The influence of posterior visual pathway damage on visual information processing speed in multiple sclerosis

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 1276-1288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iñigo Gabilondo ◽  
Oiane Rilo ◽  
Natalia Ojeda ◽  
Javier Pena ◽  
Ainara Gómez-Gastiasoro ◽  
...  

Background: The injury of visual pathway and abnormalities of visual processing speed (VPS) are frequent in MS, but their association remains unexplored. Objective: To evaluate the impact of posterior visual pathway structural and functional integrity on VPS of MS patients. Methods: Cross-sectional study of 30 MS patients and 28 controls, evaluating the association of a VPS tests composite (Salthouse Perceptual Comparison test, Trail Making Test A and Symbol Digit Modalities Test) with 3T MRI visual cortex thickness, optic radiations (OR) diffusion tensor imaging indexes, and medial visual component (MVC) functional connectivity (FC) (MVC-MVC FC (iFC) and MVC-brain FC (eFC)) by linear regression, removing the effect of premorbid IQ, fatigue, and depression. Results: V2 atrophy, lower OR fractional anisotropy (FA) and MVC FC significantly influenced VPS in MS (at none or lesser extent in controls), even after removing the effect of Expanded Disability Status Scale and previous optic neuritis (V2 ( r2 = 0.210): β = +0.366, p = 0.046; OR FA ( r2 = 0.243): β = +0.378, p = 0.034; MVC iFC, for example, left cuneus ( r2 = 0.450): β = −0.613, p < 0.001; MVC eFC, for example, right precuneus-postcentral gyrus ( r2 = 0.368): β = −0.466, p = 0.002). Conclusion: Posterior visual pathway integrity, structural (V2 thickness and OR FA) and functional (MVC FC), may explain respectively up to 24% and 45% of VPS variability in MS.

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amira Abou-Dest ◽  
Cédric T. Albinet ◽  
Geoffroy Boucard ◽  
Michel Audiffren

This study examined whether regular swimming in older adults was related to better cognitive functioning and whether there were any global or selective positive effects of this physical activity (PA) on cognition. The cognitive performances of three groups of sixteen volunteer participants (young adults, sedentary older adults, and older adults who regularly practice swimming) were evaluated using a multitask approach. All participants performed a battery of ten tasks: two reaction time tasks assessing information processing speed and eight experimental tasks assessing three executive functions (EFs), (behavioral inhibition, working memory updating, and cognitive flexibility). The results showed that young adults performed significantly better than older adults on all examined cognitive functions. However, in older adults, regular swimming was related to better performance on the three EFs, but not on information processing speed. More precisely, five experimental tasks out of the eight tapping EFs were shown to be sensitive to positive effects from swimming practice. Finally, the demonstrated benefits of swimming on EFs were not necessarily linked to better cardiorespiratory fitness. The present findings illustrate the validity of using a multitask approach in examining the potential benefits of regular PA on cognitive aging.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessika Tawil ◽  
Chadia Haddad ◽  
Youssef Farchakh ◽  
Hala Sacre ◽  
Rita Nabout ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives : Textbooks are the major source of instruction, yet many Lebanese schools have partially introduced electronic devices, and have discreetly started to rely on them. Given the reported discrepancies between textbooks and tablets learning in international literature, it is essential to conduct a Lebanese study that compares both entities. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to assess the impact of tablet use at school on memory, attention and learning abilities among Lebanese children. Methods: This cross-sectional study, conducted between January and May 2019, enrolled 566 students aged of 11-13 years. Three schools were chosen conveniently for this study, one of them uses the Tablet and text books for students’ learning whereas the second one uses text books exclusively. Students were randomly chosen from the list given by the school administration. Results : Textbook learning was significantly associated with lower episodic memory score (better episodic memory) and lower visual memory score (better visual memory), lower attention score (better attention), lower processing speed score (better processing speed), lower mathematic skills score (better mathematic skills) compared to tablets and textbook learning. Conclusion : Learning is evolving to another level and forever changing. Many studies should be conducted in order to understand the importance of merging new and old techniques to ensure that the next generations are receiving what can positively affect their cognitive skills and their performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Hossein Sanjari Moghaddam ◽  
Behrang Shadloo ◽  
Helen Shahkhah ◽  
Abbas Tafakhori ◽  
Maryam Haghshomar ◽  
...  

This cross-sectional study is aimed at assessing the effects of opium use disorder (OUD) on attention, working memory, and information-processing speed. Thirty outpatients with OUD and 20 healthy controls (HCs) were assessed using a neuropsychological battery consisted of Auditory Verbal Learning Test-Revised (AVLT-R), Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R), Digit Forward and Backward Tests (DFT and DBT), and WAIS-R Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). The most affected cognitive functions in patients with OUD were detected by DBT and DSST. However, we found no significant difference between patients according to the route of administration. Within patients with OUD, DBT score was associated with opium use quantity (OUQ) ( r = − 0.385 ), and DBT ( r = 0.483 ) and DSST ( r = 0.542 ) scores were correlated with duration of use. Our findings indicated that working memory and information-processing speed are the most affected domains of cognitive functioning. DBT and DSST could be used as brief assessments in clinical settings to screen for cognitive deficits in patients with OUD.


VASA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 262-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian-Alexander Behrendt ◽  
Tilo Kölbel ◽  
Thea Schwaneberg ◽  
Holger Diener ◽  
Ralf Hohnhold ◽  
...  

Abstract. Background: Worldwide prevalence of peripheral artery disease (PAD) is increasing and peripheral vascular intervention (PVI) has become the primary invasive treatment. There is evidence that multidisciplinary team decision-making (MTD) has an impact on in-hospital outcomes. This study aims to depict practice patterns and time changes regarding MTD of different medical specialties. Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study design. 20,748 invasive, percutaneous PVI of PAD conducted in the metropolitan area of Hamburg (Germany) were consecutively collected between January 2004 and December 2014. Results: MTD prior to PVI was associated with lower odds of early unsuccessful termination of the procedures (Odds Ratio 0.662, p < 0.001). The proportion of MTD decreased over the study period (30.9 % until 2009 vs. 16.6 % from 2010, p < 0.001) while rates of critical limb-threatening ischemia (34.5 % vs. 42.1 %), patients´ age (70 vs. 72 years), PVI below-the-knee (BTK) (13.2 % vs. 22.4 %), and rates of severe TASC C/D lesions BTK (43.2 % vs. 54.2 %) increased (all p < 0.001). Utilization of MTD was different between medical specialties with lowest frequency in procedures performed by internists when compared to other medical specialties (7.1 % vs. 25.7 %, p < 0.001). Conclusions: MTD prior to PVI is associated with technical success of the procedure. Nonetheless, rates of MTD prior to PVI are decreasing during the study period. Future studies should address the impact of multidisciplinary vascular teams on long-term outcomes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolanta Majer ◽  
Sandra Pyda ◽  
Jerzy Robert Ladny ◽  
Antonio Rodriguez-Nunez ◽  
Lukasz Szarpak

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave L Dixon ◽  
William L Baker

BACKGROUND The impact and quality of a faculty members publications is a key factor in promotion and tenure decisions and career advancement. Traditional measures, including citation counts and journal impact factor, have notable limitations. Since 2010, alternative metrics have been proposed as another means of assessing the impact and quality of scholarly work. The Altmetric Attention Score is an objective score frequently used to determine the immediate reach of a published work across the web, including news outlets, blogs, social media, and more. Several studies evaluating the correlation between the Altmetric Attention Score and number of citations have found mixed results and may be discipline-specific. OBJECTIVE To determine the correlation between higher Altmetric Attention Scores and citation count for journal articles published in major pharmacy journals. METHODS This cross-sectional study evaluated articles from major pharmacy journals ranked in the top 10% according to the Altmetric Attention Score. Sources of attention that determined the Altmetric Attention Score were obtained, as well each articles open access status, article type, study design, and topic. Correlation between journal characteristics, including the Altmetric Attention Score and number of citations, was assessed using the Spearman’s correlation test. A Kruskal-Wallis 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the Altmetric Attention Scores between journals. RESULTS Six major pharmacy journals were identified. A total of 1,376 articles were published in 2017 and 137 of these represented the top 10% with the highest Altmetric Attention Scores. The median Altmetric Attention Score was 19 (IQR 15-28). Twitter and Mendeley were the most common sources of attention. Over half (56.2%) of the articles were original investigations and 49.8% were either cross-sectional, qualitative, or cohort studies. No significant correlation was found between the Altmetric Attention Score and citation count (rs=0.07, P = 0.485). Mendeley was the only attention source that correlated with the number of citations (rs=0.486, P<0.001). The median Altmetric Attention Score varied widely between each journal (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The overall median Altmetric Attention score of 19 suggests articles published in major pharmacy journals are near the top 5% of all scientific output. However, we found no correlation between the Altmetric Attention Score and number of citations for articles published in major pharmacy journals in the year 2017.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Agune Ashole Alto ◽  
Wanzahun Godana ◽  
Genet Gedamu

Background. Diarrheal diseases are still one of the major causes of morbidity in under-five children in sub-Saharan Africa. In Ethiopia, diarrhea is responsible for 9% of all deaths and is the major cause of under-five mortality. Objective. To assess the impact of community-led total sanitation and hygiene on the prevalence of diarrheal disease and factors associated among under-five children in Gamo Gofa Zone. Methods. Community-based comparative cross-sectional study design was used to compare the impact of community-led total sanitation and hygiene intervention on under-five diarrheal disease. Multistage sampling method was employed. The data were collected by using pretested structured questionnaires. Data quality was ensured by daily supervision completeness and consistency. The data were coded, entered, and cleaned by using Epi Info version 7 and were analyzed by using SPSS version 20. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were carried out by using binary logistic regression. Significance was declared by using p value of <0.05 and AOR with 95% confidence intervals. Results. The response rate of this study was 93.3%. The overall diarrhea prevalence was 27.5% (CI = (24.06, 30.97)) which was 18.9% (CI = (14.94, 23.2)) in implemented and 36.2%. (CI = (30.41, 41.59)) in nonimplemented woredas. Children whose age was between 12 and 23 months (AOR = 1.6) and greater than 24 months (AOR = 5), availability of handwashing facilities (AOR = 4), disposal of waste in open field (AOR = 9.7), unimproved source of drinking water (AOR = 6.5), using only water for handwashing (AOR = 6), children who started complementary feeding less than 6 months (AOR = 5.6) and greater than 6 months (AOR = 5.2), and utensils used to feed children such as bottle (AOR = 3.9) were the factors positively associated with diarrhea. Conclusion. The overall prevalence of under-five diarrhea was 27.5%. The prevalence was low in CLTSH woredas as compared with non-CLTSH woredas. The study showed that handwashing facility, using only water for handwashing, open refuse disposal, and unimproved source of drinking water among under-five had a statistically significant association with diarrhea occurrence in CLTSH nonimplemented areas. Integrated efforts are needed from the Ministry of Health together with the WASH Project in improving drinking water, handwashing facilities, and solid waste disposal practices.


Physiotherapy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 105 (3) ◽  
pp. 346-353
Author(s):  
Laura M. Mackey ◽  
Catherine Blake ◽  
Maire-Brid Casey ◽  
Camillus K. Power ◽  
Ray Victory ◽  
...  

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4556
Author(s):  
Anuradha Iddagoda ◽  
Eglantina Hysa ◽  
Helena Bulińska-Stangrecka ◽  
Otilia Manta

Some of the frequently used buzz words in the corporate sector include green leadership, green human resource management, green employee engagement and green work-life balance. The intention of this article is to identify and examine the logical reasons that govern “green work-life balance” or, in simple terms, “greenwashing” work-life balance. The paper also aims at providing a comprehensive conceptualization of work-life balance, while thoroughly examining the components of measuring the construct. Based on a cross-sectional study in the banking industry with a sample of 170 managerial employees, this study analyzes the impact of work-life balance on employee job performance mediated by employee engagement. Results support the assumed relationship between work-life balance and employee job performance embedded in employee engagement. The theoretical contribution of this study concerns the application of role behavior theory to describe the mechanisms shaping the relationship between work-life balance and job performance through employee engagement. The practical implications of the paper include recommendations for improving job performance by enhancing the work-life balance and strengthening employee engagement.


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