EXPRESS: When Two Actors Perform Different Tasks: Still No Evidence for Shared Task-Sets in Joint Task Switching

Two different variations of joint task switching led to different conclusions as to whether co-acting individuals share the same task-sets. The present study aimed at bridging this gap by replicating the version in which two actors performed two different tasks. Experiment 1 showed switch costs across two actors in a joint condition, which agreed with previous studies, but also yielded even larger switch costs in a solo condition, which contradicted the claim that actors represent an alternative task as their own when it is carried out by the co-actor but not when no one carries it out. Experiments 2 and 3 further examined switch costs in the solo condition with the aim to rule out possible influences of task instructions for and experiences with the other task that was not assigned to the actor. Before participants were instructed on the second of the two tasks, switch costs were still obtained without a co-actor when explicit task names (“COLOUR” and “SHAPE”) served as go/nogo signals (Experiment 2), but not when arbitrary symbols (“XXXX” and “​​​​”) served as go/nogo signals (Experiment 3). The results thus imply that switch costs depend on participants’ knowledge of task cues being assigned to two different tasks, but not on whether the other task is performed by a co-actor. These findings undermine the assumption that switch costs in the joint conditions reflect shared task-sets between co-actors in this procedure.

Musculoskeletal Changes in Hemophilia Patients Subsequent to COVID−19 Lockdown

(1) Background. The lockdown period due to the COVID−19 pandemic has drastically decreased levels of physical activity in the population. Hemophilia is characterized by hemarthrosis that leads to chronic, progressive and degenerative joint deterioration. (2) Methods. This observational study recruited 27 patients with hemophilia and arthropathy. Knee, ankle and elbow joints were assessed. The frequency of clinical hemarthrosis, pain intensity, pressure pain threshold, and joint ROM were evaluated. (3) Results. Following lockdown, a significant deterioration of joint condition, perceived joint pain and range of motion was noted in all joints. There were no changes in the frequency of knee hemarthrosis, while the frequency of ankle hemarthrosis significantly reduced. However, the frequency of elbow hemarthrosis increased. Depending on the degree of hemophilia severity, there were changes in pressure pain threshold in the elbow and in pain intensity and range of motion of the ankle joint. According to the type of treatment, i.e., prophylaxis vs. on-demand treatment, there were differences in the joint condition in elbows and the plantar flexion movement of the ankle. There were no differences in the knee joint based on the severity of the disease, the type of treatment or the development of inhibitors (4). Conclusions. Because of the COVID−19 lockdown, the musculoskeletal status of patients with hemophilia deteriorated. Joint condition, perceived pain, and range of motion were significantly affected. The frequency of clinical hemarthrosis did not increase during this period. A more active therapeutic model could prevent rapid deterioration in patients with hemophilic arthropathy during prolonged sedentary periods.

Quality of life and its predictors among adult patients with haemophilic arthropathy. An observational study

Background Recurrent hemarthrosis that begin in childhood lead to progressive joint deterioration. Patients with haemophilia have chronic pain, functional disability and a reduced perception of health-related quality of life. Purpose To analyse the perceived quality of life of adult patients with haemophilic arthropathy and its relationship with pain, joint condition, kinesiophobia and catastrophism. Methods Eighty-three adult patients with haemophilia were included in this multicentre, cross-sectional, descriptive study. Perceived quality of life (36-Item Short Form Health Survey), perceived usual and maximum pain (visual analogue scale), joint condition (Haemophilia Joint Health Score), kinesiophobia (Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia) and catastrophism (Pain Catastrophizing Scale) were assessed. Sociodemographic, clinical and therapeutic variables and drug consumption for pain control were collected. Descriptive statistics used means and standard deviations. The correlation of quality of life with the dependent variables was calculated with the Pearson correlation test. The differences in quality of life as a function of the binomial variables were calculated with Student’s t-test for independent samples. Results Physical component of quality of life perceived by patients with hemophilia is lower than Spanish population (30.51 VS 48.85). Regarding the mental component, patients with hemophilia showed higher values (56.07 VS 49.97). Catastrophism correlated (p < .05) with all items of quality of life questionnaire. Kinesiophobia correlated (p < .05) with all items of quality of life except to role-emotional (r = -.18; p > .05). Habitual and maximal joint pain correlated with all items except to role-emotional (r = − .19 and r = − .09, respectively) and mental component score (r = − .16 and r = − .07, respectively). Catastrophism and weekly drug intake were inversely correlated with quality of life. Age was positively correlated with perceived quality of life. There were differences in quality of life as a function of the severity of haemophilia and the intake of drugs for pain control. Conclusions The perceived quality of life of adult patients with haemophilia is worse than that of the Spanish population. Pain, kinesiophobia, catastrophism, haemophilia severity and the intake of pain-control medication influence the quality of life of these patients.

When Two Actors Perform Different Tasks: Still No Evidence for Shared Task-Sets in Joint Task Switching

Two different variations of joint task switching led to different conclusions as to whether co-acting individuals share the same task-sets. The present study aimed at bridging this gap by replicating the version in which two actors performed two different tasks. Experiment 1 showed switch costs across two actors in a joint condition, which agreed with previous studies, but also yielded even larger switch costs in a solo condition, which contradicted the claim that actors represent an alternative task as their own when it is carried out by the co-actor but not when no one carries it out. Experiments 2 and 3 further examined switch costs in the solo condition with the aim to rule out possible influences of task instructions for and experiences with the other task that was not assigned to the actor. Before participants were instructed on the second of the two tasks, switch costs were still obtained without a co-actor when explicit task names (“COLOUR” and “SHAPE”) served as go/nogo signals (Experiment 2), but not when arbitrary symbols (“XXXX” and “++++”) served as go/nogo signals (Experiment 3). The results thus imply that switch costs depend on participants’ knowledge of task cues being assigned to two different tasks, but not on whether the other task is performed by a co-actor. These findings undermine the assumption that switch costs in the joint conditions reflect shared task-sets between co-actors in this procedure.

Fibrin Polymerization Ability Influences Joint Condition in Patients with Severe Haemophilia

Background:Joint damage is the most frequent and most debilitating comorbidity of haemophilia and can be prevented by adequate prophylactic treatment. Nevertheless, many causes and not only plasma levels of the factor affect joint damage in severe haemophilia (SH) patients. One to be considered is variability on fibrin polymerization capacity since it might influence the bleeding tendency and, consequently, would affect the joint condition in SH patients. To our knowledge, there are not enough studies about that. Aim:This work aimed to evaluate if there exists a relationship between fibrin capacity of polymerization and joint condition in SH patients. Methods:This is a prospective and transversal study that was approved by Ethics Committee from Hospital Universitario La Paz. Twenty eight SH patients (25 with SHA, 5 of them with inhibitors; 3 with SHB, 2 of them with inhibitor), median age [p25-p75]=41 [29.8-51.3] years old) were recruited. Joint condition was evaluated using the HEAD-US score. Plasma level of fibrinogen (Fib) was determined by Clauss method. Rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) was performed with fibTEM, an extrinsically activated test with tissue factor and the platelet inhibitor cytochalasin D. fibTEM results correlate well in many cases with the Clauss Fib assay, but is additionally influenced by fibrin polymerization ability which cannot reliably be detected with clotting tests. Fibrinogen capacity to increase the clot strength was evaluated by the ratio R= Fib/fibTEM maximum clot firmness (MCFfibTEM) which means the plasma concentration of Fib needed to increase maximum clot firmness in 1 mm. Data were analysed with GraphPrism Pad 6.0. Results:Median value of Fib was 306 [263-341] mg/dl, MCFfibTEM = 12 [10-15] mm and R= 25.0 [20.5-29.5] mg/dl/mm. Patients were classified taking into account the value of the 25th percentile of each variable (Fib, MCFfibTEM and R). Subjects with Fib ≤ 263 mg/dl were considered patients with low fibrinogen level, those with MCFfibTEM ≤ 10 mm were considered patients with low platelet independent maximum clot strength and subjects with a R &lt; 20.5 mg/dl/mm were considered good responders to fibrinogen. Based on this analysis, neither Fib nor MCFfibTEM influenced the joint condition. However, patients with poor response to fibrinogen (R ≥ 20.6 mg/dl/mm) had a significantly greater joint damage than the good responders to fibrinogen (R &lt; 20.6 mg/dl/mm) (Table 1). Poor responders to fibrinogen had frequently joint damage in ankles followed by elbows and knees being cartilage the most commonly affected joint compartment. Good responders to fibrinogen only presented milder joint alterations in elbows and ankles. Conclusions: Our results suggested that polymerization capacity of fibrin may be variable between patients with SH and might influence joint condition. More patients need to be recruited to confirm this finding. This work was supported by grants from FIS-FONDOS FEDER (PI19/00631 and PI19/00772). EMM holds a predoctoral fellowship from Fundación Española de Trombosis y Hemostasia (FETH-SETH). Disclosures Fernandez-Bello: Pfizer:Speakers Bureau;Novartis:Speakers Bureau;Stago:Speakers Bureau;Roche:Speakers Bureau;NovoNordisk:Current Employment, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;Takeda:Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;SOBI,:Research Funding.de la Corte:Pfizer:Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;NovoNordisk:Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;Takeda:Speakers Bureau;Roche:Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;Sobi:Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;Bayer:Speakers Bureau.Alvarez Román:Novartis:Speakers Bureau;Bayer:Consultancy;Grifols:Research Funding;Pfizer,:Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;Roche:Speakers Bureau;NovoNordisk,:Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;Takeda:Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;SOBI,:Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau.Martín:SOBI:Research Funding;NovoNordisk:Speakers Bureau;Novartis:Speakers Bureau;Roche:Speakers Bureau;Pfizer:Research Funding, Speakers Bureau.Rivas Pollmar:Pfizer:Speakers Bureau;Roche:Speakers Bureau;Novartis:Speakers Bureau.García Barcenilla:Novartis:Speakers Bureau;Bayer:Speakers Bureau;Roche:Speakers Bureau;Pfizer,:Speakers Bureau;Takeda:Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;NovoNordisk:Research Funding, Speakers Bureau.Canales:Janssen:Honoraria;Sandoz:Speakers Bureau;Takeda:Speakers Bureau;Karyopharm:Honoraria;Novartis:Honoraria;Celgene:Honoraria;Roche:Honoraria;Gilead:Honoraria;Sandoz:Honoraria;iQone:Honoraria;Janssen:Speakers Bureau;Janssen:Honoraria;Roche:Speakers Bureau;Karyopharm:Honoraria;Sandoz:Speakers Bureau;Novartis:Honoraria;Takeda:Speakers Bureau;Roche:Honoraria;Sandoz:Honoraria;Janssen:Speakers Bureau;Roche:Speakers Bureau.Butta:Takeda:Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;SOBI:Speakers Bureau;Pfizer:Speakers Bureau;ROCHE:Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;Novartis:Speakers Bureau;Grifols:Research Funding;NovoNordisk:Speakers Bureau.Jimenez-Yuste:F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd, Novo Nordisk, Takeda, Sobi, Pfizer:Consultancy;Grifols, Novo Nordisk, Takeda, Sobi, Pfizer:Research Funding;F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd, Novo Nordisk, Takeda, Sobi, Pfizer, Grifols, Octapharma, CSL Behring, Bayer:Honoraria.