Threats to the integrity of psychological assessment: The misuse of test raw data and materials.

In the practice of psychological assessment there have been warnings for decades by the American Psychological Association (APA), the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN), other associations, and test vendors, against the disclosure of test raw data and test materials. Psychological assessment occurs across several different practice environments, and test raw data is a particularly sensitive aspect of practice considering what it implicitly represents about a client/patient, and this concept is further developed in this paper. Many times, test materials are intellectual property protected by copyrights and user agreements. It follows that improper management of the release of test raw data and test materials threatens the scientific integrity of psychological assessment. Here the matters of test raw data, test materials, and different practice environments are addressed to highlight the challenges involved with improper releases and to offer guidance concerning good-faith efforts to preserve the integrity of psychological assessment and legal agreements. The unique demands of forensic practice are also discussed, including attorneys' needs for cross-examination and discovery, which may place psychologists (and other duly vetted evaluators) in conflict with their commitment to professional ethical codes and legal agreements. To this end, important threats to the proper use of test raw data and test materials include uninformed professionals and compromised evaluators. In this paper, the mishandling of test raw data and materials by both psychologists and other evaluators is reviewed, representative case examples, including those from the literature, are provided, pertinent case law is discussed, and practical stepwise conflict resolutions are offered.

Associations between potentially modifiable clinical factors and sagittal balance of the spine in older adults from the general population.

PURPOSE: Spinal sagittal balance is associated with back pain and quality of life. Enhancing understanding of the clinical factors associated with sagittal balance is essential for guiding the development of effective non-operative treatment. We aimed to evaluate the associations between spinal sagittal balance and potentially modifiable clinical factors and interactions between current back pain and the evaluated clinical factors. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study where sagittal alignment, measured radiographically by EOS, was defined by sagittal vertical axis (SVA). The clinical factors included non-radiographic (NR) lumbar lordosis angle, balance (Berg balance scale), hip and back extension range of motion (ROM) and extensor strength, and back pain. Pearson's correlation coefficients and multivariable regression analyses were conducted in 63 adult participants (70% female, mean age 73 (SD 8.6) years) from the general population. RESULTS: We identified correlations between SVA and age (r = 0.4, p < 0.001), body mass index (BMI) (r = 0.3, p = 0.008), balance (r = - 0.5, p < 0.001) and NR lumbar lordosis angle (r = - 0.5, p < 0.001). The final model (R2 = 58%) identified that, after controlling for age and BMI, larger SVA was associated with lower NR lumbar lordosis (R2 = 15%, p < 0.001), poorer balance (R2 = 7%, p = 0.02), greater hip extensor strength (R2 = 4%, p = 0.053), and among people with back pain, NR lumbar extension ROM (R2 = 3%, p = 0.034). Hip ROM and lumbar strength were not significant. CONCLUSION: Reduced NR lumbar lordosis magnitude and ROM, balance and hip strength are associated with SVA; however, it is unclear if these factors are compensatory, contributing, or modifiable. Hence, future longitudinal studies are needed.

Sagittal spine shape literacy in the general adult population, assessed by a novel, simple graphical tool.

[Purpose] The sagittal shape of the spine is associated with back-pain, balance and quality of life. We developed, evaluated and report the responses of a graphical tool to assess sagittal spine shape knowledge (literacy). [Participants and Methods] Two hundred and fifty adults were randomly assigned, in a cross-sectional crossover study, to free-hand draw and select the "ideal" sagittal spine shape. We evaluated the inter and intra-rater reliability and agreement between tests and the sagittal and lordotic spine literacy between the drawing and selection test versions. [Results] Drawing test inter- and intra-rater agreement was 79% and 80% respectively. Drawing vs. selection agreement was 43%. More participants drew than selected the correct spine (30% vs. 21%) (p<0.001) and lumbar lordosis shape (56% vs. 42%) (p<0.001). Test order did not affect spine shape literacy scores. A significantly poorer literacy trend was observed with spine pain presence (p=0.02). [Conclusion] We developed a reliable method to evaluate spine shape literacy and established that only 21% and 42% of our sample demonstrated correct sagittal spine and lordotic spine shape literacy, respectively. The low literacy scores suggests that consideration of including spine shape literacy in health literacy and self-management programs may be warranted, especially in ageing populations.

Improving sleep medicine education among health professions trainees.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Despite increasing recognition of its importance, sleep medicine education remains limited during medical training. We sought to assess the baseline knowledge of a group of health professions trainees and to determine whether an educational sleep medicine "boot camp" led to improvement in sleep medicine knowledge. METHODS: Participants attended a 2-day introduction to sleep medicine course designed for new sleep medicine fellows in July 2017 and 2018. Participants completed 2 validated sleep knowledge questionnaires (The Assessment of Sleep Knowledge in Medical Education and The Dartmouth Sleep Knowledge and Attitude Survey) prior to and at the conclusion of the course. RESULTS: A total of 21 health professions trainees including 14 sleep medicine fellows completed both presurveys and postsurveys. Baseline Assessment of Sleep Knowledge in Medical Education Survey score was 21.4 ± 3.4 out of 30 (71.4% ± 11.4%) and baseline Dartmouth Sleep Knowledge and Attitude Survey score was 16.1 ± 2.4 out of 24 (67.3% ± 9.9%). There was no difference in baseline scores between sleep medicine fellows and other health professions trainees. There was a statistically significant improvement in the Assessment of Sleep Knowledge in Medical Education Survey (2.9 ± 2.1 points, P = .004) and Dartmouth Sleep Knowledge and Attitude Survey (2.5 ± 3.0 points, P = .001) scores among all participants after the course, without a difference in degree of improvement among sleep medicine fellows compared to other health professions trainees. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that baseline sleep medicine knowledge is higher than previously reported among health professions trainees. An educational sleep medicine boot camp improved knowledge even in a group of learners with high baseline knowledge and interest in sleep medicine, including new sleep medicine fellows. CITATION: Wappel SR, Scharf SM, Cohen L, et al. Improving sleep medicine education among health profession trainees. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(12):2461-2466.

Discovery of TAK-981, a First-in-Class Inhibitor of SUMO-Activating Enzyme for the Treatment of Cancer.

SUMOylation is a reversible post-translational modification that regulates protein function through covalent attachment of small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) proteins. The process of SUMOylating proteins involves an enzymatic cascade, the first step of which entails the activation of a SUMO protein through an ATP-dependent process catalyzed by SUMO-activating enzyme (SAE). Here, we describe the identification of TAK-981, a mechanism-based inhibitor of SAE which forms a SUMO-TAK-981 adduct as the inhibitory species within the enzyme catalytic site. Optimization of selectivity against related enzymes as well as enhancement of mean residence time of the adduct were critical to the identification of compounds with potent cellular pathway inhibition and ultimately a prolonged pharmacodynamic effect and efficacy in preclinical tumor models, culminating in the identification of the clinical molecule TAK-981.

What every dentist needs to know about obstructive sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea has 2 variants that are classified by their etiologic mechanism, namely, an obstructive or a central origin. Despite the clinical and scientific advancements in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) over the past 20 years, a majority of affected patients remain undiagnosed. This article reviews aspects of unmanaged OSA, including the oral and maxillofacial signs and symptoms, systemic risk factors, diagnostic criteria, guidelines for patient referral to a sleep physician, and clinical management techniques. Additionally, the role of dentists in oral appliance therapy is explored.

Non-radiographic methods of measuring global sagittal balance: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Global sagittal balance, describing the vertical alignment of the spine, is an important factor in the non-operative and operative management of back pain. However, the typical gold standard method of assessment, radiography, requires exposure to radiation and increased cost, making it unsuitable for repeated use. Non-radiologic methods of assessment are available, but their reliability and validity in the current literature have not been systematically assessed. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to synthesise and evaluate the reliability and validity of non-radiographic methods of assessing global sagittal balance. METHODS: Five electronic databases were searched and methodology evaluated by two independent reviewers using the13-item, reliability and validity, Brink and Louw critical appraisal tool. RESULTS: Fourteen articles describing six methodologies were identified from 3940 records. The six non-radiographic methodologies were biophotogrammetry, plumbline, surface topography, infra-red motion analysis, spinal mouse and ultrasound. Construct validity was evaluated for surface topography (R = 0.49 and R = 0.68, p < 0.001), infra-red motion-analysis (ICC = 0.81) and plumbline testing (ICC = 0.83). Reliability ranged from moderate (ICC = 0.67) for spinal mouse to very high for surface topography (Cronbach α = 0.985). Measures of agreement ranged from 0.9 mm (plumbline) to 22.94 mm (infra-red motion-analysis). Variability in study populations, reporting parameters and statistics prevented a meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The reliability and validity of the non-radiographic methods of measuring global sagittal balance was reported within 14 identified articles. Based on this limited evidence, non-radiographic methods appear to have moderate to very high reliability and limited to three methodologies, moderate to high validity. The overall quality and methodological approaches of the included articles were highly variable. Further research should focus on the validity of non-radiographic methods with a greater adherence to reporting actual and clinically relevant measures of agreement.

Violence, health, and the 2030 agenda: Merging evidence and implementation.

The Guest Editors introduce the Special Issue for the Journal of Public Health Policy on violence, health, and the 2030 Agenda. Emphasizing the importance of collaboration between scholars and practitioners, they outline the process of jointly imagining and designing the next generation of violence prevention strategies. They include representative works of members of the World Health Organization (WHO) Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA), including the World Bank, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Prevention Institute, the Danish Institute Against Torture, the University of Cambridge Institute of Criminology, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Gender Violence and Health Centre, and the Yale University Law and Psychiatry Division, among others.

Transforming Our World: Implementing the 2030 Agenda Through Sustainable Development Goal Indicators.

The United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes violence as a threat to sustainability. To serve as a context, we provide an overview of the Sustainable Development Goals as they relate to violence prevention by including a summary of key documents informing violence prevention efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA) partners. After consultation with the United Nations (UN) Inter-Agency Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDG), we select specific targets and indicators, featuring them in a summary table. Using the diverse expertise of the authors, we assign attributes that characterize the focus and nature of these indicators. We hope that this will serve as a preliminary framework for understanding these accountability metrics. We include a brief analysis of the target indicators and how they relate to promising practices in violence prevention.

Communities are not all created equal: Strategies to prevent violence affecting youth in the United States.

We describe violence in the United States (US) and solutions the Urban Networks to Increase Thriving Youth (UNITY) Initiative has developed, led by Prevention Institute, a US non-governmental organization (NGO) and authors of this article, with initial funding from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Safety distribution across populations is unequal, while public health research has identified aspects of community environments that affect the likelihood of violence, or risk and resilience factors. An overwhelming number of risk factors have accumulated in some US communities, disproportionately impacting young people of color. US policies, systems, and institutions powerfully shape how and where these factors manifest. Violence is preventable, not inevitable. We argue that comprehensive strategies for improving community environments can reduce violence and promote health equity. We present lessons, tools, and frameworks that UNITY cities use to adapt for international application, including multi-sector collaboration, strategies for influencing policy and legislation, and strengthening local violence prevention efforts.

Building a Thriving Nation: 21st-Century Vision and Practice to Advance Health and Equity.

It is a great time for prevention. As the United States explores what health in our country should look like, it is an extraordinary time to highlight the role of prevention in improving health, saving lives, and saving money. The Affordable Care Act's investment in prevention has spurred innovation by communities and states to keep people healthy and safein the first place This includes growing awareness that community conditions are critical in determining health and that there is now a strong track record of prevention success. Community prevention strategies create lasting changes by addressing specific policies and practices in the environments and institutions that shape our lives and our health-from schools and workplaces to neighborhoods and government. Action at the community level also fosters health equity-the opportunity for every person to achieve optimal health regardless of identity, neighborhood, ability, or social status-and is often the impetus for national-level decisions that vitally shape the well-being of individuals and populations.

Primary Peritoneal Mesothelioma Resulting in Small Bowel Obstruction: A Case Report and Review of Literature.

BACKGROUND: Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare malignancy that affects the serosal surfaces of the peritoneum. The peritoneum is the second most common site of mesothelium affected following the pleura. The aggressive nature and vague presentation pose many obstacles in not only diagnosis but also the treatment of patients with this disease. CASE REPORT: We present a case of a 76-year-old woman who presented with small bowel obstruction secondary to carcinomatosis secondary to primary peritoneal mesothelioma. The patient had multiple risk factors with asbestos exposure and prior therapeutic radiation. CONCLUSIONS: We discuss the highly varied and elusive presentation of peritoneal mesothelioma. Cumulative asbestos exposure, either directly or indirectly, remains the leading cause of mesothelioma. However, there are other non-asbestos etiologies. Small bowel obstruction often is a late-presenting symptom of widespread tumor burden. A concise review of the current diagnostic and surgical treatment of primary peritoneal mesothelioma demonstrates that early diagnosis and implementation remains vital.

A double-blind, randomized, multicenter, dose-ranging study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of fospropofol disodium as an intravenous sedative for colonoscopy in high-risk populations.

Fospropofol is a sedative hypnotic with a slower onset and longer duration of action. Fospropofol has demonstrated successful dose-dependent sedation at 6.5 mg/kg. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of a lower weight-adjusted dose compared with the approved dose (4.875 or 6.5 mg/kg depending on patient subgroup) in high-risk elderly patients undergoing colonoscopy. In this study, 153 subjects were classified into 3 subgroups based on the following: age, weight, and American Society of Anesthesiologist (ASA) physical status criteria. The patients were randomized to the approved dose or weight-adjusted dose of fospropofol in a 1:1 ratio. Subgroup 1 (n = 50) consisted of patients weighing <60 kg, age 18-65 years, and ASA I or II; subgroup 2 (n = 50) consisted of patients weighing <60 kg; age 65 years and above, and ASA I-IV; and subgroup 3 (n = 53) consisted of patients weighing ≥60 kg, age 65 years and above, and ASA I-IV. Sedation, modified sedation and treatment success, and safety parameters were assessed. The approved dose had a significantly higher sedation success compared with the weight-adjusted dose: 96% versus 72% for subgroup 1; 84% versus 72% for subgroup 2; and 96% versus 67.9% for subgroup 3. There was a decreased need for alternative sedatives in subgroups 1 and 3 and fewer sedation- and treatment-emergent adverse events in all the subgroups for the approved dose. Additionally, sedation success data pooled across subgroups and examined based on age, weight, and ASA categories showed a significantly higher rate of sedation success in the approved dose arm across all the subgroups. The rate of sedation, modified sedation, and treatment success were higher in patients administered the approved dose for all the subgroups. No clinically significant advantage was demonstrated using a lower modified dose in this study population. The approved dose is recommended in the elderly, more obese, and high-risk patients when used for moderate sedation.