Remote Dyslexia Screening for Bilingual Children

Ideally, language and reading skills in bilingual children are assessed in both languages spoken in order to avoid misdiagnoses of communication or learning disorders. Due to limited capacity of clinical and educational staff, computerized screenings that allow for automatic evaluation of the children’s performance on reading tasks (accuracy and speed) might pose a useful alternative in clinical and school settings. In this study, a novel web-based screening platform for language and reading assessment is presented. This tool has been preliminarily validated with monolingual Italian, Mandarin–Italian and English–Italian speaking primary school children living and schooled in Italy. Their performances in the screening tasks in Italian and—if bilingual—in their native language were compared to the results of standardized/conventional reading assessment tests as well as parental and teacher questionnaires. Correlations revealed the tasks that best contributed to the identification of risk for the presence of reading disorders and showed the general feasibility and usefulness of the computerized screening. In a further step, both screening administrators (Examiners) and child participants (Examinees) were invited to participate in usability studies, which revealed general satisfaction and provided suggestions for further improvement of the screening platform. Based on these findings, the potential of the novel web-based screening platform is discussed.

Risky Alcohol Use and Comorbidity in a Swedish Adolescent Emergency Psychiatric Inpatient Population

Introduction. Underage drinking is associated with poor mental health. Early detection for risky alcohol use is recommended, although less implemented in adolescent care. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of risky alcohol use and psychiatric comorbidity. Methods. Over a nine-month period, 145 eligible adolescents admitted to the child and adolescent emergency unit in Malmö, Sweden, were offered computerized screening with Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) and Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT). Results. Ninety-six patients (73 girls and 23 boys) agreed to participate. The most common diagnoses were affective disorder (41%) and anxiety disorder (27%). Risky alcohol use was found among 33% of the girls and 22% of the boys ( p = 0.45 ) and did not differ between diagnostic categories. There was a positive correlation between AUDIT-C and DUDIT scores ( p = 0.019 ). Among adolescents with risky alcohol use, 33% of the girls and 60% of the boys also had a risky drug use. Conversely, 47% of the girls and 60% of the boys with risky drug use also had a risky alcohol use. Conclusion. In view of the poor prognosis of risky alcohol use in adolescents, alcohol and drug habits should be assessed when adolescents seek psychiatric emergency care.

Assessing the Attitudes of Greek Nurses Toward Computerized Dementia Screening

Background: Despite the abundance of research on computerized dementia screening tests, the attitudes of hospital personnel toward this screening method have not been investigated. Objective: 1) To conduct a confirmatory factor analysis of the first part of a two-part questionnaire about computerized dementia screening. 2) To assess the attitudes of Greek nurses toward computerized dementia screening. 3) To assess barriers to future implementation of computerized dementia screening in the Greek healthcare system, as reported by nurses. Methods: 161 Greek nurses from two urban public general hospitals who participated in a dementia training program were recruited. They were asked to complete a two-part questionnaire about computerized dementia screening. The first part of the questionnaire assesses attitudes toward dementia screening while the second part of the questionnaire assesses barriers to its implementation. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis on the first part of the questionnaire suggested a two-factor structure (feasibility/acceptability). The total score of all items loading on each factor was calculated. For feasibility, scores ranged between 10 and 25 (M = 19.38, SD = 3.80). For acceptability, scores ranged between 6 and 20 (M = 15.27, SD = 2.76). The main barriers to implementation were cost of equipment, insufficient training, lack of a plan for the integration of computerized screening tests in the daily routine of the hospital and time needed for staff training. Conclusion: The positive attitude of nurses supports the implementation of computerized dementia screening in public hospitals as long as identified barriers are addressed.

Psychometric Concerns in the Assessment of Trauma-Related Symptoms in Older Adults

Assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in older adults is still in its infancy despite reflections on this subject in past literature. Factors that influence assessment are traumas that occurred long in the past, lower prevalence, the fact that older people complain less, more misinterpretation of avoiding and intrusion symptoms, more somatic comorbidity, and higher risk of cognitive impairment. The Clinician Administered PTSD Scale is mostly used to diagnose PTSD, but is less researched in older individuals. Only two screening instruments have been validated specifically for older adults, the PTSD Checklist (PCL) and the Self-Rating Inventory for PTSD. The PCL scale has been used more often, has been translated in various languages, and is also suitable for clinician rating, which is considered more appropriate for older adults. The PCL-5, based on the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, criteria was researched in older veterans but needs further validation. Biological measures have not yet been adapted for assessment in the complex biological systems of older age. Multimethod assessment and computerized screening are becoming more important and can address many of the difficulties in this field. Finally, much can be learned from knowledge already acquired from younger adults.

Retinal Blood Vessel and Optic Disc Segmentation

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is a main source of vision misfortune in diabetic patients. DR is a predominantly caused because of the harm caused in retinal veins of a diabetic patients. It is fundamental to recognize and fragment their tinal veins for DR identification and determination, which avoids prior vision misfortune in diabetic patients. The PC helped programmed discovery and division of veins through the end of optic location district in Retina. Optic Disc (OD) discovery is a principle step while creating computerized screening framework for diabetic retinopathy. This is a technique to naturally recognize the situation of the OD in advanced retinal fundus pictures. The strategy begins by normalizing glow and difference all through the picture utilizing brightening evening out and versatile histogram balance techniques individually. The OD recognition calculation depends on coordinating the normal directional example of the retinal veins. Henceforth, a straightforward coordinated channel is proposed to generally coordinate the headings of the vessels at the OD region. The retinal vessels are portioned utilizing a basic and standard 2-D Gaussian coordinated channel.

THE PREVALENCE OF DRUG–DRUG INTERACTIONS OF PRESCRIPTIONS DISPENSED IN COMMUNITY PHARMACIES IN NAJAF CITY-IRAQ

Objectives: The main objectives of this work were to estimate the frequency, type, and nature of possible drug–drug interactions in prescriptions dispensed from community pharmacies in Al-Najaf city, secondary objectives were the study of the association between specialty of physicians and the rate of recurrence of drug–drug interactions and to determine medication classes, which were involved in possible drug–drug interactions. Methods: To investigate this study, 211 prescriptions dispensed in three community pharmacies in Al-Najaf city were collected and by the computerized screening program to identify drug–drug interactions. Results: The results showed that the total number of interactions was recognized to be 41% of all prescriptions with the prevalence of major drug– drug interactions was 14%, minor was 16%, and moderate was 70%. Conclusions: This study concluded that most identified drug–drug interactions were recognized in prescriptions written by an internal medicine specialist, orthopedics, general practitioners, an ear-nose-throat specialist, and general surgeon. The ratio of drug–drug interactions/number of prescriptions increased with increasing the number of drugs prescribed per patient (r=0.93, regression p<0.05). This study suggested that the role of the pharmacist should be moved from medication-oriented to patient-oriented, and the clinical pharmacists should have a vital function in recognizing and avoiding drug–drug interactions in prescriptions dispensed to patients.