Timing matters: impact of anticonvulsant drug treatment and spikes on seizure risk in benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes

OBJECTIVE: Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) is a common, self-limited epilepsy syndrome affecting school-age children. Classic interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) confirm diagnosis, and BECTS is presumed to be pharmacoresponsive. As seizure risk decreases in time with this disease, we hypothesize that the impact of IEDs and anticonvulsive drug (ACD) treatment on the risk of subsequent seizure will differ based on disease duration. METHODS: We calculate subsequent seizure risk following diagnosis in a large retrospective cohort of children with BECTS (n = 130), evaluating the impact of IEDs and ACD treatment in the first, second, third, and fourth years of disease. We use a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and logistic regression models. Patients were censored if they were lost to follow-up or if they changed group status. RESULTS: Two-thirds of children had a subsequent seizure within 2 years of diagnosis. The majority of children had a subsequent seizure within 3 years despite treatment. The presence of IEDs on electroencephalography (EEG) did not impact subsequent seizure risk early in the disease. By the fourth year of disease, all children without IEDs remained seizure free, whereas one-third of children with IEDs at this stage had a subsequent seizure. Conversely, ACD treatment corresponded with lower risk of seizure early in the disease but did not impact seizure risk in later years. SIGNIFICANCE: In this cohort, the majority of children with BECTS had a subsequent seizure despite treatment. In addition, ACD treatment and IEDs predicted seizure risk at specific points of disease duration. Future prospective studies are needed to validate these exploratory findings.Published versio

Inelastic Neutron Scattering Cross Section Measurements for \u3csup\u3e134,136\u3c/sup\u3eXe of Relevance to Neutrinoless Double-\u3cem\u3eβ\u3c/em\u3e Decay Searches

Neutrinoless double-β decay (0νββ) searches typically involve large-scale experiments for which backgrounds can be complex. One possible source of background near the 0νββ signature in the observed spectra is γ rays arising from inelastic neutron scattering from the materials composing or surrounding the detector. In relation to searches for the 0νββ of 136Xe to 136Ba, such as the EXO-200 and KamLAND-Zen projects, inelastic neutron scattering γ-ray production cross sections for 136Xe and 134Xe are of importance for characterizing such γ rays that may inhibit the unambiguous identification of this yet-to-be-observed process. These cross sections have been measured at the University of Kentucky Accelerator Laboratory at neutron energies from 2.5 to 4.5 MeV

Human brains preserve in diverse environments for at least 12 000 years

The brain is thought to be among the first human organs to decompose after death. The discovery of brains preserved in the archaeological record is therefore regarded as unusual. Although mechanisms such as dehydration, freezing, saponification, and tanning are known to allow for the preservation of the brain on short time scales in association with other soft tissues (≲4000 years), discoveries of older brains, especially in the absence of other soft tissues, are rare. Here, we collated an archive of more than 4400 human brains preserved in the archaeological record across approximately 12 000 years, more than 1300 of which constitute the only soft tissue preserved amongst otherwise skeletonized remains. We found that brains of this type persist on time scales exceeding those preserved by other means, which suggests an unknown mechanism may be responsible for preservation particular to the central nervous system. The untapped archive of preserved ancient brains represents an opportunity for bioarchaeological studies of human evolution, health and disease

Process evaluation of an early-intervention program for mood and anxiety disorders among older adolescents and young adults

Objective: Research to determine the best approach for providing early intervention for mood and anxiety disorders is imperative. The authors describe a process evaluation of an early-intervention program for transition-age youths with mood or anxiety disorders. Methods: Causal and logic models for pathways to care for the program, as well as descriptive data from 548 participating youths, are presented. Follow-up measures of functional improvement are reported. Results: Diagnostic characterization, symptom severity, and functional impairment of participants indicated that the model selected an appropriate catchment population without creating excessive overinclusion. Self-referred youths reported greater anxiety and substance use. Acceptance by the program was predictive of greater follow-through with treatment. Several variables, including frequent lifetimemarijuana use, predicted loss to follow-up. At follow-up, youths were significantly functionally improved. Conclusions: This process evaluation indicated that the model provided appropriate early intervention for youths with mood or anxiety disorders without causing excessive overinclusion

Epidemiology of National Collegiate Athletic Association men's and women's swimming and diving injuries from 2009/2010 to 2013/2014

BACKGROUND: Recent injury data for collegiate-level swimming and diving are limited. This study describes the epidemiology of men's and women's swimming and diving injuries reported by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Injury Surveillance Program (ISP) during the 2009/2010 to 2013/2014 academic years. METHODS: Injuries and athlete-exposure (AE) data reported within 9 men's and 13 women's swimming and diving programmes were analysed. Injury rates, injury rate ratios (IRR), and injury proportions by body site, diagnosis and mechanism were reported with 95% CIs. RESULTS: The ISP captured 149 and 208 injuries for men's and women's swimming and diving, respectively, leading to injury rates of 1.54/1000 and 1.71/1000 AEs. Among females, divers had a higher injury rate (2.49/1000 AEs) than swimmers (1.63/1000 AEs; IRR=1.53; 95% CI 1.07 to 2.19). Injury rates for male divers (1.94/1000 AEs) and swimmers (1.48/1000 AEs) did not differ (IRR=1.33; 95% CI 0.85 to 2.31). Most injuries occurred to the shoulder, resulted in strains and were classified as overuse or non-contact. Female swimmers had a higher overuse injury rate (1.04/1000 AEs) than male swimmers (0.66/1000 AEs; IRR=1.58; 95% CI 1.14 to 2.19). Overuse injury rates for female divers (0.54/1000 AEs) and male divers (0.46/1000 AEs) did not differ (IRR=1.16; 95% CI 0.40 to 3.34). Injury rates in 2012/2013-2013/2014 were lower than those in 2009/2010-2011/2012 for women's swimming (IRR=0.70; 95% CI 0.52 to 0.95) and diving (IRR=0.56; 95% CI 0.30 to 1.08), respectively. No time trends existed for men's swimmers or divers. CONCLUSIONS: Shoulder, strain and overuse injuries were common in collegiate men's and women's swimming and diving. Female swimmers were more likely to suffer an overuse injury than male swimmers. In addition, divers may have higher injury rates than swimmers, although small reported numbers warrant additional research

Experimental evidence that clay inhibits bacterial decomposers: Implications for preservation of organic fossils

Exceptionally preserved organic fossils are commonly associated with clay-rich horizons or directly with clay minerals. It has been posited that interactions between clay minerals and organic tissues inhibit enzymatic reactions or protect carcasses in such a way that decay is impeded. However, interactions between clay minerals and the biological agents of decay, especially bacteria, may be at least as important to preservation potential. Here we show that clays of particle size <2 μmm in suspensions exceeding 10 mg/ml in concentration inhibit the growth of Pseudoalteromonas luteoviolacea, a marine heterotrophic bacterium involved in the decay of marine animals. Such clay-microbe interactions can contribute to exceptional preservation, and specific examples may play a role in shaping the distribution of Konservat- Lagerstätten through time.</p

Implementation of a Human Trafficking Educational Module for College Students: Pre/Post Design

This research study aimed to implement an educational module and to determine the effectiveness of that module on increasing the awareness of human trafficking and risk factors for incoming freshman students at a medium-size, Southern university from September 2021 through November 2021. Two hundred students consented and participated in the study by completing the pretest and posttest to indicate their knowledge of human trafficking before and after being presented an online educational module. The pre and posttest included 10 questions with 24 possible responses. An average of 12.34 correct responses were provided on the pretest and 19.13 were correct responses on the posttest. This data indicates a 58.6% improvement in awareness of human trafficking risk factors. A one-tailed pair-wise student’s t-test and a single factor ANOVA were used to compare pretest scores with posttest scores both resulting in a p value of \u3c 0.001. The results of the study support the original hypothesis that students will have greater knowledge and awareness of human trafficking, as evidenced by a positive change in pretest to posttest scores, after completing the educational module on human trafficking. Limitations were found in the study as some students did not complete both the pre and posttest. The researchers believe this could be addressed through a stepwise testing module where one has to complete the first step to proceed to the next

Using virtual reality and thermal imagery to improve statistical modelling of vulnerable and protected species.

Biodiversity loss and sparse observational data mean that critical conservation decisions may be based on little to no information. Emerging technologies, such as airborne thermal imaging and virtual reality, may facilitate species monitoring and improve predictions of species distribution. Here we combined these two technologies to predict the distribution of koalas, specialized arboreal foliovores facing population declines in many parts of eastern Australia. For a study area in southeast Australia, we complemented ground-survey records with presence and absence observations from thermal-imagery obtained using Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Systems. These field observations were further complemented with information elicited from koala experts, who were immersed in 360-degree images of the study area. The experts were asked to state the probability of habitat suitability and koala presence at the sites they viewed and to assign each probability a confidence rating. We fit logistic regression models to the ground survey data and the ground plus thermal-imagery survey data and a Beta regression model to the expert elicitation data. We then combined parameter estimates from the expert-elicitation model with those from each of the survey models to predict koala presence and absence in the study area. The model that combined the ground, thermal-imagery and expert-elicitation data substantially reduced the uncertainty around parameter estimates and increased the accuracy of classifications (koala presence vs absence), relative to the model based on ground-survey data alone. Our findings suggest that data elicited from experts using virtual reality technology can be combined with data from other emerging technologies, such as airborne thermal-imagery, using traditional statistical models, to increase the information available for species distribution modelling and the conservation of vulnerable and protected species

Spatiotemporal structure of intracranial electric fields induced by transcranial electric stimulation in humans and nonhuman primates

Transcranial electric stimulation (TES) is an emerging technique, developed to non-invasively modulate brain function. However, the spatiotemporal distribution of the intracranial electric fields induced by TES remains poorly understood. In particular, it is unclear how much current actually reaches the brain, and how it distributes across the brain. Lack of this basic information precludes a firm mechanistic understanding of TES effects. In this study we directly measure the spatial and temporal characteristics of the electric field generated by TES using stereotactic EEG (s-EEG) electrode arrays implanted in cebus monkeys and surgical epilepsy patients. We found a small frequency dependent decrease (10%) in magnitudes of TES induced potentials and negligible phase shifts over space. Electric field strengths were strongest in superficial brain regions with maximum values of about 0.5 mV/mm. Our results provide crucial information of the underlying biophysics in TES applications in humans and the optimization and design of TES stimulation protocols. In addition, our findings have broad implications concerning electric field propagation in non-invasive recording techniques such as EEG/MEG