Management of acutely injured cattle by on farm emergency slaughter: Survey of veterinarian views

BACKGROUND: Fitness to transport is a key provision in animal welfare regulations in the European Union, and for the management of acutely injured cattle. Whilst treatment may be appropriate for some injuries, three common production outcomes for acutely injured cattle are; on farm emergency slaughter (OFES), casualty slaughter (CS) or euthanasia. The aims of this study were to evaluate the perceptions of veterinarians, working in Ireland, on the use of OFES for the management of acutely injured cattle and to evaluate the influence of capacity, willingness and opportunity on their ability to operate OFES. METHODOLOGY: Two online surveys of veterinarians working in Ireland, Private Veterinary Practitioners (PVPs) and Official Veterinarians (OVs), were conducted through QualtricsXM over a 7-week period between April and June of 2021. Quantitative and qualitative questions were developed and analyzed using the tripartite framework of capacity, willingness, and opportunity to collect relevant data about the management of acutely injured cattle and the provision of OFES in Ireland by veterinarians. RESULTS: 43 OVs and 85 PVPs participated in the survey. OVs regulated on average 4.2 abattoirs, of which 21.6% accepted OFES. Participants reported 343 and 377 OFES and CS, respectively, in 2020. 62.4% PVPs had not certified cattle for OFES, or CS. Limb fracture accounted for 79% OFES, 34.5% CS and 47.9% euthanized acutely injured cattle. 63.3% OVs and 44% PVPs were not aware of abattoirs providing OFES within 100 km of their workplace. Lack of availability of OFES negatively associated with PVP knowledge of the procedure. Regulations and guidelines were the most common source of information on OFES for PVPs. CONCLUSION: Increasing the availability of OFES may help to improve the management of acutely injured cattle, especially those with limb fractures that are unfit for transport

How does performing demanding activities influence prospective memory? A systematic review

This paper is the first systematic review on the role of ongoing task load in prospective remembering, which was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). Forty articles published between 1995 and 2020 were included. They evaluated prospective memory (PM) performance (i.e., the ability to remember to execute a delayed intention) in adult samples aged between 19 and 50 years old when the PM cue appeared under cognitively demanding conditions.The results revealed that people are more likely to fail to remember to perform a delayed intention at the appropriate circumstances or time in the future when their cognitive resources are taxed by demanding ongoing activities. We conclude the review by highlighting that the degree of working memory and executive resources seems to account for some of the discrepant findings and by proposing directions for future research.- This project was founded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) with the grant BD/123421/2016 awarded to Patricia Matos and with thegrant PD/BD/105964/2014 awarded to Diana R. Pereira. This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/01662/2019), University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, through the State Budget (UID/PSI/01662/2019). Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Patricia Fernanda Ferreira Matos, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal

Consensus Statement of the International Summit on Intellectual Disabilityand Dementia Related to Nomenclature

A working group of the 2016 International Summit on Intellectual Disability and Dementia was charged to examine the terminology used to define and report on dementia in publications related to intellectual disability (ID). A review of related publications showed mixed uses of terms associated with dementia or causative diseases. As with dementia research in the non-ID population, language related to dementia in the ID field often lacks precision and could lead to a misunderstanding of the condition(s) under discussion; an increasingly crucial issue given the increased global attention dementia is receiving in that field. Most articles related to ID and dementia reporting clinical or medical research generally provide a structured definition of dementia or related terms; social care articles tend toward term use without definition. Toward terminology standardization within studies/reports on dementia and ID, the Summit recommended that a consistent approach is taken that ensures (a) growing familiarity with dementia-related diagnostic, condition-specific, and social care terms (as identified in the working group's report), (b) creating a guidance document on accurately defining and presenting information about individuals or groups referenced, and (c) that in reports on neuropathologies or cognitive decline or impairment, definitions are used and data include subjects' ages, sex, level of ID, residential situation, basis for dementia diagnosis, presence of Down syndrome (or other risk conditions), years from diagnosis, and if available, scores on objective measures of changing function

Systematic review on post-stroke computerized cognitive training: Unveiling the impact of confounding factors

BACKGROUND: Stroke is a highly incapacitating disease that can lead to disabilities due to cognitive impairment, physical, emotional, and social sequelae, and a decrease in the quality of life of those affected. Moreover, it has been suggested that cognitive reserve (patients’ higher levels of education or having a skilled occupation), for instance, can promote faster cognitive recovery after a stroke. For this reason, this review aims to identify the cognitive, functional, and behavioral effects of computerized rehabilitation in patients aged 50 years or older who had a stroke, considering cognitive reserve proxies. METHODS: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis—PRISMA, and performed the search for peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials without a date restriction on CINAHL, LILACS, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were chosen. RESULTS: We screened 780 papers and found 19 intervention studies, but only 4 met the inclusion criteria and shared data. These studies included computerized tools for motor and cognitive rehabilitation in the experimental groups. In all studies, computerized training was combined with other interventions, such as standard therapy, occupational therapy, and aerobic exercises. There were 104 participants affected by ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, predominantly male (57.69%), and all with cognitive impairment. CONCLUSION: Despite a limited number of studies, varied methods and insufficient information available, schooling as a CR proxy combined with high-intensity computerized cognitive training was key to mediating cognitive improvement. The systematic review also identified that the associated ischemic stroke and shorter time of onset for rehabilitation contribute to the cognitive evolution of patients. Findings do not support a greater benefit of computerized cognitive training compared to conventional cognitive therapies

Discerning Developmental Dyscalculia and Neurodevelopmental Models of Numerical Cognition in a Disadvantaged Educational Context

Developmental Dyscalculia (DD) signifies a failure in representing quantities, which impairs the performance of basic math operations and schooling achievement during childhood. The lack of specificity in assessment measures and respective cut-offs are the most challenging factors to identify children with DD, particularly in disadvantaged educational contexts. This research is focused on a numerical cognition battery for children, designed to diagnose DD through 12 subtests. The aims of the present study were twofold: to examine the prevalence of DD in a country with generally low educational attainment, by comparing z-scores and percentiles, and to test three neurodevelopmental models of numerical cognition based on performance in this battery. Participants were 304 Brazilian school children aged 7-12 years of both sexes (143 girls), assessed by the Zareki-R. Performances on subtests and the total score increase with age without gender differences. The prevalence of DD was 4.6% using the fifth percentile and increased to 7.4% via z-score (in total 22 out of 304 children were diagnosed with DD). We suggest that a minus 1.5 standard deviation in the total score of the Zareki-R is a useful criterion in the clinical or educational context. Nevertheless, a percentile ≤ 5 seems more suitable for research purposes, especially in developing countries because the socioeconomic environment or/and educational background are strong confounder factors to diagnosis. The four-factor structure, based on von Aster and Shalev's model of numerical cognition (Number Sense, Number Comprehension, Number Production and Calculation), was the best model, with significant correlations ranging from 0.89 to 0.97 at the 0.001 level

Adaptación al Español Europeo de la Evaluación Automatizada de la Memoria Operativa (Automated Working Memory Test Battery -AWMA).

The current study presents the adaptation of Automated Working Memory Assessment into European Spanish, considering the need of calibration for accent and linguistic issues not supported by the version available. For this purpose, verbal material was carefully and properly selected, considering specificities of the European Spanish, in order to control possible effects of psycholinguistic factors, such as word length or lexical frequency, and technical aspects such as stimuli presentation speed and sound quality were also tuned. An exploratory sample of 81 children from 7- to 9-year-old was assessed to confirm that the adaptation is suitable for further use, besides, their scores were contrasted with the Argentinean children. The data showed proper validity and reliability scores, which characterize this version as a useful instrument for research purposes, and its usage in further studies should be encourage to gather normative data for Spaniards.En el presente estudio se presenta la adaptación al idioma Es-pañol Europeo de la Evaluación Automatizada de la Memoria Operativa, habiéndose tenido en cuenta la necesidad de calibración para cuestiones de acento y lingüística que no son compatibles con la versión disponible. Con este propósito, el material verbal fue seleccionado cuidadosa y apropiada-mente, teniendo en cuenta las especificidades del Español Europeo y con el fin de controlar los posibles efectos de los factores psicolingüísticos, tales como la longitud de las palabras o la frecuencia léxica, y aspectos técnicos, como la velocidad de presentación de los estímulos y la calidad de sonido también fueron controlados. Una muestra exploratoria de 81 niños de 7 a 9 años de edad se evaluó para confirmar que la adaptación es adecuada para su empleo posterior. Además las puntuaciones obtenidas se contrastaron con las de niños argentinos. Los datos mostraron una validez adecuada y una puntuación fiable, lo que permite considerar a esta versión como un instrumento útil para fines de investigación, y su empleo en futuros estu-dios debería incentivar la recopilación de datos normativos para españoles.This research was supported mainly by two grants from the Fundacion Seneca, Murcia Regional Government Agency for Science and Technology (visiting research grant 2010 to Flavia Heloisa Dos Santos and research grant 19463/PI/14), and by a grant from the Spanish Minister of Science and Innovation (research grant PSI2008-03481/PSIC)

Sex differences in the cognitive performance in adults: role of impaired sleep

OBJECTIVE: Poor sleep quality negatively affects cognitive performance. However, there are limited data on sex differences in functional outcomes of impaired sleep on cognition. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the association between sleep quality and performance of men and women in cognitive tests. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After screening, 97 individuals with and without insomnia complaints participated of this study. Behavioral scales were evaluated using a number of instruments and the sleep pattern was recorded by actigraph. Subsequently, the participants were submitted to visuospatial/verbal working memory (WM), visual attention, and psychomotor vigilance tests (PVT). RESULTS: The actigraphic recordings indicated that men sleep later (d=-0.56, p<0.05), fall asleep faster (d=0.42, p<0.05), showed shorter sleep duration (d=0.53, p<0.05), and more sleep fragmentation than women (d=-0.41, p<0.05). The performance in the cognitive tasks also showed sex differences: the men showed better performance in the visuospatial short-term memory (d=-0.78, p<0.05); verbal (d=-0.61, p<0.05), and visuospatial-WM tests (d=-0.84, p<0.05); they also responded faster in the PVT (d=0.69, p<0.05), although made more mistakes (d=-0.85, p<0.01). Longer sleep latency was associated with poor performance in visual attention (r=0.52, p<0.05) and verbal memory tasks (r=-0.30, p<0.05) in men. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that difficulty in falling asleep was associated with cognitive impairment, especially in men. Sex differences in sleep quality and cognitive skills should be taken into account in future research in this field