Deconstructing delay discounting in human cocaine addiction using computational modelling and neuroimaging.

Background: A preference for sooner-smaller over later-larger rewards, known as delay discounting, is a candidate transdiagnostic marker of waiting impulsivity and a research domain criterion. While abnormal discounting rates have been associated with many psychiatric diagnoses and abnormal brain structure, the underlying neuropsychological processes remain largely unknown. Here, we deconstruct delay discounting into choice and rate processes by testing different computational models and investigate their associations with white matter tracts.

Actigraphy validation in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia.

Background: Actigraphy is increasingly being used to assess sleep in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. However, information on its accuracy relative to polysomnography (PSG) in this clinical population remains scarce. This study investigates the performance of actigraphy compared to PSG in patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), which is the leading form of early-onset dementia.

Mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's disease eligibility for disease modification therapies in a tertiary centre for cognitive disorders: A simultaneous real-word study on aducanumab and lecanemab.

Background And Purpose: The Food and Drug Administration approved two disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) for Alzheimer's disease (AD), aducanumab and lecanemab, with limited clinical impact but significant biomarker changes. Identifying suitable candidates for these DMTs outside randomized clinical trials (RCTs) remains uncertain.

Methods: This cross-sectional study, conducted in an Italian tertiary centre for cognitive disorders, aimed to evaluate how the RCT eligibility criteria for DMT treatments applies to participants with early AD.

Nocturnal Sleep Dynamics Alterations in the Early Stages of Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia.

Study Objectives: Sleep disorders have been recognized as an integral component of the clinical syndrome in several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's Disease (AD). However, limited data exists for rarer types of neurodegenerative diseases, such as behavioral variant Frontotemporal Dementia (bvFTD). This study aims to analyze EEG power spectra and sleep stage transitions in bvFTD patients, hypothesizing that bvFTD may show distinctive sleep stage transitions compared to patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD).

Low HIV drug resistance prevalence among recently diagnosed HIV-positive men who have sex with men in a setting of high PrEP use.

Introduction: New South Wales (NSW) has one of the world's highest uptake rates of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). This uptake has been credited with sharp declines in HIV transmission, particularly among Australian-born gay and bisexual men. Concerns have been raised around the potential for the emergence of tenofovir (TFV) and XTC (lamivudine/emtricitabine) resistance in settings of high PrEP use.

Trends in HIV testing and HIV stage at diagnosis among people newly diagnosed with HIV.

Objective: To identify groups more likely to be referred for HIV testing because of symptomatic presentation rather than as part of asymptomatic screening.

Design: A retrospective analysis of Australian National HIV Registry (NHR) surveillance data including sociodemographic and clinical data, as well as reasons for HIV test.

Methods: Using notification records from 2017 to 2022, we summarised reasons for testing leading to an HIV diagnosis.

Mapping lower-limbs muscle vulnerability in patients with ALS: The role of upper and lower motor neurons.

Background: Several studies have reported disproportionate wasting of the flexor muscles of the lower limbs (LL) compared to the extensors in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, these studies have involved small sample sizes (n 〈100), and their findings have been inconsistent. Thus, it remains uncertain whether a distinct pattern of LL muscle weakness is specific to ALS.

The Network Structure of Cognitive Impairment: From Subjective Cognitive Decline to Alzheimer's Disease.

It was proposed that a reorganization of the relationships between cognitive functions occurs in dementia, a vision that surpasses the idea of a mere decline of specific domains. The complexity of cognitive structure, as assessed by neuropsychological tests, can be captured by exploratory graph analysis (EGA). EGA was applied to the neuropsychological assessment of people (humans) with subjective cognitive decline (SCD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD; total  = 638).

Risk Factors for Complications and Disease Recurrence after Ileocecal Resection for Crohn's Disease in Children and Adults.

This study reports the complication and disease recurrence rates for ileocecal resection for pediatric and adult Crohn's disease (CD) and identifies perioperative risk factors for these adverse outcomes in the two groups. Patients who underwent ileocecal resection for CD in a tertiary hospital in Italy (2010-2021) were included. Risk factors for postoperative complications and clinical and surgical disease recurrences were investigated with multivariate models.

Explainable machine learning radiomics model for Primary Progressive Aphasia classification.

Introduction: Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by linguistic impairment. The two main clinical subtypes are semantic (svPPA) and non-fluent/agrammatic (nfvPPA) variants. Diagnosing and classifying PPA patients represents a complex challenge that requires the integration of multimodal information, including clinical, biological, and radiological features.

Sarcopenia in subjects with Alzheimer's disease: prevalence and comparison of agreement between EGWSOP1, EGWSOP2, and FNIH criteria.

Background: Sarcopenia is an age-related clinical syndrome characterized by the progressive loss of muscle mass and muscle strength. It appears to be closely linked to dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD); however, its prevalence among AD patients remains unclear. In this study, we assessed differences in sarcopenia prevalence between non-demented individuals and AD patients.

Deep Learning-based Approach for Brainstem and Ventricular MR Planimetry: Application in Patients with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.

Purpose To develop a fast and fully automated deep learning (DL)-based method for the MRI planimetric segmentation and measurement of the brainstem and ventricular structures most affected in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Materials and Methods In this retrospective study, T1-weighted MR images in healthy controls ( = 84) were used to train DL models for segmenting the midbrain, pons, middle cerebellar peduncle (MCP), superior cerebellar peduncle (SCP), third ventricle, and frontal horns (FHs). Internal, external, and clinical test datasets ( = 305) were used to assess segmentation model reliability.

Advancements in Bariatric Surgery: A Comparative Review of Laparoscopic and Robotic Techniques.

This article examines the evolution of bariatric surgery, with a focus on emerging technologies such as robotics and laparoscopy. In the case of gastric bypass, no significant differences have emerged between the two techniques in terms of hospitalization duration, weight loss, weight regain, or 30-day mortality. Robotic surgery, while requiring more time in the operating room, has been associated with lower rates of bleeding, mortality, transfusions, and infections.

Nucleus Basalis of Meynert Degeneration Predicts Cognitive Decline in Corticobasal Syndrome.

Background: Cognitive changes are common in corticobasal syndrome (CBS) and significantly impact quality of life and caregiver burden. However, relatively few studies have investigated the neural substrates of cognitive changes in CBS, and reliable predictors of cognitive impairment are currently lacking. The nucleus basalis of Meynert (NbM), which serves as the primary source of cortical cholinergic innervation, has been functionally associated with cognition.

Sleep and circadian rhythm disruptions in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia.

Introduction: Sleep and rest-activity rhythm alterations are common in neurodegenerative diseases. However, their characterization in patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) has proven elusive. We investigated rest-activity rhythm alterations, sleep disturbances, and their neural correlates in bvFTD.

The association of environmental factors with neurocognitive outcomes in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Purpose: To investigate the association of environmental factors, rehabilitation services during therapy and socioeconomic status (SES - insurance type), with neurocognitive outcomes at the end of therapy for survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Methods: Survivors (n = 236) treated on the St. Jude Total Therapy Study 16 completed end of therapy testing with performance measures (IQ, attention, processing speed, fine motor skills, academics) and caregiver ratings (attention, executive function, adaptive skills).

Grey-matter correlates of empathy in 4-Repeat Tauopathies.

Loss of empathy is an early and central symptom of frontotemporal lobar degeneration spectrum diseases. We aimed to investigate the topographical distribution of morphometric brain changes associated with empathy in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) and Corticobasal Syndrome (CBS) patients. Twenty-seven participants with CBS and 31 with PSP were evaluated using Interpersonal Reactivity Index scales in correlation with gray matter atrophy using a voxel-based morphometry approach.

Determining preceptor perceptions of APPE readiness through the use of entrustable professional activities.

Introduction: Pharmacy programs are required to demonstrate that students are advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) ready, but neither a professionally recognized definition of nor a consistent approach to assess APPE readiness exists.

Methods: APPE preceptors were surveyed about the relationship of EPAs to APPE readiness in three domains, including: (1) each EPA's relative importance, (2) indicators that a student is not ready to begin APPEs, and (3) each EPA's expected level of entrustment on the first day of the first APPE. We determined consensus of EPA importance and expected level of entrustment by adapting previously published thresholds.

Early childhood sleep quantity, but not caregiver-reported sleep problems, predicts impulse control in children at age 8 years.

Short duration of sleep and poor sleep quality have been linked to poor attention and impulse control in children. We aimed to determine the longitudinal predictive value of sleep quantity and quality during early childhood on objective and caregiver-report measures of attention, impulse control, and executive function in children at age 8 years. We used data from the Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment (HOME) Study, a pregnancy and birth cohort.

Cortical signature of depressive symptoms in frontotemporal dementia: A surface-based analysis.

Background And Objectives: Depressive symptoms are frequently reported in patients affected by frontotemporal dementia (FTD). At structural MRI, cortical features of depressed FTD patients have been poorly described. Our objective was to investigate correlations between cortical measures and depression severity in FTD patients.

Acinetobacter baumannii GC2 Sublineage Carrying the (')- Amikacin, Netilmicin, and Tobramycin Resistance Gene Cassette.

The aminoglycoside antibiotics amikacin, gentamicin, and tobramycin are important therapeutic options for Acinetobacter iinfections. Several genes that confer resistance to one or more of these antibiotics are prevalent in the globally distributed resistant clones of Acinetobacter baumannii, but the (')- () gene (amikacin, netilmicin, and tobramycin resistance), first reported in isolates from South Korea, has rarely been reported since. In this study, GC2 isolates (1999 to 2002) from Brisbane, Australia, carrying (')- and belonging to the ST2:ST423:KL6:OCL1 type were identified and sequenced.

The impact of upper and lower motor neuron burden on diagnostic certainty, and clinical course of spinal-onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a cluster-based approach.

Background: Upper motor neuron (UMN) and lower motor neuron (LMN) involvement represent the core clinical features of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Several studies divided patients into prevalent UMN and LMN impairment phenotypes to investigate the association between motor systems impairments and ALS clinical course. However, this distinction was somehow heterogeneous and significantly affected the comparability across studies.