Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: where we have come from, trends, and future directions.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) refers to a range of conditions caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol. First described in the 1970s as fetal alcohol syndrome, continuing progress has been made in the understanding, recognition and treatment of what is now recognized to be a range of related neurodevelopmental disorders. FASD is common, especially in countries with higher levels of alcohol consumption such as those in Europe and North America, where the prevalence is estimated to be around 3%.

Learner evaluation of an immersive virtual reality mass casualty incident simulator for triage training.

Background: To minimize loss of life, modern mass casualty response requires swift identification, efficient triage categorization, and rapid hemorrhage control. Current training methods remain suboptimal. Our objective was to train first responders to triage a mass casualty incident using Virtual Reality (VR) simulation and obtain their impressions of the training's quality and effectiveness.

Inline dynamometry provides reliable measurements of quadriceps strength in healthy and ACL-reconstructed individuals and is a valid substitute for isometric electromechanical dynamometry following ACL reconstruction.

Background: Quadriceps strength testing is recommended to guide rehabilitation and mitigate the risk of second injury following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Hand-held dynamometry is a practical alternative to electromechanical dynamometry but demonstrates insufficient reliability and criterion validity in healthy and ACL-reconstructed participants respectively. The purpose of this study is to investigate the reliability and concurrent validity of inline dynamometry for measuring quadriceps strength.

Persistent Firing in Hippocampal CA1 Pyramidal Cells in Young and Aged Rats.

Persistent neuronal firing is often observed in working memory and temporal association tasks both in humans and animals, and is believed to retain necessary information in these tasks. We have reported that hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells are able to support persistent firing through intrinsic mechanisms in the presence of cholinergic agonists. However, it still remains largely unknown how persistent firing is affected by the development of animals and aging.

First Responder Virtual Reality Simulator to train and assess emergency personnel for mass casualty response.

As mass casualty incidents continue to escalate in the United States, we must improve frontline responder performance to increase the odds of victim survival. In this article, we describe the First Responder Virtual Reality Simulator, a high-fidelity, fully immersive, automated, programmable virtual reality (VR) simulation designed to train frontline responders to treat and triage victims of mass casualty incidents. First responder trainees don a wireless VR head-mounted display linked to a compatible desktop computer.

Evaluation of a pharmacy supported e-cigarette smoking cessation intervention in Northwest England.

Background: Cigarette smoking cessation has been described as the world's most important public health intervention. Electronic cigarettes are a relatively new tool for assisting smoking cessation but there is a lack of data on their efficacy. This article reports on a pharmacy supported e-cigarette smoking cessation intervention undertaken in a metropolitan area in the north of England.

The repurposing of Tebipenem pivoxil as alternative therapy for severe gastrointestinal infections caused by extensively drug-resistant spp.

Background: Diarrhoea remains one of the leading causes of childhood mortality globally. Recent epidemiological studies conducted in low-middle income countries (LMICs) identified spp. as the first and second most predominant agent of dysentery and moderate diarrhoea, respectively.

Prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in Greater Manchester, UK: An active case ascertainment study.

Background: Despite high levels of prenatal alcohol exposure in the UK, evidence on the prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) is lacking. This paper reports on FASD prevalence in a small sample of children in primary school.

Methods: A 2-phase active case ascertainment study was conducted in 3 mainstream primary schools in Greater Manchester, UK.

Enhanced modulation of cell-type specific neuronal responses in mouse dorsal auditory field during locomotion.

As we move through the environment we experience constantly changing sensory input that must be merged with our ongoing motor behaviors - creating dynamic interactions between our sensory and motor systems. Active behaviors such as locomotion generally increase the sensory-evoked neuronal activity in visual and somatosensory cortices, but evidence suggests that locomotion largely suppresses neuronal responses in the auditory cortex. However, whether this effect is ubiquitous across different anatomical regions of the auditory cortex is largely unknown.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: an overview of current evidence and activities in the UK.

Estimates for the UK suggest that alcohol consumption during pregnancy and prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)-the most common neurodevelopmental condition-are high. Considering the significant health and social impacts of FASD, there is a public health imperative to prioritise prevention, interventions and support. In this article, we outline the current state of play regarding FASD knowledge and research in the UK, which is characterised by a lack of evidence, a lack of dedicated funding and services, and consequently little policy formulation and strategic direction.

The BaSICS (Baby Skin Integrity Comparison Survey) study: A prospective experimental study using maternal observations to report the effect of baby wipes on the incidence of irritant diaper dermatitis in infants, from birth to eight weeks of age.

Background: Baby wipes have been shown to be safe and effective in maintaining skin integrity when compared to the use of water alone. However, no previous study has compared different formulations of wipe. The aim of the BaSICS study was to identify any differences in incidence of irritant diaper dermatitis (IDD) in infants assigned to three different brands of wipe, all marketed as suitable for neonates, but which contained varying numbers of ingredients.

Social prescribing for people with mental health needs living in disadvantaged communities: the Life Rooms model.

Background: People live socially complex lives and have different health care needs influenced by socio-economic factors such as deprivation, unemployment, and poor housing. Lack of access to community based social care results in people seeking social support from health care services. This study explores the Life Rooms as a social prescribing model addressing the social determinants of mental health by providing support and access to resources in a local community setting.

Neurodevelopmental outcomes in individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) with and without exposure to neglect: Clinical cohort data from a national FASD diagnostic clinic.

Unlabelled: Disentangling the relative developmental impact of prenatal alcohol exposure from postnatal neglect is clinically valuable for informing future service provision. In this study, developmental outcomes across groups are compared in a 'natural experiment'.

Methods: Clinical data from 99 persons with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) diagnoses were audited.

Developing a Conversational Virtual Standardized Patient to Enable Students to Practice History-Taking Skills.

Introduction: Although traditional virtual patient simulations are designed to teach and assess clinical reasoning skills, few employ conversational dialogue with the patients. The virtual standardized patients (VSPs) described herein represent standardized patients that students interview using natural language. Students take histories and develop differential diagnoses of the VSPs as much as they would with standardized or actual patients.

Prenatal alcohol exposure and traumatic childhood experiences: A systematic review.

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and traumatic childhood experiences (trauma) such as abuse or neglect can each cause central nervous system neurobiological changes or structural damage which can manifest as cognitive and behavioural dysfunction. In cases where both exposures have occurred, the risk of neurodevelopmental impairment may be greater, but this interaction has not been well studied. Here we present a systematic review that identified five primary research studies which investigated either the impact of trauma in children with PAE, or of PAE in children with trauma.

Implicit Alcohol-Related Expectancies and the Effect of Context.

Objective: The current study examined the impact of varying pictorial cues and testing contexts on implicit alcohol-related expectancies.

Method: Seventy-six participants were assigned randomly to complete an Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) in either a pub or lecture context. The IRAP exposed participants to pictorial cues that depicted an alcoholic beverage in the foreground of a pub (alcohol-congruent stimuli) or university lecture theater (alcohol-incongruent stimuli), and participants were required to match both positive and negative alcohol-related outcome expectancies to these stimuli.

"I have no clue what I drunk last night" using Smartphone technology to compare in-vivo and retrospective self-reports of alcohol consumption.

Aim: This research compared real-time measurements of alcohol consumption with retrospective accounts of alcohol consumption to examine possible discrepancies between, and contextual influences on, the different accounts.

Method: Building on previous investigations, a specifically designed Smartphone technology was utilized to measure alcohol consumption and contextual influences in de facto real-time. Real-time data (a total of 10,560 data points relating to type and number of drinks and current social / environmental context) were compared with daily and weekly retrospective accounts of alcohol consumption.

Is Radiotherapy Useful for Treating Pain in Mesothelioma?: A Phase II Trial.

Introduction: Radiotherapy is often used to treat pain in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), although there is limited evidence to support this. The aim of this trial was to assess the role of radiotherapy for the treatment of pain in MPM.

Methods: A multicentre, single arm phase II trial was conducted.

Historical model for editor and Office of Research Integrity cooperation in handling allegations, investigation, and retraction in a contentious (Abbs) case of research misconduct.

Cooperation between a journal editor and the federal Office of Research Integrity (ORI) in addressing investigations of research misconduct, each performing their own responsibilities while keeping each other informed of events and evidence, can be critical to the professional and regulatory resolution of a case. This paper describes the history of one of ORI's most contentious investigations that involved falsification of research on Parkinson's disease patients by James Abbs, Professor of Neurology, University of Wisconsin, published in the journal Neurology, which was handled cooperatively by the authors, who were the chief ORI investigator and the Editor-in-Chief of Neurology, respectively.

Research misconduct and its federal regulation: the origin and history of the Office of Research Integrity--with personal views by ORI's former associate director for investigative oversight.

Misconduct in science and research became the subject of significant public attention and Congressional scrutiny beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, which led to public statements, policies, and finally formal federal regulations being promulgated by Government agency officials. The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) in the Department of Health and Human Services was a major and very visible component of this process. This article provides a detailed history of the first two decades of federal research misconduct regulations and of ORI's history (under extremely difficult and unfair challenges), including personal views by the former ORI chief investigator and associate director.

Healthy living with persuasive technologies: framework, issues, and challenges.

While our Y2K worries about old computers "retiring" at midnight captured the television and news media attention, a more significant "old age" phenomenon snuck onto the scene with hardly a headline: the dawn of the age of the aged. (1) The over burdened health care system will face a worldwide wave of retirees who will live longer, cost more to treat, and demand new goods and services to help them stay healthy, active, and independent. Research in persuasive technologies and the associated usage of a computing system, device, or application intentionally designed to change a person's attitude or behavior in a predetermined way is showing the potential to assist in improving healthy living, reduce the costs on the health care system, and allow the aged to maintain a more independent life.