The evolution of quantitative sensitivity Bryer, Margaret A H; Koopman, Sarah E; Cantlon, Jessica F ...
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences,
02/2022, Letnik:
377, Številka:
1844
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The ability to represent approximate quantities appears to be phylogenetically widespread, but the selective pressures and proximate mechanisms favouring this ability remain unknown. We analysed ...quantity discrimination data from 672 subjects across 33 bird and mammal species, using a novel Bayesian model that combined phylogenetic regression with a model of number psychophysics and random effect components. This allowed us to combine data from 49 studies and calculate the Weber fraction (a measure of quantity representation precision) for each species. We then examined which cognitive, socioecological and biological factors were related to variance in Weber fraction. We found contributions of phylogeny to quantity discrimination performance across taxa. Of the neural, socioecological and general cognitive factors we tested, cortical neuron density and domain-general cognition were the strongest predictors of Weber fraction, controlling for phylogeny. Our study is a new demonstration of evolutionary constraints on cognition, as well as of a relation between species-specific neuron density and a particular cognitive ability. This article is part of the theme issue 'Systems neuroscience through the lens of evolutionary theory'.
Therapeutic management of upper extremity (UE) function of boys and men with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) requires sensitive and objective assessment. Therefore, we aimed to measure physiologic ...UE function of healthy subjects and DMD patients in different disease stages, and to evaluate the relation between these physiologic measures and functional UE scales.
Twenty-three DMD patients and twenty healthy controls (7-23 years) participated in this explorative case-control study. Maximal muscle torque, maximal and normalized surface electromyography (sEMG) amplitudes, muscle thickness, echogenicity and maximal passive and active joint angles were measured. At activity level, Brooke upper extremity rating scale and the Performance of Upper Limb (PUL) scale were used.
Outcome measures related to proximal UE function could discriminate between disease stages. Increased normalized sEMG amplitudes were found in patients, even in early disease stages. Maximal active joint angles showed the strongest relation to Brooke scale (R
= 0.88) and PUL scale (R
= 0.85).
The decline of muscle functions precedes the decline in performance of UE activities, and therefore may play a role in early detection of UE limitations. Increased sEMG levels demonstrate that DMD patients use more of their muscle capacity compared to healthy subjects, to perform daily activities. This might result in increased fatigability. Active maximal joint angles are highly related to functional scales, so preserving the ability to use the full range of motion is important for the performance of daily activities. Close monitoring of active joint angles could therefore help in starting interventions that minimize functional UE decline in DMD patients timely.
Background
Pathological complete response (pCR) following neoadjuvant treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) is associated with better survival, less local recurrence, and less distant ...failure. Furthermore, pCR indicates that the rectum may have been preserved. This meta-analysis gives an overview of available neoadjuvant treatment strategies for LARC and analyzes how these perform in achieving pCR as compared with the standard of care.
Methods
Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane Central bibliographic databases were searched. Randomized controlled trials in which patients received neoadjuvant treatment for MRI-staged nonmetastatic resectable LARC were included. The primary outcome was pCR, defined as ypT0N0. A meta-analysis of studies comparing an intervention with standard fluoropyrimidine-based chemoradiation (CRT) was performed.
Results
Of the 17 articles included in the systematic review, 11 were used for the meta-analysis. Addition of oxaliplatin to fluoropyrimidine-based CRT resulted in significantly more pCR compared with fluoropyrimidine-based CRT only (OR 1.46), but at the expense of more ≥ grade 3 toxicity. Other treatment strategies, including consolidation/induction chemotherapy and short-course radiotherapy (SCRT), did not improve pCR rates. None of the included trials reported a benefit in local control or OS. Five-year DFS was significantly worse after SCRT-delay compared with CRT (59% vs. 75.1%, HR 1.93).
Conclusions
All included trials fail to deliver high-level evidence to show an improvement in pCR compared with standard fluoropyrimidine-based CRT. The addition of oxaliplatin might result in more pCR but at the expense of more toxicity. Furthermore, this benefit does not translate into less local recurrence or improved survival.
After rabies pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) vaccination, scarcely available rabies immunoglobulins are not required for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). However, PrEP is not sufficiently accessible ...as it is cost-intensive and time-intensive. This study investigates whether rabies PrEP schedules can be shortened to one visit, removing some of these barriers.
In a block-randomised (2:2:2:1) controlled, multicentre non-inferiority trial, healthy adult travellers (aged 18-50 years and >50 years) were randomly assigned to (A) single-visit intramuscular (1·0 mL); (B) single-visit intradermal (0·2 mL); (C) standard two-visit intramuscular (1·0 mL; day 0 and 7) PrEP; or (D) no rabies vaccination. 6 months later, participants received simulated intramuscular rabies PEP (1·0 mL; day 0 and 3). Rabies virus neutralising antibody (RVNA) concentrations were measured repeatedly. The primary outcome was the fold increase in geometric mean RVNA concentrations between day 0 and 7 after simulated PEP for all participants. The two main comparisons of this primary outcome are between the standard two-visit schedule and the one-visit intramuscular schedule, and between the standard two-visit schedule and the one-visit intradermal schedule. The non-inferiority margin was 0·67. This study is registered with EudraCT, 2017-000089-31.
Between May 16, 2018, and March 26, 2020, 288 healthy adult travellers were randomly assigned and 214 participants were evaluated for the primary outcome. Single-visit intramuscular rabies PrEP induced an anamnestic antibody response non-inferior compared with the two-visit intramuscular schedule; single-visit intradermal PrEP did not. The fold increases in the single-visit intramuscular and the single-visit intradermal schedule were 2·32 (95% CI 1·43-3·77) and 1·11 (0·66-1·87) times as high as the fold increase in the standard schedule, respectively. No vaccine-related serious adverse events were observed. Adverse events related to vaccination were mostly mild.
Single intramuscular rabies vaccination can effectively prime travellers (aged 18-50 years), and potentially other populations, and could replace current standard two-visit rabies vaccination as PrEP.
ZonMW.
For the Dutch translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.
The aim of this study was to determine trends in incidence, treatment and survival of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients with synchronous metastases (Stage IV) in the Netherlands. This nationwide ...population-based study included 160,278 patients diagnosed with CRC between 1996 and 2011. We evaluated changes in stage distribution, location of synchronous metastases and treatment in four consecutive periods, using Chi square tests for trend. Median survival in months was determined, using Kaplan–Meier analysis. The proportion of Stage IV CRC patients (n = 33,421) increased from 19 % (1996–1999) to 23 % (2008–2011, p < 0.001). This was predominantly due to a major increase in the incidence of lung metastases (1.7–5.0 % of all CRC patients). During the study period, the primary tumor was resected less often in Stage IV patients (65–46 %) and the use of systemic treatment has increased (29–60 %). Also an increase in metastasectomy was found in patients with one metastatic site, especially in patients with liver-only disease (5–18 %, p < 0.001). Median survival of all Stage IV CRC patients increased from 7 to 12 months. Especially in patients with metastases confined to the liver or lungs this improvement in survival was apparent (9–16 and 12–24 months respectively, both p < 0.001). In the last two decades, more lung metastases were detected and an increasing proportion of Stage IV CRC patients was treated with systemic therapy and/or metastasectomy. Survival of patients has significantly improved. However, the prognosis of Stage IV patients becomes increasingly diverse.
ObjectivesOutcomes in total hip and knee arthroplasty (THA and TKA), such as allogeneic transfusions or extended length of stay (LoS), can be used to compare the performance of hospitals. However, ...there is much variation in these outcomes. This study aims to rank hospitals and to assess hospital differences of two outcomes in THA and TKA: allogeneic transfusions and extended LoS, and to additionally identify factors associated with these differences.DesignCross-sectional medical record review study.SettingData were gathered in 23 Dutch hospitals.Participants1163 THA and 986 TKA patient admissions.OutcomesHospitals were ranked based on their observed/expected (O/E) ratios regarding allogeneic transfusion and extended LoS percentages (extended LoS was defined by postoperative stay >4 days). To assess the reliability of these rankings, we calculated which percentage of the existing variation was based on differences between hospitals as compared with random variation (after adjustment for variation in patient characteristics). Associations between hospital-specific factors and O/E ratios were used to explore potential sources of differences.ResultsThe variation in O/E ratios between hospitals ranged from 0 to 4.4 for allogeneic transfusion, and from 0.08 to 2.7 for extended LoS. Variation in transfusion could in 21% be explained by hospital differences in THA and 34% in TKA. For extended LoS this was 71% in THA and 78% in TKA. Better performance (low O/E ratios) in transfusion was associated with more frequent tranexamic acid (TXA) use in TKA (R=−0.43, p=0.04). Better performance in extended LoS was associated with more frequent TXA use in THA (R=−0.45, p=0.03) and TKA (R=−0.65, p<0.001) and local infiltration analgesia (LIA) in TKA (R=−0.60, p=0.002).ConclusionsRanking hospitals based on allogeneic transfusion is unreliable due to small percentages of variation explained by hospital differences. Ranking based on extended LoS is more reliable. Hospitals using TXA and LIA have relatively fewer patients with transfusions and extended LoS.
To examine differences in behavior problems between children from intended versus unintended pregnancies, and to estimate how much the difference in problem behavior would be reduced if postnatal ...depression was eliminated and social support was increased within 6 months after birth.
Data from the Generation R Study were used, a population-based birth cohort in Rotterdam, the Netherlands (N = 9621). Differences in child internalizing and externalizing behavior at ages 1.5, 3, 6, 9 and 13 years between pregnancy intention groups were estimated using linear regression. Associations of postnatal depression and social support with internalizing and externalizing problems were also estimated using linear regression. Child behavior outcomes where compared before and after modelling a situation in which none of the mothers experienced a postnatal depression and all mother experienced high social support.
Most pregnancies (72.9%) were planned, 14.8% were unplanned and wanted, 10.8% were unplanned with initially ambivalent feelings and 1.5% with prolonged ambivalent feelings. Children from unplanned pregnancies had more internalizing and externalizing problems at all ages as compared to children from a planned pregnancy, especially when ambivalent feelings were present. Hypothetically eliminating on postnatal depression reduced the differences in internalizing and externalizing problems by 0.02 to 0.16 standard deviation. Hypothetically increasing social support did not significantly reduce the difference in internalizing and externalizing problems.
Children from an unplanned pregnancy have more behavior problems, in particular when mothers had prolonged ambivalent feelings. Eliminating postnatal depression may help to reduce the inequality in child behavior related to pregnancy intention.
PURPOSEFatigue is a common problem among colon cancer patients and typically increases during chemotherapy. Exercise during chemotherapy might have beneficial effects on fatigue. To investigate the ...short- and long-term effects of an exercise program in colon cancer patients during adjuvant treatment, the Physical Activity During Cancer Treatment study was conducted.
METHODSIn this multicenter randomized controlled trial, 33 colon cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy (21 men and 12 women) were randomly assigned to either a group receiving an 18-wk supervised exercise program (n = 17) or to usual care (n = 16). The primary outcome was fatigue as measured by the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory and the Fatigue Quality List. Secondary outcomes were quality of life, physical fitness, anxiety, depression, body weight, and chemotherapy completion rate. Outcome assessment took place at baseline, postintervention (18 wk) and at 36 wk.
RESULTSIntention-to-treat mixed linear model analyses showed that patients in the intervention group experienced significantly less physical fatigue at 18 wk and general fatigue at 36 wk (mean between group differences, −3.2; 95% confidence interval CI, −6.2 to −0.2; effect size ES, −0.9 and −2.7; 95% CI, −5.2 to −0.1; ES, −0.8, respectively), and reported higher physical functioning (12.3; 95% CI, 3.3–21.4; ES, 1.0) compared with patients in the usual care group.
CONCLUSIONThe Physical Activity During Cancer Treatment trial shows that an 18-wk supervised exercise program in colon cancer patients during chemotherapy is safe and feasible. The intervention significantly reduced physical fatigue at 18 wk and general fatigue at 36 wk. Considering the number of patients included in the present study, replication in a larger study population is required.
Abstract Objective To compare postoperative complications in patients undergoing major surgery who received non-filtered or filtered red blood cell transfusions. Design Prospective, randomised, ...double blinded trial. Setting 19 hospitals throughout the Netherlands (three university; 10 clinical; six general). Participants 1051 evaluable patients: 79 patients with ruptured aneurysm, 412 patients undergoing elective surgery for aneurysm, and 560 undergoing gastrointestinal surgery. Interventions The non-filtered products had the buffy coat removed and were plasma reduced. The filtered products had the buffy coat removed, were plasma reduced, and filtered before storage to remove leucocytes. Main outcome measures Mortality and duration of stay in intensive care. Secondary end points were occurrence of multi-organ failure, infections, and length of hospital stay. Results No significant differences were found in mortality (odds ratio for filtered v non-filtered 0.80, 95% confidence interval 0.53 to 1.21) and in mean stay in intensive care (- 0.4 day, - 1.6 to 0.6 day). In the filtered group the mean length of hospital stay was 2.4 days shorter (- 4.8 to 0.0 day; P = 0.050) and the incidence of multi-organ failure was 30% lower (odds ratio 0.70, 0.49 to 1.00; P = 0.050). There were no differences in rates of infection (0.98, 0.73 to 1.32). Conclusion The use of filtered transfusions in some types of major surgery may reduce the length of hospital stay and the incidence of postoperative multi-organ failure.
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