What is the “Cognitive” in Cognitive Diversity? Investigating the Convergent Validity of Cognitive Diversity Measures

Among researchers who examine team composition, the cognitive diversity construct has received considerable attention. There is little agreement, however, as to what the “cognitive” in cognitive diversity actually refers. Within this literature, researchers have examined variation in team members’ backgrounds and experiences, their knowledge, skills, and abilities, their cognitive styles, their attitudes and perspectives, or a combination of these characteristics. These varying conceptualizations have led to different operationalizations and measures of cognitive diversity, calling into some question the validity of these measures. In this research, we examined the convergent validity of three cognitive diversity measures that have been used in the literature: Van der Vegt and Janssen’s (2013) measure of cognitive group diversity, the Cognitive Styles Indicator (Cools & Van den Broeck, 2007), and team conscientiousness diversity (Hua, 2013). Five hundred fifty-two undergraduate engineering students in 148 project teams (3-6 members each) completed these measures, with none of the measures’ intercorrelations meeting the minimum requirement for evidence of convergent validity. Implications for existing literature and future research will be discussed

Neurologic Diagnostics in 2035: The Neurology Future Forecasting Series

Innovations and advances in technologies over the past few years have yielded faster and wider diagnostic applications to patients with neurologic diseases. This article focuses on the foreseeable developments of the diagnostic tools available to the neurologist in the next 15 years. Clinical judgment is and will remain the cornerstone of the diagnostic process, assisted by novel technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. Future neurologists must be educated to develop, cultivate, and rely on their clinical skills, while becoming familiar with novel, often complex, assistive technologies

Pharmacological treatments for Friedreich ataxia

BACKGROUND: Friedreich ataxia is a rare inherited autosomal recessive neurological disorder, characterised initially by unsteadiness in standing and walking, slowly progressing to wheelchair dependency usually in the late teens or early twenties. It is associated with slurred speech, scoliosis, and pes cavus. Heart abnormalities cause premature death in 60% of people with the disorder. There is no easily defined clinical or biochemical marker and no known treatment. This is the second update of a review first published in 2009 and previously updated in 2012. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of pharmacological treatments for Friedreich ataxia. SEARCH METHODS: On 29 February 2016 we searched The Cochrane Neuromuscular Specialised Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL Plus. On 7 March 2016 we searched ORPHANET and TRIP. We also checked clinical trials registers for ongoing studies. SELECTION CRITERIA: We considered randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-RCTs of pharmacological treatments (including vitamins) in people with genetically-confirmed Friedreich ataxia. The primary outcome was change in a validated Friedreich ataxia neurological score after 12 months. Secondary outcomes were changes in cardiac status as measured by magnetic resonance imaging or echocardiography, quality of life, mild and serious adverse events, and survival. We excluded trials of duration shorter than 12 months. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Three review authors selected trials and two review authors extracted data. We obtained missing data from the two RCTs that met our inclusion criteria. We collected adverse event data from included studies. We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. MAIN RESULTS: We identified more than 12 studies that used antioxidants in the treatment of Friedreich ataxia, but only two small RCTs, with a combined total of 72 participants, both fulfilled the selection criteria for this review and published results. One of these trials compared idebenone with placebo, the other compared high-dose versus low-dose coenzyme Q10 and vitamin E (the trialists considered the low-dose medication to be the placebo). We identified two other completed RCTs, which remain unpublished; the interventions in these trials were pioglitazone (40 participants) and idebenone (232 participants). Other RCTs were of insufficient duration for inclusion. In the included studies, the primary outcome specified for the review, change in a validated Friedreich ataxia rating score, was measured using the International Co-operative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS). The results did not reveal any significant difference between the antioxidant-treated and the placebo groups (mean difference 0.79 points, 95% confidence interval -1.97 to 3.55 points; low-quality evidence). The published included studies did not assess the first secondary outcome, change in cardiac status as measured by magnetic resonance imaging. Both studies reported changes in cardiac measurements assessed by echocardiogram. The ejection fraction was not measured in the larger of the included studies (44 participants). In the smaller study (28 participants), it was normal at baseline and did not change with treatment. End-diastolic interventricular septal thickness showed a small decrease in the smaller of the two included studies. In the larger included study, there was no decrease, showing significant heterogeneity in the study results; our overall assessment of the quality of evidence for this outcome was very low. Left ventricular mass (LVM) was only available for the smaller RCT, which showed a significant decrease. The relevance of this change is unclear and the quality of evidence low. There were no deaths related to the treatment with antioxidants. We considered the published included studies at low risk of bias in six of seven domains assessed. One unpublished included RCT, a year-long study using idebenone (232 participants), published an interim report in May 2010 stating that the study reached neither its primary endpoint, which was change in the ICARS score, nor a key cardiological secondary endpoint, but data were not available for verification and analysis. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: low-quality evidence from two small, published, randomised controlled trials neither support nor refute an effect from antioxidants (idebenone, or a combination of coenzyme Q10 and vitamin E) on the neurological status of people with Friedreich ataxia, measured with a validated neurological rating scale. A large unpublished study of idebenone that reportedly failed to meet neurological or key cardiological endpoints, and a trial of pioglitazone remain unpublished, but on publication will very likely influence quality assessments and conclusions. A single study of idebenone provided low-quality evidence for a decrease in LVM, which is of uncertain clinical significance but of potential importance that needs to be clarified. According to low-quality evidence, serious and non-serious adverse events were rare in both antioxidant and placebo groups. No non-antioxidant agents have been investigated in RCTs of 12 months' duration

Manejo da pastagem de inverno afetando atributos de solo e da cultura do milho, em sistema de integração lavoura-pecuária com gado leiteiro.

Carla Maria Pandolfo3, EPAGRI ? Campos Novos, SC Alvadi Antonio Balbinot Junior

Atributos físicos do solo em formas de semeadura da pastagem de inverno associadas a intervalos entre pastejos.

O cultivo de pastagens de inverno em áreas de lavoura e o seu manejo sob pastejo direto pode provocar alterações nos atributos físicos do solo, cuja intensidade depende do grau de mobilização do solo, do intervalo entre pastejos, da carga animal e das condições climáticas. Para estudar esses aspectos, foi conduzido durante quatro anos um experimento com delineamento em blocos casualizados com parcelas subdivididas e quatro repetições. Nas parcelas principais foram aplicadas duas formas de semeadura da cultura de inverno (semeadura direta e semeadura + gradagem) e, nas subparcelas, quatro intervalos entre pastejos (sem pastejo e pastejo em intervalos de 7, 14 e 28 dias). Amostras de solo com estrutura preservada foram coletadas logo após a dessecação da pastagem, na camada de 0,00-0,05 m para determinação da condutividade hidráulica saturada e estabilidade de agregados e nas camadas de 0,00-0,05, 0,05-0,10, 0-10-0,15 e 0,15-0,20 m para determinar a densidade e as classes de poros do solo. A semeadura direta da pastagem aumenta a condutividade hidráulica saturada e reduz a densidade do solo em relação à semeadura + gradagem, enquanto o pisoteio aumenta a densidade do solo e reduz a macroporosidade apenas na camada mais superficial do solo, entre 0,00-0,05 m de profundidade. As diferenças nos atributos físicos do solo são maiores entre anos de amostragem do que entre intervalos de entrada dos animais na pastagem

Manejo da pastagem anual de inverno afetando a emergência de plantas daninhas na cultura do milho em sucessão.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos de duas formas de semeadura e quatro intervalos entre pastejos, sem e com adubação nitrogenada da pastagem de inverno, sobre a emergência de plantas daninhas na cultura do milho em sucessão. A densidade de plantas daninhas monocotiledôneas na cultura do milho não foi influenciada pela forma de implantação, intervalos entre pastejo e adubação da pastagem de inverno. A densidade de plantas daninhas dicotiledôneas na cultura do milho foi reduzida pela implantação da pastagem de inverno sem uso de grade e pelo maior intervalo entre os pastejos

Manejo da pastagem de inverno afetando fitomassa remanescente, cobertura do solo, plantas daninhas e rendimento de culturas.

O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar, durante quatro anos de experimentação, o efeito de formas de semeadura da pastagem anual de inverno, do intervalo entre pastejos e da adubação nitrogenada em cobertura na pastagem sobre a fitomassa remanescente da pastagem, cobertura do solo, emergência de plantas daninhas e rendimento de grãos de feijão ou de massa verde de milho cultivado em sucessão. As formas de semeadura de pastagem anual de inverno e a aplicação de nitrogênio em cobertura na pastagem não afetam a fitomassa de pastagem remanescente, mas ocorre redução desta e aumento da percentagem de solo descoberto e da emergência de plantas daninhas com a redução do intervalo entre pastejos. As formas de semeadura de pastagem anual de inverno e o intervalo entre pastejos não afetam o rendimento de massa verde de milho para silagem e de grãos de feijão cultivados em sucessão à pastagem, mas há efeito residual do nitrogênio aplicado em cobertura na pastagem sobre o rendimento de grãos de feijão

Impact of climate change on climatic zoning of common bean in the South of Brazil.

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