The magnitude of neurocognitive impairment is overestimated in depression: the role of motivation, debilitating momentary influences, and the overreliance on mean differences

Background Meta-analyses agree that depression is characterized by neurocognitive dysfunctions relative to nonclinical controls. These deficits allegedly stem from impairments in functionally corresponding brain areas. Increasingly, studies suggest that some performance deficits are in part caused by negative task-taking attitudes such as poor motivation or the presence of distracting symptoms. A pilot study confirmed that these factors mediate neurocognitive deficits in depression. The validity of these results is however questionable given they were based solely on self-report measures. The present study addresses this caveat by having examiners assess influences during a neurocognitive examination, which were concurrently tested for their predictive value on performance. Methods Thirty-three patients with depression and 36 healthy controls were assessed on a battery of neurocognitive tests. The examiner completed the Impact on Performance Scale, a questionnaire evaluating mediating influences that may impact performance. Results On average, patients performed worse than controls at a large effect size. When the total score of the Impact on Performance Scale was accounted for by mediation analysis and analyses of covariance, group differences were reduced to a medium effect size. A total of 30% of patients showed impairments of at least one standard deviation below the mean. Conclusions This study confirms that neurocognitive impairment in depression is likely overestimated; future studies should consider fair test-taking conditions. We advise researchers to report percentages of patients showing performance deficits rather than relying solely on overall group differences. This prevents fostering the impression that the majority of patients exert deficits, when in fact deficits are only true for a subgroup.

Impact of Sports Anxiety on Sports Performance of Players

This study aimed to assess the impact of sports anxiety on the sports performance of players. The sample was comprised of 110 sports players (68 males, 42 females). The data was collected by using the probability sampling technique of purposive sampling from Sports Players that belong to Bahawalpur and Multan cities of Punjab Province. The age range of the respondents of this cross-sectional research was from 18 to 35years. Demographic information such as age, gender, qualifications, Area, marital status, socioeconomic status, and which kind of sport they play was also asked from them. Two questionnaires were utilized for the purpose of data collection, one was a 15-item, The Sport Competition Anxiety Test, and the second was a 6-item, Athlete’s Subjective Performance Scale. After data collection, SPSS (1.0.0.1406latest 21 version) was used for the analysis. The findings showed that if the sports anxiety increases, the sports performance of the player will decrease and vice versa (r=-.33). Moreover, sports anxiety was also a significant predictor of sports performance. The results also revealed no significant gender differences in sports anxiety and sports performance.

A Meta-Analytic Review of the Effect of Socioeconomic Status on Academic Performance

The two main purposes of the current meta-analysis were (a) to determine the relation between socioeconomic status (SES) of students and academic performance (AP) (b) and evaluate the effect of several potential moderating factors in this relation. Data covered the publications between 2010 and 2019, and the dataset consisted of 48 independent studies that included 62 different samples, and the total sample was 386.601. Findings revealed that the relation between SES and academic performance represented a moderate positive correlation. All moderators, type of SES measure, academic performance scale, location, grade level, subjects of academic performance, and year, produced significant effects, respectively. These findings were discussed for every category of moderators with the related literature.

Benzodiazepine Use and Morbidity-Mortality Outcomes in a Geriatric Palliative Care Unit: A Retrospective Review

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Patients often experience delirium at the end of life. Benzodiazepine use may be associated with an increased risk of developing delirium. Alternate medications used in conjunction with benzodiazepines may serve as an independent precipitant of delirium. The aim is to understand the role of benzodiazepines in precipitating delirium and advanced mortality in palliative care population at the end of life. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A retrospective medical chart review was conducted at a hospice and palliative care inpatient unit between the periods of June 2017–December 2017 and October 2017–November 2018. It included patients in hospice and palliative care inpatient units who received a benzodiazepine and those who did not. Patient characteristics, as well as Palliative Performance Scale score, diagnosis, and occurrence of admission, terminal, and/or recurrent delirium, were collected and analyzed. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Use of a benzodiazepine was not significantly associated with overall mortality nor cause-specific death without terminal delirium rate. However, it was significantly associated with higher cause-specific death with terminal delirium rate and a higher recurrent delirium rate. <b><i>Discussion:</i></b> This retrospective chart review suggests an association between benzodiazepine use and specific states of delirium and cause-specific death. However, it does not provide strong evidence on the use of this drug, especially at the end of life, as it pertains to the overall mortality rate. Suggested is a contextual approach to the use of benzodiazepines and the need to consider Palliative Performance Scale score and goals of care in the administration of this drug at varying periods during patient length of stay.

Interplay among positive and negative symptoms, neurocognition, social cognition, and functional outcome in clinically stable patients with schizophrenia: a network analysis

Background: Schizophrenia has a broad range of interrelated symptoms and impairment in functioning. The objective of the study was to explore the interplay between positive symptoms, negative symptoms, neurocognition, social cognition and functional outcome in patients with schizophrenia using network analysis. Methods: Participants were 64 clinically stable patients with schizophrenia. Psychopathologic, neurocognition, social cognition, and functional outcome were measured using the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms, Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms, Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination III, Faces test, Reading the Mind in the Eyes test, and Personal Social Performance scale. Results: The network analysis suggested that functional outcome was the most central in the network followed by avolition and asociality. Functioning was directly connected to avolition, asociality, blunted affect, neurocognition and emotion recognition. The positive symptoms were the most remote and therefore the least important node. Conclusion: The high centrality of functioning suggests the need for improving of everyday life skills for patients with schizophrenia. Moreover, treatment of specific negative symptoms, neurocognition and emotion recognition could also enhance functional outcome.

Psychological Ethical Climate in Schools and Teachers’ Performance: Analyzing the Effect on Government and Private Teachers

The present research examined the impact of psychological ethical climate on teachers’ performance in government and private schools of Bahawalpur. In this study, the descriptive research design was used, and data were collected through two scales, such as the psychological ethical climate scale developed by Schwepker, Ferrell, and Ingram (1997) and the teachers’ job performance scale developed by Akhtar and Haider (2017). The simple random and convenient sampling techniques were used to select government ESEs and private school teachers and their principals to rate their performance. Total 280 questionnaires were distributed among teachers, and 60 questionnaires were provided to principals, and the response rate was 100% due to vigorous follow-up by the researchers. Researchers applied different statistical techniques to the collected data to get accurate results. This study revealed that both government and private teachers highly displayed a psychological ethical climate in their schools. The study results showed that psychological ethical climate has a statistically significant effect on teachers’ performance in private schools. At the same time, the effect was insignificant in government schools.

COMPLICATIONS OF SURGICAL TREATMENT OF SPINAL METASTASES

ABSTRACT Objectives: To evaluate the complications of surgical treatment in a group of patients with spinal metastasis with epidural compression, undergoing surgical treatment. Methods: This is a comparative retrospective study (level of evidence III), which evaluated 96 patients with spinal metastases undergoing surgical treatment. Intra- and postoperative complications were obtained from the patients’ medical records and correlated with the following clinical characteristics: tumor type, tumor location, neurological deficit, age, number of affected vertebrae, Tokuhashi scale, Tomita scale, Karnofsky performance scale, and type of approach. Results: Complications of surgical treatment were observed in 29 (30.20%) patients. Surgical wound infection was the most frequent complication, observed in 15% of patients. Conclusions: Surgical treatment of spinal metastases presents complications in about 30% of patients and their occurrence should be considered in the treatment planning, weighing the risks and benefits for achieving the treatment goals. Level III evidence; Retrospective Study.

BIOM-29. ASSOCIATION OF PLASMA microRNA-21 EXPRESSION WITH KARNOFSKY PERFORMANCE SCALE SCORES IN GLIOMA PATIENTS

Gliomas are one of the most common primary brain tumors. MicroRNA-21 (miRNA-21) has been shown in previous studies to be associated with prognosis in glioma patients. However, similar studies in the Asian population, particularly in Indonesia, are very limited. This study aimed to find the association of plasma miRNA-21 expression with functional status measured by Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) in Indonesian glioma patients. The patients were enrolled from a neuro-oncology referral center in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. MiRNA-21 expression from plasma was measured by real-time quantitative PCR. Clinical data were obtained from medical records. KPS scores were classified as low (&lt; 70) and high (&gt; 70). In total, 50 patients were included in this study. Most patients were diagnosed with WHO grade IV gliomas (30.4%), followed by grade II (30.4%), grade III (21.4%), and grade I (5.4%). Most patients (64%) have low KPS scores (&lt; 70). Patients in the low KPS scores group have significantly higher miRNA-21 expression compared to patients in the high KPS scores group (2-∆CT 4.26 vs. 0.68, p=0.002). In conclusion, higher expression of plasma miRNA-21 is associated with worse functional status in glioma patients as measured by KPS.

Seksisme sebagai moderator hubungan sense of community dan kinerja mahasiswa organisatoris

The performance of student organizations is a crucial variable in maintaining their existence and achieving their organizational goals. One of the important factors that influence this is the degree of sense of community of the members of the organization. Sexism as a gender prejudice is considered to have the potential to influence aspects of the sense of community and organizational performance. This study aims to examine sexism as a moderator on the relationship between sense of community and organizational performance. This study uses a quantitative method and determines the subject using a random sampling technique to the members of student organizations with a total of 223 subjects. The measuring instrument used is Sense of Community version 2, The Ambivalent of Sexism Inventory, and an Organizational Performance Scale. Data analysis used the method of moderated regression analysis. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between sense of community and organizational performance, and sexism as a moderator variable had an insignificant value on the relationship between sense of community and organizational performance. Keywords: Organizational performance, sense of community, sexism, university student

Evaluation of Functional Outcome Following Resection of Supratentorial Lesions at Eloquent Brain Areas

Objectives Microsurgical management of intrinsic brain tumors aims to maximize the extent of resection and to minimize the postoperative morbidity. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the functional outcome following surgical excision of supratentorial lesions at eloquent brain areas such as language, motor and sensory cortex, regarding the extent of resection, the karnofsky performance scale, the neurological deficit and seizure control. Methods A prospective study of 25 patients aged 15-55 years, 15 females and 10 males underwent surgical excision of supra-tentorial lesions at eloquent brain, The Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS), seizure attacks and neurological deficits were analyzed before and after resection. Functional resection was implemented using preoperative functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI), intraoperative image guidance and electrophysiological monitoring under total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) or awake craniotomy and the extent of resection was quantified postoperatively. Results Preoperative median KPS was 76.8%. It improved one year post-operatively to 89.2%. One patient died 3 weeks postoperatively due to neurological, cardiac and chest complications. The pathology report revealed recurrent metastatic adenocarcinoma GIII. Preoperatively, twenty-three patients had seizure attacks, 10 were controlled and 13 were uncontrolled on medication. Postoperatively seven patients were Engels classification IC and 17 patients were controlled on anti-epileptics (Engels classification ID). Preoperatively 19 patients had hemiparesis/ hemiplegia, while immediate (one week) postoperatively 13 patients improved, 8 patients experienced initial worsening of the preoperative deficits and 4 patients had the same deficit as preoperatively while at 1-year postoperatively, 24 patients improved. Gross total resection (&gt;95%) was achieved in 19 patients, subtotal resection (&gt;75%) in 4 patients and partial resection (&gt;65%) in 2 patients. Conclusion Functional resection is believed to be a key prognostic factor in supratentorial lesions at eloquent brain regarding improving of karnofsky performance scale, neurological outcome and seizure control.