen use may be negatively related to preschool-age children's executive functions (EFs). However, it has been argued that actively interacting with touchscreen devices (e.g., via creative apps for drawing) could better support EF development compared to passive use (e.g., watching videos). There is a pressing need to understand whether the type of use can explain potential associations between touchscreen use and EF. Methods: By following up longitudinally on an infant sample, now aged 42-months (N = 101), the current study investigates the relative contributions of passive and active touchscreen use, measured concurrently at 42-months and longitudinally from 10-to-42-months, on parent-reported EFs. Results: A multivariate multiple regression found no significant negative associations between touchscreen use and preschool EF. There was a significant positive association between active touchscreen use at 42-months and the BRIEF-P Flexibility Index. Discussion: The lack of significant negative associations found is consistent with an earlier study's findings in the same sample at infancy, suggesting that the moderate levels of early touchscreen use in this sample are not significantly associated with poorer EF, at least up to preschool-age

The impact of early-years provision in Children's Centres (EPICC) on child cognitive and socio-emotional development: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: There are marked disparities between pre-school children in key skills affecting school readiness, disparities that commonly persist and influence children's later academic achievements, employment, and adjustment. Much of this disparity is linked to socio-economic disadvantage and its impact on the home learning environment. Children's Centres are an ideal context in which to implement and evaluate programmes to address this problem. They principally serve the 30% worst areas on the Indices of Deprivation Affecting Children, providing for families from the antenatal period up to age 5 years, aiming to promote parenting skills and provide care for children. METHODS: We are conducting a randomised controlled trial, based in Children Centres, to evaluate a parenting intervention for caregivers of children between 28 and 45 months of age. The intervention provides training to parents in dialogic book-sharing. The training is run by a facilitator who sees parents in small groups, on a weekly basis over 7 weeks. The study is a cluster randomised controlled trial. Twelve of the Children's Centres in the town of Reading in the UK have been randomly assigned to an index or control condition. The primary outcome is child cognition (language, attention, and executive function); and secondary outcomes are child social development, behaviour problems, and emotion regulation, parenting during book-sharing and problem solving and parental child behaviour management strategies. Data are collected at baseline, post-intervention and 4-6 months post-intervention. DISCUSSION: The Impact of Early-years Provision in Children's Centres trial (EPICC) aims to evaluate the impact of an early parenting intervention on several key risk factors for compromised child development, including aspects of parenting and child cognition, social development, behaviour problems and emotion regulation. The study is being carried out in Children's Centres, which largely serve the most disadvantaged families in the UK. Since the intervention is brief and, with modest levels of training, readily deliverable within Children's Centres and similar early childcare provision centres, demonstration that it is of benefit to child cognition, socio-emotional development and behaviour would be important. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN Registry, ISRCTN28513611 . Registered on 28 March 2017. This is version 1 of the protocol for the EPICC trial

The impact of early-years provision in Children\u27s Centres (EPICC) on child cognitive and socio-emotional development: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background: There are marked disparities between pre-school children in key skills affecting school readiness, disparities that commonly persist and influence children\u27s later academic achievements, employment, and adjustment. Much of this disparity is linked to socio-economic disadvantage and its impact on the home learning environment. Children\u27s Centres are an ideal context in which to implement and evaluate programmes to address this problem. They principally serve the 30% worst areas on the Indices of Deprivation Affecting Children, providing for families from the antenatal period up to age 5 years, aiming to promote parenting skills and provide care for children. Methods: We are conducting a randomised controlled trial, based in Children Centres, to evaluate a parenting intervention for caregivers of children between 28 and 45 months of age. The intervention provides training to parents in dialogic book-sharing. The training is run by a facilitator who sees parents in small groups, on a weekly basis over 7 weeks. The study is a cluster randomised controlled trial. Twelve of the Children\u27s Centres in the town of Reading in the UK have been randomly assigned to an index or control condition. The primary outcome is child cognition (language, attention, and executive function); and secondary outcomes are child social development, behaviour problems, and emotion regulation, parenting during book-sharing and problem solving and parental child behaviour management strategies. Data are collected at baseline, post-intervention and 4-6 months post-intervention. Discussion: The Impact of Early-years Provision in Children\u27s Centres trial (EPICC) aims to evaluate the impact of an early parenting intervention on several key risk factors for compromised child development, including aspects of parenting and child cognition, social development, behaviour problems and emotion regulation. The study is being carried out in Children\u27s Centres, which largely serve the most disadvantaged families in the UK. Since the intervention is brief and, with modest levels of training, readily deliverable within Children\u27s Centres and similar early childcare provision centres, demonstration that it is of benefit to child cognition, socio-emotional development and behaviour would be important

Concurrent and longitudinal associations between touchscreen use and executive functions at preschool-age

Introduction: The prevalence of touchscreen devices has recently risen amongst young children. Some evidence suggests that increased touchscreen use may be negatively related to preschool-age children's executive functions (EFs). However, it has been argued that actively interacting with touchscreen devices (e.g., via creative apps for drawing) could better support EF development compared to passive use (e.g., watching videos). There is a pressing need to understand whether the type of use can explain potential associations between touchscreen use and EF. Methods: By following up longitudinally on an infant sample, now aged 42-months (N = 101), the current study investigates the relative contributions of passive and active touchscreen use, measured concurrently at 42-months and longitudinally from 10-to-42-months, on parent-reported EFs. Results: A multivariate multiple regression found no significant negative associations between touchscreen use and preschool EF. There was a significant positive association between active touchscreen use at 42-months and the BRIEF-P Flexibility Index. Discussion: The lack of significant negative associations found is consistent with an earlier study's findings in the same sample at infancy, suggesting that the moderate levels of early touchscreen use in this sample are not significantly associated with poorer EF, at least up to preschool-age

Ribavirin Does Not Enhance Hepatitis B Virus Nucleotide Antiviral Activity: A Pilot Study

Purpose: There is a need for effective and affordable treatments that achieve hepatitis B virus (HBV) functional cure and prevent long-term complications. The use of immune-modulators combined with HBV antivirals is a promising therapeutic strategy to achieve these goals. Based on ribavirin (RBV) monotherapy data, we hypothesized that RBV could improve virological responses when used in combination with tenofovir.  Methods: In this randomized, open label, controlled pilot trial, we evaluated RBV (n=4) dosed for the initial 24 weeks of treatment versus no RBV (n=4) in tenofovir recipients dosed over 48 weeks.  Results: Although well tolerated and safe in combination with tenofovir, RBV demonstrated no beneficial effects on virologic, biochemical or immunological markers of chronic HBV infection over 48 weeks of serial evaluation.  Conclusions: Our data does not suggest a HBV-specific immunomodulatory effect or an impact of RBV on HBV virological and antigen suppression

G6b-B antibody-based cis-acting platelet receptor inhibitors (CAPRIs) as a new family of anti-thrombotic therapeutics

Platelets are highly reactive fragments of megakaryocytes that play a fundamental role in thrombosis and hemostasis. Predictably, all conventional anti-platelet therapies elicit bleeding, raising the question whether the thrombotic activity of platelets can be targeted separately. In this study, we describe a novel approach of inhibiting platelet activation through the use of bispecific single-chain variable fragments (bi-scFvs), termed cis-acting platelet receptor inhibitors (CAPRIs) that harness the immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motif (ITIM)-containing co-inhibitory receptor G6b-B (G6B) to suppress immunoreceptor tyrosine-based (ITAM)-containing receptor-mediated platelet activation. CAPRI-mediated hetero-clustering of G6B with either the ITAM-containing GPVI-FcR γ-chain complex or FcγRIIA (CD32A) inhibited collagen- or immune complex-induced platelet aggregation. G6B-GPVI CAPRIs strongly and specifically inhibited thrombus formation on collagen under arterial shear, whereas G6B-CD32A CAPRI strongly and specifically inhibited thrombus formation to heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia and antiphospholipid syndrome complexes on Von Willebrand Factor-coated surfaces and photochemical-injured endothelial cells under arterial shear. Our findings provide proof-of-concept that CAPRIs are highly effective at inhibiting ITAM receptor-mediated platelet activation, laying the foundation for a novel family of anti-thrombotic therapeutics with potentially improved efficacy and fewer bleeding outcomes compared with current anti-platelet therapies