Distinct modes of top-down cognitive processing in the ventral visual cortex.

Top-down cognitive control leads to changes in the sensory processing of the brain. In visual perception such changes can take place in the ventral visual cortex altering the functional asymmetry in forward and backward connections. Here we used fixation-related evoked responses of EEG measurement and dynamic causal modeling to examine hierarchical forward-backward asymmetry, while twenty-six healthy adults performed cognitive tasks that require different types of top-down cognitive control (memorizing or searching visual objects embedded in a natural scene image).

Noninvasive ventilation: education and training. A narrative analysis and an international consensus document.

Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is an increasingly used method of respiratory support. The use of NIV is expanding over the time and if properly applied, it can save patients' lives and improve long-term prognosis. However, both knowledge and skills of its proper use as life support are paramount.

Nimotuzumab and radiotherapy for treatment of newly diagnosed diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG): a phase III clinical study.

Background: Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a devastating cancer of childhood and adolescence.

Methods: The study included patients between 3 and 20 years with clinically and radiologically confirmed DIPG. Primary endpoint was 6-month progression-free survival (PFS) following administration of nimotuzumab in combination with external beam radiotherapy (RT).

Does engagement in productive activities affect mental health and well-being in older adults with a chronic physical disability? Observational evidence from a Swiss cohort study.

To investigate type and load of productive activities as potential determinants of mental health and well-being in elderly persons with a physical disability. We used data from a Swiss population-based sample of 314 adults at or past the legal retirement age (65 for men, 64 for women) who live with a chronic physical disability, spinal cord injury. Engagement in housework, volunteering, and paid work were dichotomized (no; some engagement) and three groups of engagement types were constructed (none; housework only; volunteering and/or paid work).

Total Elbow Arthroplasty: Elbow Biomechanics and Failure.

Total elbow arthroplasty (TEA) has lower revision-free survivorship than other major joint replacement. Despite this, elbow replacement has remained popular. Surgical technique for TEA destabilizes the elbow by removing the medial and lateral collateral ligaments and, frequently, the radiocapitellar articulation.

Randomized phase-II trial evaluating induction therapy with idarubicin and etoposide plus sequential or concurrent azacitidine and maintenance therapy with azacitidine.

The aim of this randomized phase-II study was to evaluate the effect of substituting cytarabine by azacitidine in intensive induction therapy of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Patients were randomized to four induction schedules for two cycles: STANDARD (idarubicin, cytarabine, etoposide); and azacitidine given prior (PRIOR), concurrently (CONCURRENT), or after (AFTER) therapy with idarubicin and etoposide. Consolidation therapy consisted of allogeneic hematopoietic-cell transplantation or three courses of high-dose cytarabine followed by 2-year maintenance therapy with azacitidine in the azacitidine-arms.

Mutated SON putatively causes a cancer syndrome comprising high-risk medulloblastoma combined with café-au-lait spots.

Medulloblastoma is the most frequent malignant brain tumor in childhood. This highly malignant neoplasm occurs usually before 10 years of age and more frequently in boys. The 5-year event-free survival rate for high-risk medulloblastoma is low at 62% despite a multimodal therapy including surgical resection, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

The Role of Continuous Glucose Monitoring, Diabetes Smartphone Applications, and Self-Care Behavior in Glycemic Control: Results of a Multi-National Online Survey.

This study investigated the determinants (with a special emphasis on the role of diabetes app use, use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device, and self-care behavior) of glycemic control of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). A web-based survey was conducted using diabetes Facebook groups, online patient-forums, and targeted Facebook advertisements (ads). Demographic, CGM, diabetes app use, and self-care behavior data were collected.

Oncological outcome of patients treated with spot-specific salvage lymphnode dissection (sLND) for positron-emission tomography (PET)-positive prostate cancer (PCa) relapse.

Objectives: To report pre-, postoperative and oncological outcomes in patients treated with spot-specific sLND for patients with exclusive nodal recurrence after PCa primary treatment.

Materials And Methods: With regard to salvage treatment failure (sTF), 46 consecutive patients, undergoing 52 sLND for nodal recurrence detected by PET/CT scan were stratified in 3 groups (group A: post-sLND PSA nadir < 0.01 ng/ml and in follow-up reaching a value > 0.

Simplification of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and the brain-a real-life experience.

Modern antiretroviral combination therapy (cART) has transformed HIV from a life-threatening infection into a chronic disease. However, the life-long treatment has side effects that frequently have a negative impact on patients' quality of life. Thus, there are some efforts to "simplify" therapy, i.

Relapse of Acute Myeloid Leukemia after Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation: Prevention, Detection, and Treatment.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a phenotypically and prognostically heterogeneous hematopoietic stem cell disease that may be cured in eligible patients with intensive chemotherapy and/or allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT). Tremendous advances in sequencing technologies have revealed a large amount of molecular information which has markedly improved our understanding of the underlying pathophysiology and enables a better classification and risk estimation. Furthermore, with the approval of the FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) inhibitor Midostaurin a first targeted therapy has been introduced into the first-line therapy of younger patients with FLT3-mutated AML and several other small molecules targeting molecular alterations such as isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations or the anti-apoptotic b-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) protein are currently under investigation.

Productive activities, mental health and quality of life in disability: exploring the role enhancement and the role strain hypotheses.

Background: Engagement in productive activities is an important determinant of mental health and quality of life (QoL). Persons with physical disabilities are often confronted with constraints to engage in productive activities and it remains largely unknown whether persons who nevertheless manage to be productive experience beneficial effects for mental health and QoL. This is the first study to analyse different productive activities (paid work, volunteering, education, housework) and its gender-specific associations with mental health and QoL in the disability setting, testing two contrasting hypotheses of Role Theory, the role strain and the role enhancement hypotheses.

Valve-sparing aortic root and aortic arch replacement in a 5-year-old boy with Loeys-Dietz syndrome.

In this study, we describe the case of a 5-year-old boy who presumably presented with Loeys-Dietz syndrome. A huge aneurysm of the ascending aorta and the aortic arch extended beyond the left subclavian artery and was accompanied by a slight narrowing of the aortic isthmus.

Revaccination in Children Undergoing Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Results of a Survey in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Background: Due to the potential loss of protective antibody titers after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), revaccination is important. The aim of the study was to evaluate the current strategies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for revaccination of children after autologous HSCT.

Methods: An internet-based survey was performed, and results were analyzed in a descriptive way.

Midostaurin added to chemotherapy and continued single-agent maintenance therapy in acute myeloid leukemia with -ITD.

Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and a internal tandem duplication (ITD) have poor outcomes to current treatment. A phase 2 hypothesis-generating trial was conducted to determine whether the addition of the multitargeted kinase inhibitor midostaurin to intensive chemotherapy followed by allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) and single-agent maintenance therapy of 12 months is feasible and favorably influences event-free survival (EFS) compared with historical controls. Patients 18 to 70 years of age with newly diagnosed AML and centrally confirmed -ITD were eligible: 284 patients were treated, including 198 younger (18-60 years) and 86 older (61-70 years) patients.

Identifying Evidence-Informed Physical Activity Apps: Content Analysis.

Background: Regular moderate to vigorous physical activity is essential for maintaining health and preventing the onset of chronic diseases. Both global rates of smartphone ownership and the market for physical activity and fitness apps have grown rapidly in recent years. The use of physical activity and fitness apps may assist the general population in reaching evidence-based physical activity recommendations.

Insulin translates unfavourable lifestyle into obesity.

Lifestyle factors conferring increased diabetes risk are associated with elevated basal insulin levels (hyperinsulinaemia). The latter predicts later obesity in children and adolescents.A causal role of hyperinsulinaemia for adipose tissue growth is probable because pharmacological reduction of insulin secretion lowers body weight in people who are obese.

Positive verbal feedback about task performance is related with adaptive physiological responses: An experimental study of the effort-reward imbalance stress model.

Effort-reward imbalance in the workplace has been related with poor mental and physical health and a variety of negative organisational outcomes including increased rates of absenteeism, presentism, and job turnover, but the model has rarely been assessed using experimental designs. Female participants (N = 90) were randomly assigned to positive verbal feedback and no verbal feedback conditions. Within a simulated office environment, all participants were under time-pressure to successfully complete computer-based tasks in order to gain remuneration.

Graves' disease in clinical perspective.

Graves' disease (GD) is the most common cause for hyperthyroidism in iodine-replete areas. The disease is caused by the appearance of stimulating TSH receptor autoantibodies (TRAb) leading to hyperthyroidism. Blocking and neutral TRAb have, however, also been described.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation without prior balloon valvuloplasty is associated with less pronounced markers of myocardial injury.

Background: Aortic valve stenosis is the most common valvulopathy in developed countries. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a therapeutic alternative in symptomatic patients at high or prohibitive perioperative risk. Predilatation by balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) under rapid ventricular pacing (RVP) has been a routine part of TAVI.

Clonal architecture in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes and double or minor complex abnormalities: Detailed analysis of clonal composition, involved abnormalities, and prognostic significance.

The study analyzes the clonal architecture and the abnormalities involved in a series of 191 patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and 2-3 clonal abnormalities. All patients were extracted from an international database. The patients were classified into six clonal subtypes (2A-3C) based on the number of abnormalities and the presentation of unrelated clones (UC) and/or a clonal evolution.

Surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion in lingual orthodontics - optimizing of coupling and timing : Best oral presentation from the 21st Meeting of German Society of Lingual Orthodontics.

Background: Surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion (SARME) is primarily used in adult orthodontics. In many cases it is followed by further surgery to address further anteroposterior and/or vertical discrepancies. Treatment times in such cases are often long with adult patients usually requesting invisible appliances.