Beyond fingerprinting: Choosing predictive connectomes over reliable connectomes

Recent years have seen a surge of research on variability in functional brain connectivity within and between individuals, with encouraging progress toward understanding the consequences of this variability for cognition and behavior. At the same time, well-founded concerns over rigor and reproducibility in psychology and neuroscience have led many to question whether functional connectivity is sufficiently reliable, and call for methods to improve its reliability. The thesis of this opinion piece is that when studying variability in functional connectivity—both across individuals and within individuals over time—we should use behavior prediction as our benchmark rather than optimize reliability for its own sake. We discuss theoretical and empirical evidence to compel this perspective, both when the goal is to study stable, trait-level differences between people, as well as when the goal is to study state-related changes within individuals. We hope that this piece will be useful to the neuroimaging community as we continue efforts to characterize inter- and intra-subject variability in brain function and build predictive models with an eye toward eventual real-world applications

Behavioral and neural signatures of working memory in childhood

Working memory function changes across development and varies across individuals. The patterns of behavior and brain function that track individual differences in working memory during human development, however, are not well understood. Here, we establish associations between working memory, other cognitive abilities, and functional MRI (fMRI) activation in data from over 11,500 9- to 10-year-old children (both sexes) enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, an ongoing longitudinal study in the United States. Behavioral analyses reveal robust relationships between working memory, short-term memory, language skills, and fluid intelligence. Analyses relating out-of-scanner working memory performance to memory-related fMRI activation in an emotiona

A scoping review of media campaign strategies used to reach populations living with or at high risk for Hepatitis C in high income countries to inform future national campaigns in the United Kingdom

BACKGROUND: With the advent of direct acting antivirals, the World Health Organisation proposed eliminating Hepatitis C as a public health threat by 2030. To achieve this, countries need to diagnose, engage in care and treat their undiagnosed populations. This will require sensitisation campaigns. However previous media campaigns have had mixed impact. We conducted a scoping review to identify and understand the impact of previous Hepatitis C media campaigns. These findings could inform the delivery of future campaigns. METHODS: We searched five electronic databases for published literature on media campaigns conducted for Hepatitis C awareness, testing, and treatment in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries since 2010. Two independent reviewers screened citations for inclusion. Additionally, we spoke to stakeholders in the Hepatitis C field in the UK and conducted a Google search to identify any unpublished literature. A quantitative synthesis was conducted to identify targeted populations, strategies and media used, aims and impact of the campaigns. RESULTS: A title and year of publication screening of 3815 citations resulted in 113 papers that had a full abstract screen. This left 50 full-text papers, 18 were included of which 9 (50%) were from Europe. 5 (27.8%) of campaigns targeted minority ethnicities, and 9 (50%) aimed to increase testing. A Google search identified 6 grey literature sources. Most campaigns were not evaluated for impact. Discussions with stakeholders identified several barriers to successful campaigns including lack of targeted messaging, stigmatising or accusatory messaging, and short-lived or intermittent campaign strategies. CONCLUSION: Future campaigns will likely need to be multifaceted and have multiple tailored interventions. Campaigns will need to be sizeable and robust, integrated into health systems and viewed as an ongoing service rather than one-offs

Physician Care Patterns and Adherence to Postpartum Glucose Testing after Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Oregon

Objective: This study examines obstetrician/gynecologists and family medicine physicians' reported care patterns, attitudes and beliefs and predictors of adherence to postpartum testing in women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus. Research Design and Methods: In November-December 2005, a mailed survey went to a random, cross-sectional sample of 683 Oregon licensed physicians in obstetrician/gynecologists and family medicine from a population of 2171. Results: Routine postpartum glucose tolerance testing by both family physicians (19.3%) and obstetrician/gynecologists physicians (35.3%) was reportedly low among the 285 respondents (42% response rate). Factors associated with high adherence to postpartum testing included physician stated priority (OR 4.39, 95% CI: 1.69-7.94) and physician beliefs about norms or typical testing practices (OR 3.66, 95% CI: 1.65-11.69). Specialty, sex of physician, years of practice, location, type of practice, other attitudes and beliefs were not associated with postpartum glucose tolerance testing. Conclusions: Postpartum glucose tolerance testing following a gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancy was not routinely practiced by responders to this survey. Our findings indicate that physician knowledge, attitudes and beliefs may in part explain suboptimal postpartum testing. Although guidelines for postpartum care are established, some physicians do not prioritize these guidelines in practice and do not believe postpartum testing is the norm among their peers

The impact of conjunctival flap method and drainage cannula diameter on bleb survival in the rabbit model

Purpose To examine the effect of cannula diameter and conjunctival flap method on bleb survival in rabbits undergoing cannula-based glaucoma filtration surgery (GFS). Methods Twelve New Zealand White rabbits underwent GFS in both eyes. The twenty-four eyes were divided into four groups. Two of the four groups (N = 12) received limbus-based con- junctival flaps (LBCF), and the other two (N = 12) received fornix-based conjunctival flaps (FBCF). Six FBCF rabbit eyes were implanted with 22-gauge drainage tubes, and the other six were implanted with 26-gauge tubes. Likewise, six LBCF rabbits received 22-gauge drainage tubes and six received 26-gauge tubes. Filtration blebs were evaluated every three days by a masked observer. Bleb failure was defined as the primary endpoint in this study and was recorded after two consecutive flat bleb evaluations. Results Group 1 (LBCF, 22- gauge cannula) had a mean bleb survival time (Mean ± SD) of 18.7 ± 2.9 days. Group 2 (LBCF, 26-gauge cannula) also had a mean bleb survival time of 18.7 ± 2.9 days. Group 3 (FBCF, 22-gauge cannula) had a mean bleb survival time of 19.2 ± 3.8 days. Group 4 (FBCF, 26-gauge cannula) had a mean bleb survival time of 19.7 ± 4.1 days. A 2-way analysis of variance showed that neither surgical approach nor cannula gauge made a statistically significant difference in bleb survival time (P = 0.634 and P = 0.874). Additionally, there was no significant interaction between cannula gauge and conjunctival flap approach (P = 0.874), suggesting that there was not a combination of drainage gauge and conjunctival flap method that produced superior bleb survival. Conclusion Limbus and fornix-based conjunctival flaps are equally effective in promoting bleb survival using both 22 and 26-gauge cannulas in the rabbit model. The 26-gauge drainage tube may be preferred because its smaller size facilitates the implantation process, reducing the risk of corneal contact

Ancient and modern genomics of the Ohlone Indigenous population of California

Traditional knowledge, along with archaeological and linguistic evidence, documents that California supports cultural and linguistically diverse Indigenous populations. Studies that have included ancient genomes in this region, however, have focused primarily on broad-scale migration history of the North American continent, with relatively little attention to local population dynamics. Here, in a partnership involving researchers and the Muwekma Ohlone tribe, we analyze genomic data from ancient and present-day individuals from the San Francisco Bay Area in California: 12 ancient individuals dated to 1905 to 1826 and 601 to 184 calibrated years before the present (cal BP) from two archaeological sites and eight present-day members of the Muwekma Ohlone tribe, whose ancestral lands include these two sites. We find that when compared to other ancient and modern individuals throughout the Americas, the 12 ancient individuals from the San Francisco Bay Area cluster with ancient individuals from Southern California. At a finer scale of analysis, we find that the 12 ancient individuals from the San Francisco Bay Area have distinct ancestry from the other groups and that this ancestry has a component of continuity over time with the eight present-day Muwekma Ohlone individuals. These results add to our understanding of Indigenous population history in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, and in western North America more broadly

Age Determination of Six Intermediate-age SMC Star Clusters with HST/ACS

We present a photometric analysis of the star clusters Lindsay 1, Kron 3, NGC339, NGC416, Lindsay 38, and NGC419 in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), observed with the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) in the F555W and F814W filters. Our color magnitude diagrams (CMDs) extend ~3.5 mag deeper than the main-sequence turnoff points, deeper than any previous data. Cluster ages were derived using three different isochrone models: Padova, Teramo, and Dartmouth, which are all available in the ACS photometric system. Fitting observed ridgelines for each cluster, we provide a homogeneous and unique set of low-metallicity, single-age fiducial isochrones. The cluster CMDs are best approximated by the Dartmouth isochrones for all clusters, except for NGC419 where the Padova isochrones provided the best fit. The CMD of NGC419 shows several main-sequence turn-offs, which belong to the cluster and to the SMC field. We thus derive an age range of 1.2-1.6 Gyr for NGC419. Interestingly, our intermediate-age star clusters have a metallicity spread of ~0.6 dex, which demonstrates that the SMC does not have a smooth, monotonic age-metallicity relation. We find an indication for centrally concentrated blue straggler star candidates in NGC416, while for the other clusters these are not present. Using the red clump magnitudes, we find that the closest cluster, NGC419 (~50kpc), and the farthest cluster, Lindsay 38 (~67kpc), have a relative distance of ~17kpc, which confirms the large depth of the SMC.Comment: 25 pages, 45 Figure

Systematic review of safety checklists for use by medical care teams in acute hospital settings - limited evidence of effectiveness

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Patient safety is a fundamental component of good quality health care. Checklists have been proposed as a method of improving patient safety. This systematic review, asked "In acute hospital settings, would the use of safety checklists applied by medical care teams, compared to not using checklists, improve patient safety?"</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We searched the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and EMBASE for randomised controlled trials published in English before September 2009. Studies were selected and appraised by two reviewers independently in consultation with colleagues, using inclusion, exclusion and appraisal criteria established a priori.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Nine cohort studies with historical controls studies from four hospital care settings were included-intensive care unit, emergency department, surgery, and acute care. The studies used a variety of designs of safety checklists, and implemented them in different ways, however most incorporated an educational component to teach the staff how to use the checklist. The studies assessed outcomes occurring a few weeks to a maximum of 12 months post-implementation, and these outcomes were diverse.</p> <p>The studies were generally of low to moderate quality and of low levels of evidence, with all but one of the studies containing a high risk of bias.</p> <p>The results of these studies suggest some improvements in patient safety arising from use of safety checklists, but these were not consistent across all studies or for all outcomes. Some studies showed no difference in outcomes between checklist use and standard care without a checklist. Due to the variations in setting, checklist design, educational training given, and outcomes measured, it was unfeasible to accurately summarise any trends across all studies.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The included studies suggest some benefits of using safety checklists to improve protocol adherence and patient safety, but due to the risk of bias in these studies, their results should be interpreted with caution. More high quality and studies, are needed to enable confident conclusions about the effectiveness of safety checklists in acute hospital settings.</p