Unlabelled: Early identification of emotional and behavioural difficulties in very young children is crucial for intervention and prevention. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a widely used measure of child and adolescent mental health that is brief, cost-effective, and easy to administer. The aims of this study were to establish the validity and reliability of the preschool SDQ in UK 1-2-year-olds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMultiple studies have explored the factor structure of working memory (WM) tasks, yet few have done so controlling for both the domain and category of the memory items in a single study. In the current pre-registered study, we conducted a large-scale latent variable analysis using variant forms of n-back and backward recall tasks to test whether they measured a single underlying construct, or were distinguished by stimuli-, domain-, or paradigm-specific factors. Exploratory analyses investigated how the resulting WM factor(s) were linked to fluid intelligence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: In premenopausal individuals, vaginal microbiota diversity and lack of Lactobacillus dominance are associated with greater mucosal inflammation, which is linked to a higher risk of cervical dysplasia and infections. It is not known if the association between the vaginal microbiota and inflammation is present after menopause, when the vaginal microbiota is generally higher-diversity and fewer people have Lactobacillus dominance.
Methods: This is a post hoc analysis of a subset of postmenopausal individuals enrolled in a randomized trial for treatment of moderate-severe vulvovaginal discomfort that compared vaginal moisturizer, estradiol, or placebo.
Background: Peripheral nerve biopsy is a valuable final diagnostic tool; however, histopathological results can be non-diagnostic.
Aims: We aim to identify quality improvement measures by evaluating the pre-biopsy assessment and diagnostic yield of specific histopathological diagnosis.
Methods: This was a retrospective study based on 10 years of experience with peripheral nerve biopsies at a single centre.
This systematic review and meta-analysis considered evidence of guided play compared to direct instruction or free play to support children's learning and development. Interventions from 39 studies were reviewed (published 1977-2020); 17 were included in meta-analysis (N = 3893; M = 1-8 years; M 49.8%; M White 41%, African American/Black 28%, Hispanic 19%).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe microbiome of the female genital tract (FGT) is closely linked to reproductive health outcomes. Diverse, anaerobe-dominated communities with low abundance are associated with a number of adverse reproductive outcomes, such as preterm birth, cervical dysplasia, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. Vaginal dysbiosis is associated with local mucosal inflammation, which likely serves as a biological mediator of poor reproductive outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDeveloping and deploying new diagnostic tests are difficult, but the need to do so in response to a rapidly emerging pandemic such as COVID-19 is crucially important. During a pandemic, laboratories play a key role in helping healthcare providers and public health authorities detect active infection, a task most commonly achieved using nucleic acid-based assays. While the landscape of diagnostics is rapidly evolving, PCR remains the gold-standard of nucleic acid-based diagnostic assays, in part due to its reliability, flexibility and wide deployment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmidst the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there is uncertainty regarding potential lasting impacts on children's health and educational outcomes. Play, a fundamental part of childhood, may be integral to children's health during crises. We undertook a rapid review of the impact of quarantine, isolation and other restrictive environments on play and whether play mitigates adverse effects of such restrictions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDeveloping and deploying new diagnostic tests is difficult, but the need to do so in response to a rapidly emerging pandemic such as COVID-19 is crucially important for an effective response. In the early stages of a pandemic, laboratories play a key role in helping health care providers and public health authorities detect active infection, a task most commonly achieved using nucleic acid-based assays. While the landscape of diagnostics is rapidly evolving, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) remains the gold-standard of nucleic acid-based diagnostic assays, in part due to its reliability, flexibility, and wide deployment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to enhance the efficacy and generalisation of working memory (WM) training, but there has been little systematic investigation into how coupling task-specific WM training with stimulation impacts more specifically on transfer to untrained tasks. This randomised controlled trial investigated the boundary conditions to transfer by testing firstly whether the benefits of training on backward digit recall (BDR) extend to untrained backward recall tasks and n-back tasks with different materials, and secondly which, if any, form of transfer is enhanced by tDCS. Forty-eight participants were allocated to one of three conditions: BDR training with anodal (10 min, 1 mA) or sham tDCS, or visual search training with sham tDCS, applied over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnusually large outbreaks of mumps across the United States in 2016 and 2017 raised questions about the extent of mumps circulation and the relationship between these and prior outbreaks. We paired epidemiological data from public health investigations with analysis of mumps virus whole genome sequences from 201 infected individuals, focusing on Massachusetts university communities. Our analysis suggests continuous, undetected circulation of mumps locally and nationally, including multiple independent introductions into Massachusetts and into individual communities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
December 2017
When infants and adults communicate, they exchange social signals of availability and communicative intention such as eye gaze. Previous research indicates that when communication is successful, close temporal dependencies arise between adult speakers' and listeners' neural activity. However, it is not known whether similar neural contingencies exist within adult-infant dyads.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSocial media has become an increasingly prevalent fixture in youths' lives, with over 90% of teenagers reporting daily usage. These online sites and applications have provided many positive opportunities for youths to connect and share ideas with others; however, social media has also become a major platform for cyberbullying. Victims often experience negative health outcomes directly related to cyberbullying.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSchwann cell dedifferentiation from a myelinating to a progenitor-like cell underlies the remarkable ability of peripheral nerves to regenerate following injury. However, the molecular identity of the differentiated and dedifferentiated states in vivo has been elusive. Here, we profiled Schwann cells acutely purified from intact nerves and from the wound and distal regions of severed nerves.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmunotherapy for metastatic melanoma has a decades-long history, and the relatively recent use of checkpoint inhibitors has revolutionized treatment. Durable and sometimes complete remission of metastatic melanoma is now achievable in some patients who receive checkpoint-blocking therapy. However, it is unclear why some patients fare better than others.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTranscranial random noise stimulation (tRNS), a noninvasive brain stimulation technique, enhances the generalization and sustainability of gains following mathematical training. Here it is combined for the first time with working memory training in a double-blind randomized controlled trial. Adults completed 10 sessions of Cogmed Working Memory Training with either active tRNS or sham stimulation applied bilaterally to dorsolateral pFC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The use of injectable progestin-only contraceptives has been associated with increased risk of HIV acquisition in observational studies, but the biological mechanisms of this risk remain poorly understood. We aimed to assess the effects of progestins on HIV acquisition risk and the immune environment in the female genital tract.
Methods: In this prospective cohort, we enrolled HIV-negative South African women aged 18-23 years who were not pregnant and were living in Umlazi, South Africa from the Females Rising through Education, Support, and Health (FRESH) study.
Introduction: The need to integrate behavioral health care within medical settings is widely recognized, and integrative care approaches are associated with improved outcomes for a range of disorders. As substance use treatment integration efforts expand within primary care settings, training behavioral health providers in evidence-based brief treatment models that are cost-effective and easily fit within the medical flow is essential.
Methods: Guided by principles drawn from Diffusion of Innovations theory (Rogers, 2003) and the Consolidated Framework of Implementation Research (Damschroder et al.
Colonization by Lactobacillus in the female genital tract is thought to be critical for maintaining genital health. However, little is known about how genital microbiota influence host immune function and modulate disease susceptibility. We studied a cohort of asymptomatic young South African women and found that the majority of participants had genital communities with low Lactobacillus abundance and high ecological diversity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn adaptive variant of the human Ectodysplasin receptor, EDARV370A, is one of the strongest candidates of recent positive selection from genome-wide scans. We have modeled EDAR370A in mice and characterized its phenotype and evolutionary origins in humans. Our computational analysis suggests the allele arose in central China approximately 30,000 years ago.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHaematogones are normal, maturing B-cell precursors. They can be confused with neoplastic immature lymphoid cells of B lymphoblastic leukaemia/lymphoma or B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL). Though multi-colour flow-cytometry strategies for distinguishing haematogones from cells of B-ALL are well-described, similar strategies have not been determined for bone marrow trephine biopsies (BMTB).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe discuss the clinical presentation, investigations carried out, and the management issues in an elderly patient with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). The HLH was associated with an underlying Epstein-Barr virus positive peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified, and the lymphomatous cells harbored translocation t(5;9)(q11.2:p24).
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