chance faster trial

The general aim of this study was to assess the effect produced by visuo-spatial attention on both behavioural performance and brain activation in hemianopic patients following visual stimulus presentation to the blind hemifield. To do that, we tested five hemianopic patients and six age-matched healthy controls in a fMRI scanner during the execution of a Posner-like paradigm using a predictive central cue. Participants were instructed to covertly orient attention toward the blind or sighted hemifield in different blocks while discriminating the orientation of a visual grating...

BACKGROUND: Anesthetic agents influence the glycemic response by affecting the neuroendocrine surgical response or directly modifying pancreatic insulin release. Due to chances of neuronal damage, intraoperative hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia both are detrimental for patients undergoing neurosurgeries. Inhalational (sevoflurane and desflurane) and intravenous (propofol) agents have been found to raise intraoperative glucose levels in nonneurological surgeries. AIM: We aimed to compare the intraoperative glucose levels in supratentorial glioma surgeries under the maintenance of three anesthetic agents such as sevoflurane, desflurane, and propofol...

BACKGROUND: The rate of decline in language in Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) is highly variable and difficult to predict at baseline. The severity of diffuse white matter disease (leukoaraiosis), a marker of overall brain health, may substantially influence the rate of decline. AIMS: To test the hypothesis that leukoaraiosis is associated with a steeper decline in naming in PPA. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: In this longitudinal, observational study, 29 individuals with PPA (all variants) were administered the Boston Naming Test (BNT) at baseline and 1 year later...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of two rates of enteral feed advancement (18 vs 30 mL/kg/day) in very preterm and very low birth weight infants. DESIGN: Within-trial economic evaluation alongside a multicentre, two-arm parallel group, randomised controlled trial (Speed of Increasing milk Feeds Trial). SETTING: 55 UK neonatal units from May 2013 to June 2015. PATIENTS: Infants born <32 weeks' gestation or <1500 g, receiving less than 30 mL/kg/day of milk at trial enrolment...

To test for evidence of metacognition in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella), we analyzed confidence movements using a paradigm adapted from research with chimpanzees. Capuchin monkeys provide an interesting model species for the comparative assessment of metacognition as they show limited evidence of such cognitive-monitoring processes in a variety of metacognition paradigms. Here, monkeys were presented with a computerized delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS) memory test in one location but were rewarded for correct responses in a separate location...

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) are undergoing a paradigm shift from femoral to forearm approach due to obvious advantages in terms of patient safety, comfort, and faster ambulation. Transradial access (TRA) has been established as a primary forearm access site. Use of transulnar access (TUA) as an alternative to radial route can serve as novel forearm access to the interventionalists. AIM: The aim of this study is to evaluate TUA versus TRA access as a default strategy for PCI...

BACKGROUND: Ability to manage urges to smoke is fundamental to maximizing the chances of success in smoking cessation. Previous studies have linked a higher dose of nicotine in nicotine replacement therapy to a higher success rate for smoking cessation. Thus, this study was performed to compare relief of urges to smoke, up until 5 h following treatment with a new 6 mg nicotine gum versus currently marketed 4 mg nicotine gum. METHODS: This was a randomized crossover clinical study...

INTRODUCTION: Delays between receiving a PrEP prescription and taking a first dose increase the risk of HIV infection. This is especially relevant in populations with high HIV incidence, such as young black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) in the United States. Additionally, YBMSM have relatively low levels of health insurance. We investigated whether lack of health insurance and reliance on PrEP funding through the manufacturer assistance programme (MAP) leads to delays in initiation of PrEP...

Capuchins (Sapajus apella) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) participated in 3 experiments in which they were presented with 2 objects, one appropriately oriented and the other inappropriately oriented to retrieve a food reward by pulling, replicating prior experiments with nonhuman primates described as evaluating "tool choice." Choice patterns were analyzed to assess whether monkeys learned that tools needed to be oriented with part of the tool on the far side of the reward to pull in the food. Both species learned to choose appropriately oriented tools after a similar number of sessions with a cane-shaped tool in the first task...

Current rabies vaccines are safe and, when administered properly, they are highly effective. In addition, they elicit long-lasting immunity, with virus-neutralising antibody titres persisting for years after vaccination. However, current regimens require multiple doses to achieve high neutralising titres and they are costly, which means that it is difficult for developing countries, where rabies deaths are highest, to implement widespread vaccination. New innovations are the only way to reduce rabies disease to acceptable rates...

To shorten trial duration and improve safety of Phase I trials, we propose R-TPI, a rolling enrollment design that combines the features in model-based designs such as mTPI-2 and rule-based designs such as rolling six. R-TPI employs a novel rolling enrollment scheme, which allows concurrent patient enrollment that is faster than cohort-based enrollment. Bench-marking against rolling six, we find that the R-TPI design is as fast in completing clinical trials but with fewer toxicity events and higher chance of finding the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) in the single scenario laid out in the 2008 rolling six publication...

PURPOSE: To further the understanding of elite athlete performance in complex race environments by examining the changes in cyclists' performances between solo time trials and head-to-head racing in match-sprint tournaments. METHODS: Analyses were derived from official results of cyclists in 61 elite international sprint tournaments (2000-2016), incorporating the results of 2060 male and 1969 female head-to-head match races. Linear mixed modelling of log-transformed qualification and finish ranks was used to determine estimates of performance predictability as intraclass correlation coefficients...

Continuous peripheral nerve blockade is a common technique in the analgesic management for many procedures. Leakage of local anaesthetic from around the nerve catheter insertion site can increase the chance of catheter dislodgement, risks infective complications, and could divert anaesthetic away from the nerve causing the block to fail. We conducted a randomised controlled trial to assess whether the type of nerve catheter influenced local anaesthetic leak rate. One hundred and ten patients scheduled for elective unilateral total knee arthroplasty were randomised to receive a perineural catheter with either a catheter over needle (CON) system (Pajunk® E-Cath) (PAJUNK® GmbH, Medizintechnologie, Geisingen, Germany), or catheter through needle (CTN) system (Pajunk® SonoLong) (PAJUNK® GmbH, Medizintechnologie, Geisingen, Germany)...

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate subthreshold diode micropulse (SDM) laser as a treatment modality in acute central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) and compare it with the current standard of care (observation). METHODS: A randomised controlled trial was conducted on 68 eyes (34 eyes in SDM laser group and 34 eyes in observation group) with acute CSC, with a single angiographic leak and duration of complaints less than two months. Detailed history, examination and investigations were performed at the baseline and at regular intervals until six months...

Non-luminance-mediated changes in pupil size have been widely used to index arousal state. Recent animal studies have demonstrated correlations between behavioral state-related pupil dynamics and sensory processing. However, the relationship between pupil-linked arousal and behavior in animals performing perceptual tasks has not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we trained head-fixed rats to discriminate between directions of whisker movements using a Go/No-Go discrimination paradigm while imaging their pupils...

The current study proposes that top-down attentional prioritization of salient items may produce the so-called stimulus-driven capture. To test this proposal, the " expectation-based paradigm " was designed on the basis of a visual search task. In Experiment 1, a task-irrelevant singleton frame was presented at the same location in 70% of the trials. The target was either presented at chance level within the singleton location, or away from it. In line with the singleton capture phenomenon, participants were faster in identifying the target when it appeared in the singleton location compared to non-singleton locations...

Recent work has challenged the previously widely accepted belief that affective processing does not require awareness and can be carried out with more limited resources than semantic processing. This debate has focused exclusively on visual perception, even though evidence from both human and animal studies suggests that existence for nonconscious affective processing would be physiologically more feasible in the auditory system. Here we contrast affective and semantic processing of nonverbal emotional vocalizations under different levels of awareness in three experiments, using explicit (two-alternative forced choice masked affective and semantic categorization tasks, Experiments 1 and 2) and implicit (masked affective and semantic priming, Experiment 3) measures...

Blood supply to the brain is secured by an extensive collateral circulation system, which can be divided into primary routes, i.e., the Circle of Willis, and secondary routes, e.g., collaterals from the external to the internal carotid artery and leptomeningeal collaterals. Collateral flow is the basis for acute stroke treatment, since neurones will only survive long enough to be rescued with reperfusion therapies if there is sufficient collateral flow. Poor collateral flow is associated with worse outcome and faster growth of larger infarcts in acute stroke treatment...

CONTEXT: Three natural forms of vitamin B12 are commercially available: methylcobalamin (MeCbl), adenosylcobalamin (AdCbl), and hydroxycobalamin (OHCbl), all of which have been shown in clinical studies to improve vitamin B12 status. They are bioidentical to the B12 forms occurring in human physiology and animal foods. In contrast, cyanocobalamin (CNCbl), a synthetic B12 compound used for food fortification and in some supplements, occurs only in trace amounts in human tissues as a result of cyanide intake from smoking or other sources...

BACKGROUND: In refractory cardiac arrest, with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for more than 30 min, chances of survival are small. Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) is an option for certain patients with cardiac arrest. The aim of this study was to evaluate characteristics of patients selected for ECPR. METHODS: Anonymised data of adult patients suffering refractory cardiac arrest, transported with ongoing CPR to an ED of a tertiary care centre between 2002 and 2012 were analysed...