Speech Amplification Device Usage for the Management of Hypophonia: A Survey of Speech-Language Pathologists.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to survey speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who assess and treat people with Parkinson's disease (PD) to gather insights into their decision making regarding their use or potential use of speech amplification technology for the management of hypophonia.

Method: A total of 111 SLPs who were currently practicing in the United States or Canada and had experience working with clients with PD for at least 2 years completed an anonymous Qualtrics survey. Questions were designed to probe the following areas: (a) degree of familiarity with amplification devices as a form of treatment for PD, (b) attitudes and perceptions of the implementation of these devices for PD, and (c) factors that influence the clinical decision to prescribe such devices.

Clinical Insights Into the Use of Speech Amplification Devices for Managing Hypophonia: Interviews With Speech-Language Pathologists.

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to identify themes regarding considerations in the usage of speech amplification device usage for people with Parkinson's disease (PD) and hypophonia from the perspective of speech-language pathologists (SLPs).

Method: Eligible participants included SLPs currently practicing in the United States or Canada with experience working with clients with PD for at least 2 years. Ten SLPs participated in 60-min interviews conducted via Zoom.

Communicative participation outcomes in individuals with Parkinson's disease receiving standard care speech-language therapy services in community settings.

Background: The Communicative Participation Item Bank (CPIB) is a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) designed to measure the extent of interference, or difficulty, experienced by adults with communication disorders participating in their day-to-day communication activities. To date, there is limited evidence regarding sensitivity of the CPIB for capturing change with intervention in people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD).

Aims: The purpose of this study was to examine the following measurement properties of the CPIB in PwPD who received community-based, standard care, speech-language therapy focusing on motor speech concerns: Change over time between treatment and observation groups, comparison to patient-defined ideal and satisfactory targets, comparison of static short form to computerised adaptive testing (CAT), comparison of self to proxy-rated scores, and comparison to other common PROMs.

Sensitivity of the Communicative Participation Item Bank for Measuring Patient-Reported Outcomes After Treatment of Unilateral Vocal Fold Immobility.

Importance: The Communicative Participation Item Bank (CPIB) is a patient-reported outcome measure assessing the association between communication disorders and participation in daily communication. To our knowledge, no prior research has examined whether CPIB scores change after treatment of unilateral vocal fold immobility (UVFI).

Objective: To compare CPIB scores before and after treatment of UVFI and with patient-defined target treatment outcomes and other common clinical outcomes after UVFI intervention.

Training students from rehabilitation professions on communicating with patients with communication disorders.

Background: FRAME, a mnemonic referring to a program for helping health care providers adapt patient-provider communication when working with patients with communication disorders, improves the knowledge, confidence, and communication skills of medical students for working with this population. However, the impact of the FRAME program for preparing students from the rehabilitation disciplines to work with patients with communication disorders is unknown.

Objective: To examine the effects of the FRAME program on the knowledge, confidence, and communication skills of students in physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), and prosthetics and orthotics (P&O) in terms of how to communicate effectively with patients with communication disorders.

Beyond the Patient: A Mixed-Methods Inquiry Into Family Members' Involvement in the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease to Target Third-Party Disability.

Purpose Family members of people with Parkinson's disease (PD) may experience third-party disability, manifesting as difficulty managing communication breakdowns and changed relationships influenced by communication disorders. This study examined family involvement in therapy to address third-party disability from the perspective of family members of people with PD and speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Method A mixed-methods design was used with two phases of data collection.

Teaching Medical Students Skills for Effective Communication With Patients Who Have Communication Disorders.

Purpose Patients with communication impairments including speech, language, cognition, or hearing disorders face many barriers to communication in health care settings. These patients report loss of autonomy in health care decision making, are at increased risk for medical errors, and are less satisfied with health care than patients without communication disorders. Although medical students receive training in effective patient-provider communication, most of this training assumes patients have intact communication abilities.

Molecular epidemiology study of a nosocomial Moraxella catarrhalis outbreak in a neurological rehabilitation unit.

Background: Moraxella catarrhalis is a common agent causing upper and lower respiratory tract infections, particularly of ventilated patients. The bacteria are transmitted between humans by direct and indirect contacts. However, reports of nosocomial outbreaks by this pathogen are scarce.

Factors Associated With Communicative Participation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Purpose: People with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis frequently experience bulbar impairment and dysarthria that may restrict their ability to take part in everyday communication situations. The aim of this study is to examine selected variables that may contribute to restrictions in communicative participation.

Method: Community-dwelling participants with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (N = 70) who reported communication changes but continued to use natural speech completed a survey, including the Communicative Participation Item Bank, demographics (age, sex, living situation, employment status, education, and time since diagnosis), and self- reported symptom-related variables (physical activity, emotional problems, fatigue, pain, speech severity, speech usage, and cognitive and communication skills).

Assessing the Believability of Standardized Patients Trained to Portray Communication Disorders.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the believability of standardized patients portraying individuals with communication disorders as part of a larger study in which standardized patients help train medical and allied health students about communication disorders.

Method: Two women portrayed persons with aphasia, and 2 men depicted persons with dysarthria associated with Parkinson's disease. Two stakeholder groups rated believability.

Efficiency measurement and Monte Carlo simulations of a CeBr scintillator.

CeBr crystals meet many of the demands of high performance scintillators, due to their excellent timing properties, good effective Z and high photon yield. It is important to characterize their efficiency and to verify whether modern Monte Carlo codes are reliable enough to reproduced the observed values. We report here on the measurement of both total and photopeak efficiency of a 1" diameter×1" height CeBr crystal for gamma-ray energies up to 1.

Effects of exercise and dietary epigallocatechin gallate and β-alanine on skeletal muscle in aged mice.

Aging leads to sarcopenia and loss of physical function. We examined whether voluntary wheel running, when combined with dietary supplementation with (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and β-alanine (β-ALA), could improve muscle function and alter gene expression in the gastrocnemius of aged mice. Seventeen-month-old BALB/cByJ mice were given access to a running wheel or remained sedentary for 41 days while receiving either AIN-93M (standard feed) or AIN-93M containing 1.

Voluntary wheel running, but not a diet containing (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate and β-alanine, improves learning, memory and hippocampal neurogenesis in aged mice.

Aging is associated with impaired learning and memory accompanied by reductions in adult hippocampal neurogenesis and brain expression of neurotrophic factors among other processes. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG, a green tea catechin), β-alanine (β-ala, the precursor of carnosine), and exercise have independently been shown to be neuroprotective and to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress in the central nervous system. We hypothesized that EGCG, β-ala supplementation or exercise alone would improve learning and memory and increase neurogenesis in aged mice, and the combined intervention would be better than either treatment alone.

Activation of GATA4 gene expression at the early stage of cardiac specification.

Currently, there are no effective treatments to directly repair damaged heart tissue after cardiac injury since existing therapies focus on rescuing or preserving reversibly damaged tissue. Cell-based therapies using cardiomyocytes generated from stem cells present a promising therapeutic approach to directly replace damaged myocardium with new healthy tissue. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the commitment of stem cells into cardiomyocytes are not fully understood and will be critical to guide this new technology into the clinic.

Aggregation of biopharmaceuticals in human plasma and human serum: implications for drug research and development.

Analytical methods based on light microscopy, 90° light-scattering and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) allowed the characterization of aggregation that can occur when antibodies are mixed with human plasma. Light microscopy showed that aggregates formed when human plasma was mixed with 5% dextrose solutions of Herceptin(®) (trastuzumab) or Avastin(®) (bevacizumab) but not Remicade(®) (infliximab). The aggregates in the plasma-Herceptin(®)-5% dextrose solution were globular, size range 0.

High-dose monoclonal antibodies via the subcutaneous route: challenges and technical solutions, an industry perspective.

This review summarizes the various challenges in product development involved in subcutaneous administration of high-dose monoclonal antibodies and attempts to provide an industry perspective of some of the available technologies and potential avenues to overcome these challenges.

Electrostatic interactions of monoclonal antibodies with subcutaneous tissue.

Aim: The majority of the subcutaneously injected monoclonal antibodies already on the market achieve 50-65% bioavailability, yet the fate of the portion that is lost remains unknown. This consistently incomplete systemic absorption affects the efficacy, safety and overall cost of the drug product. There are many potential factors that might influence the absorption, such as charge, hydrophobicity, formulation variables and the depth and volume of the injection.

Regulation of Early Enhancer by Histone Acetyltransferase p300 during Stem Cell Differentiation.

Skeletal myogenesis is an intricate process coordinated temporally by multiple myogenic regulatory factors (MRF) including Myf5, which is the first MRF expressed and marks the commitment of skeletal muscle lineage. The expression of Myf5 gene during early embryogenesis is controlled by a set of enhancer elements, and requires the histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity of transcriptional coactivator p300. However, it is unclear as to how different regulatory signals converge at enhancer elements to regulate early Myf5 gene expression, and if p300 is directly involved.

An early botulinum toxin A treatment in subacute stroke patients may prevent a disabling finger flexor stiffness six months later: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: The study asked whether an early botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) injection in subacute stroke patients may prevent a disabling finger flexor stiffness six months later.

Design: Single-blind, randomized pilot study.

Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation centre.

Contribution of retinoid X receptor signaling to the specification of skeletal muscle lineage.

Pluripotent stem cells possess a tremendous potential for the treatment of many diseases because of their capacity to differentiate into a variety of cell lineages. However, they provide little promise for muscle-related diseases, mainly because of the lack of small molecule inducers to efficiently direct myogenic conversion. Retinoic acid, acting through the retinoic acid receptor (RAR) and retinoid X receptor (RXR), affects stem cell fate determination in a concentration-dependent manner, but it only has a modest efficacy on the commitment of ES cells into skeletal muscle lineage.

High throughput formulation screening for global aggregation behaviors of three monoclonal antibodies.

Global aggregation behaviors of three distinct monoclonal antibodies were characterized by high throughput, multiassay analysis. First, extensive screening of formulations was performed using both incubation at elevated temperature and differential thermal scanning. In incubation studies, formulation conditions representing native favored, native favored but with particulate formation, unfolding with slow aggregation, and fast aggregation with or without phase separation were mapped across a wide range of pH and ionic strength.

Ultraviolet spectroscopy as a tool in therapeutic protein development.

Ubiquitous ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy, despite the availability of more sophisticated techniques, remains an indispensable tool that can give an initial insight into the concentration and aggregation state of protein samples. The high degree of reproducibility afforded by diode-array spectrophotometers, combined with their powerful vendor-supplied algorithms, presents an opportunity for improving the accuracy and throughput for their use in pharmaceutical development. In this review, factors important to optimal utilization of the technique, as applied to the development of monoclonal antibodies, are discussed, and specific methodologies are described.

Addressing new analytical challenges in protein formulation development.

As the share of therapeutic proteins in the arsenal of modern medicine continue increasing, relatively little progress has been made in the development of analytical methods that would address specific needs encountered during the development of these new drugs. Consequently, the researchers resort to adaptation of existing instrumentation to meet the demands of rigorous bioprocess and formulation development. In this report, we present a number of such adaptations as well as new instruments that allow efficient and precise measurement of critical parameters throughout the development stage.