Dog Behaviour - Effect of Delay To Reinforcement

Dogs were fed dry food as reinforcement and were required to touch a wand with their nose to get that reinforcement. In the first study, half the dogs were given immediate reinforcement, while for the remaining dogs reinforcement was delayed by two seconds. In the second study, dogs were food deprived for longer in an attempt to increase the food-motivation, and the position of the equipment was changed to increase the accuracy of detecting a correct response. The third study was a replication of the second, but was conducted outdoors. Number of reinforcers delivered and time between reinforcers was examined. All three studies demonstrated that a two second delay to reinforcement slows learning in dogs, and in some cases prevents learning altogether

Osseointegrated total hip replacement connected to a lower limb prosthesis: a proof-of-concept study with three cases

Background Osseointegrated implants are a suitable alternative for prosthetic attachment in individuals with a transfemoral amputation, who are unable to wear a socket. However, the small bone-implant contact area, reduced muscular leverage, and osteoporosis contraindicate osseointegrated implant use in transfemoral amputees with osteoporosis and a short residuum. We report on the feasibility of combining total hip replacement (THR) with an osseointegrated implant for prosthetic attachment. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the cases of three transfemoral amputees who underwent osseointegration with THR between 2013 and 2014. In a two-stage procedure, a custom-made femoral prosthesis was connected to a THR with a modular revision stem and a stoma was created. Clinical outcomes were assessed at baseline and 1.5–2.5-year follow-up using standard measures of health-related quality of life, ambulation, and activity levels including the Short Form-36 (SF-36), Questionnaire for Transfemoral Amputees (Q-TFA), Timed Up and Go test, and 6-min walk test. Results Patient age ranged from 35 to 65 years. There were no major adverse events, but there was one case of superficial infection. All patients showed improved Q-TFA and SF-36 scores. Two patients who were wheelchair-bound at baseline became community ambulators, and the third patient exhibited improved ambulation. Conclusions This study demonstrated the feasibility of combining a THR with an osseointegrated implant in transfemoral amputees

Ways of Being in Trauma-Based Society: Discovering the Politics and Moral Culture of the Trauma Industry Through Hermeneutic Interpretation of Evidence-Supported PTSD Treatment Manuals

One hundred percent of evidence-supported psychotherapy treatments for trauma related disorders involve the therapist learning from and retaining fidelity to a treatment manual. Through a hermeneutic qualitative textual interpretation of three widely utilized evidence-supported trauma treatment manuals, I identified themes that suggested a particular constitution of the contemporary way of being—a traumatized self—and how this traumatized self comes to light through psychotherapeutic practice as described by the manuals. The manuals included: 1) a trauma focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for children; 2) an eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy for adults; and, 3) an early intervention and debriefing therapy series for post-traumatic stress disorder and other trauma related problems of military service members. Through the interpretation, I conceptualized trauma as a way of human being in contemporary culture, and in particular, as an unacknowledged way of expressing enactments of dissociated, unformulated, or unarticulated political arrangements and events. I identified and interpreted the following shared themes and exemplars across the three manuals: mind-brain as protector and the political use of cognitivist ideology; the healed trauma survivor as functional worker; trauma as universal and culture-free; and, indoctrination into a social void of scientistic managed care. I discussed how trauma treatment manuals instantiate how to be human in contemporary society through compliance with managed care and the embodiment of scientistic and cognitivist ideology. I then discussed how the way of being that contemporary society creates and idealizes is one in which people easily assume the identity of trauma survivor: an enterprising, functional and fiercely individual member of a warrior cult. In the warrior cult society, to think or talk about social causes and public solutions to daily political suffering is thought of as either non-germane or dangerous; individuals are seen as free from all dependencies and social ties, able to overcome personal and public adversity by arming or forifying their brain and replacing thoughts in their computer-like mind. In conclusion, I raised questions about how evidence-based trauma therapies may contribute to perpetuating a particular constitution of self that has disavowed society’s violent ethics and practice

Flourishing Mindfully: Mindfulness Moderates the Associations of Stress, Psychopathology, and Grit with Flourishing

Dispositional mindfulness includes greater present-moment attention and lower maladaptive responses to experience. Thus, theory proposes that dispositional mindfulness may be related to functional flourishing through greater engagement in valued activities, as well as less reactivity to the states that interfere with them (e.g., stress). This cross-sectional study tested the concurrent relationships proposed in these hypotheses. A random sample of 394 undergraduate students completed a survey that included the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale Revised, the Perceived Stress Scale, The Patient Health Questionnaire for Anxiety and Depression 4, the Short Grit Scale, and the Flourishing Scale. We used multiple linear regression to analyze a single combined model in which functional flourishing was predicted by mindfulness, stress, anxiety/depression, grit’s subfactors, and the interactions of mindfulness with each predictor. Higher mindfulness was significantly associated with higher functional flourishing. Higher mindfulness also significantly moderated the influence of stress and anxiety/depression on flourishing, weakening their negative associations. Lastly, mindfulness significantly strengthened the positive association between flourishing and perseverance, a grit subfactor. As theorized, mindfulness may be 1) associated with higher functional flourishing, 2) weaken the negative influence of aversive experiences on flourishing, and 3) strengthen the positive influence of beneficial traits on flourishing

Adherence to prescribing restrictions for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer in Australia: A national population-based observational study (2001-2016)

Background: Targeted cancer therapy is often complex, involving multiple agents and chemotherapeutic partners. In Australia, prescribing restrictions are put in place to reflect existing evidence of cost-effectiveness of these medicines. As therapeutic options continue to expand, these restrictions may not be perceived to align with best practice and it is not known if their use in the real-world clinic adheres to these restrictions. We examined the treatment of women receiving trastuzumab for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (HER2+MBC) to determine the extent to which treatment adhered to national prescribing restrictions. Patients and methods: Our population-based, retrospective cohort study used dispensing records for every Australian woman initiating publicly-subsidised trastuzumab for HER2+MBC between 2001±2013, followed through 2016. We used group-based trajectory models (GBTMs) to cluster patients, first on their patterns of trastuzumab exposure, and then on their patterns of lapatinib and chemotherapy exposure. We described the characteristics of patients within each cluster, and examined their treatments and combinations of treatments to determine restriction adherence. Results: Of 5,052 patients initiating trastuzumab, 1,795 (36%) received at least one non-adherent HER2-targeted treatment. The most common non-adherent treatments were trastuzumab combinations involving vinorelbine (24% of non-adherent treatments); capecitabine (24%); and anthracyclines (10%). Non-adherent lapatinib use was observed in 4% of patients. GBTM identified three trastuzumab exposure clusters, each containing three further subclusters. The largest proportions of non-adherent treatments were in sub-clusters with longer trastuzumab exposure and more non-taxane chemotherapy. Patients in these sub-clusters were younger than those in sub-clusters with less non-adherent treatment. Conclusions: Our study highlights that, even during the relatively simpler treatment era of our study period, a substantial amount of treatment did not adhere to prescribing restrictions. As more trials are conducted exploring pertuzumab and T-DM1 in combination with different chemotherapies and other HER2-targeted therapies, the regulation and funding of HER2-targeted treatment will become more challenging