Long-Term Effect of Therapeutic Horseback Riding in Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Trial

This paper presents 6-month follow-up data of 44% (N = 64/116) of participants (ages 6–16 years) with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, who participated in a previously-published randomized controlled trial of therapeutic horseback riding (THR) compared to a no-horse contact active control. The objective of this study was to examine whether significant improvements of irritability, hyperactivity, social, and communication behaviors observed in participants randomized to receive a 10-week manual-based THR intervention were sustained 6 months after the intervention conclusion. Participants' caregivers from both the THR (n = 36) and active control (n = 28) groups completed a measure of irritability and hyperactivity behaviors (primary outcome variables). Additionally, only the THR group participants completed the full battery of study outcomes assessments. Between group comparisons examining the extended interval from baseline (1-month pre-intervention assessment) to 6-months after the intervention revealed that the THR group maintained reductions in irritability behavior at a 0.1 level (effect size = 0.32, p = 0.07). (Effect size = 0.32, p = 0.07), which was 73% of efficacy preserved from the primary post-intervention endpoint (within 1-month post-intervention). Hyperactivity behaviors did not sustain this same trend. Comparisons from baseline and 6-months after the intervention revealed that the THR group sustained significant initial improvements made in social and communication behaviors, along with number of words and different words spoken during a standard language sample. This is the first known study to examine and demonstrate the longer-term effects of THR for individuals with ASD and warrants a more thorough evaluation of whether the effects of THR are maintained for at least 6-months after the intervention compared to a control.Clinical Trial Registration Information: Trial of Therapeutic Horseback Riding in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder; http://clinicaltrials.gov; NCT02301195

Implications of taxonomic modifications and alien species on biological water quality assessment as exemplified by the Belgian Biotic Index method

BRIEF OF APPELLEE THIS IS AN APPEAL FROM THE FINAL JUDGMENT OF THE THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, SALT LAKE COUNTY, STATE OF UTAH AFFIRMING THE ORDER OF SUSPENSION OF THE DRIVER\u27S LICENSE SERVICES, RENDERED IN AN ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUDICATION HEARING, THE HONORABLE RAYMOND S. UNO, JUDGE PRESIDING

Increasing compliance with wearing a medical device in children with autism

Health professionals often recommend the use of medical devices to assess the health, monitor the well-being, or improve the quality of life of their patients. Children with autism may present challenges in these situations as their sensory peculiarities may increase refusals to wear such devices. To address this issue, we systematically replicated prior research by examining the effects of differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) to increase compliance with wearing a heart rate monitor in 2 children with autism. The intervention increased compliance to 100% for both participants when an edible reinforcer was delivered every 90 s. The results indicate that DRO does not require the implementation of extinction to increase compliance with wearing a medical device. More research is needed to examine whether the reinforcement schedule can be further thinned

Consensus on guidelines for stereotactic neurosurgery for psychiatric disorders

Background For patients with psychiatric illnesses remaining refractory to \u27tandard\u27 therapies, neurosurgical procedures may be considered. Guidelines for safe and ethical conduct of such procedures have previously and independently been proposed by various local and regional expert groups. Methods To expand on these earlier documents, representative members of continental and international psychiatric and neurosurgical societies, joined efforts to further elaborate and adopt a pragmatic worldwide set of guidelines. These are intended to address a broad range of neuropsychiatric disorders, brain targets and neurosurgical techniques, taking into account cultural and social heterogeneities of healthcare environments. Findings The proposed consensus document highlights that, while stereotactic ablative procedures such as cingulotomy and capsulotomy for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder are considered \u27stablished\u27 in some countries, they still lack level I evidence. Further, it is noted that deep brain stimulation in any brain target hitherto tried, and for any psychiatric or behavioural disorder, still remains at an investigational stage. Researchers are encouraged to design randomised controlled trials, based on scientific and data-driven rationales for disease and brain target selection. Experienced multidisciplinary teams are a mandatory requirement for the safe and ethical conduct of any psychiatric neurosurgery, ensuring documented refractoriness of patients, proper consent procedures that respect patient\u27s capacity and autonomy, multifaceted preoperative as well as postoperative long-term follow-p evaluation, and reporting of effects and side effects for all patients. Interpretation This consensus document on ethical and scientific conduct of psychiatric surgery worldwide is designed to enhance patient safety

Atrial fibrillation is an independent predictor for in-hospital mortality in patients admitted with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most encountered arrhythmia and has been associated with worse in-hospital outcomes. Objective This study was to determine the incidence of AF in patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as well as its impact on in-hospital mortality. Methods Patients hospitalized with a positive COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction test between March 1 and April 27, 2020, were identified from the common medical record system of 13 Northwell Health hospitals. Natural language processing search algorithms were used to identify and classify AF. Patients were classified as having AF or not. AF was further classified as new-onset AF vs history of AF. Results AF occurred in 1687 of 9564 patients (17.6%). Of those, 1109 patients (65.7%) had new-onset AF. Propensity score matching of 1238 pairs of patients with AF and without AF showed higher in-hospital mortality in the AF group (54.3% vs 37.2%; P \u3c .0001). Within the AF group, propensity score matching of 500 pairs showed higher in-hospital mortality in patients with new-onset AF as compared with those with a history of AF (55.2% vs 46.8%; P = .009). The risk ratio of in-hospital mortality for new-onset AF in patients with sinus rhythm was 1.56 (95% confidence interval 1.42-1.71; P \u3c .0001). The presence of cardiac disease was not associated with a higher risk of in-hospital mortality in patients with AF (P = .1). Conclusion In patients hospitalized with COVID-19, 17.6% experienced AF. AF, particularly new-onset, was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality

Randomized Controlled Trial of Therapeutic Horseback Riding in Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study expands previous equine-assisted intervention research by evaluating the effectiveness of therapeutic horseback riding (THR) on self-regulation, socialization, communication, adaptive, and motor behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

ECOPLAN-SE: Ruimtelijke analyse van ecosysteemdiensten in Vlaanderen, een Q-GIS plugin

ECOPLAN-SE is een ruimtelijk expliciete tool (QGIS) voor het beoordelen van de impact van landgebruikveranderingen op de levering van ecosysteemdiensten. De ontwikkeling van deze tool kadert in het het SBO-project “ECOPLAN” (Planning for Ecosystem Services). ECOPLAN ontwikkelt ruimtelijk expliciete informatie en instrumenten voor de beoordeling van ecosysteemdiensten. Het ontwerpt instrumenten voor de evaluatie van functionele ecosystemen als een kostenefficiënte strategie om de landgebruiksefficiëntie en milieukwaliteit te verbeteren. Het ontwikkelt open source eindproducten voor het identificeren, kwantificeren, waarderen, valideren en monitoren van ecosysteemdiensten. Deze producten kunnen door administraties en consultants worden ingezet in projectontwikkeling, kosten-baten analyses, milieueffecten rapportering, etc