Insights Into Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex Artifacts: A Narrative Review of the Video Head Impulse Test (vHIT).

Video head impulse test (vHIT) artifacts are defined as spurious elements or disturbances in the recorded data that deviate from the true vestibulo-ocular reflex response. These artifacts can arise from various sources, encompassing technological limitations, patient-specific factors, or environmental influences, introducing inaccuracies in vHIT outcomes. The absence of standardized criteria for artifact identification leads to methodological heterogeneity. This narrative review aims to comprehensively examine the challenges posed by artifacts in the vHIT. By surveying existing literature, the review seeks to elucidate the multifaceted nature of artifacts arising from technological, patient-related, evaluator-related, and environmental factors.

The Experience of Women From Underrepresented Groups With Urinary Incontinence: A Systematic Review.

INTRODUCTION: Urinary incontinence (UI) in women is a global public health issue. However, there is a limited understanding of the experience of women from underrepresented groups suffering from UI. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine current evidence regarding the experience of women with UI from these groups. METHODOLOGY: A systematic search was undertaken to retrieve research studies that answered the research question. Four qualitative research studies were included. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guided this review. RESULTS: Four themes emerged from this review: the perceived origin of UI, the physical, psychological, and social impact of UI, the impact of culture and religion on UI, and vice versa, and the interaction of women with health services. DISCUSSION: Social determinants of health, such as religion and culture, need to be considered by professionals providing care if women from underrepresented groups experiencing UI are to receive optimal care.

Human disturbance increases coronavirus prevalence in bats.

Human land modification is a known driver of animal-to-human transmission of infectious agents (zoonotic spillover). Infection prevalence in the reservoir is a key predictor of spillover, but landscape-level associations between the intensity of land modification and infection rates in wildlife remain largely untested. Bat-borne coronaviruses have caused three major disease outbreaks in humans: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We statistically link high-resolution land modification data with bat coronavirus surveillance records and show that coronavirus prevalence significantly increases with the intensity of human impact across all climates and levels of background biodiversity. The most significant contributors to the overall human impact are agriculture, deforestation, and mining. Regions of high predicted bat coronavirus prevalence coincide with global disease hotspots, suggesting that infection prevalence in wildlife may be an important factor underlying links between human land modification and zoonotic disease emergence.

Molecular Disambiguation of Heart Rate Control by the Nucleus Ambiguus.

The nucleus ambiguus (nAmb) provides parasympathetic control of cardiorespiratory functions as well as motor control of the upper airways and striated esophagus. A subset of nAmb neurons innervates the heart through the vagus nerve to control cardiac function at rest and during key autonomic reflexes such as the mammalian diving reflex. These cardiovagal nAmb neurons may be molecularly and anatomically distinct, but how they differ from other nAmb neurons in the adult brain remains unclear. We therefore classified adult mouse nAmb neurons based on their genome-wide expression profiles, innervation of cardiac ganglia, and ability to control HR. Our integrated analysis of single-nucleus RNA-sequencing data predicted multiple molecular subtypes of nAmb neurons. Mapping the axon projections of one nAmb neuron subtype, Npy2r-expressing nAmb neurons, showed that they innervate cardiac ganglia. Optogenetically stimulating all nAmb vagal efferent neurons dramatically slowed HR to a similar extent as selectively stimulating Npy2r+ nAmb neurons, but not other subtypes of nAmb neurons. Finally, we trained mice to perform voluntary underwater diving, which we use to show Npy2r+ nAmb neurons are activated by the diving response, consistent with a cardiovagal function for this nAmb subtype. These results together reveal the molecular organization of nAmb neurons and its control of heart rate.

Living in Temporary Ponds Loading Giant Genomes: The Neotropical Annual Killifish Genus Austrolebias as New Outstanding Evolutionary Model.

The term Annual killifish describes a short-lived and amazing group of vertebrates inhabiting temporary ponds exposed to an extremely variable environment during its short lifespan in South America and Africa, leading to the death of the entire adult population during the dry season. Austrolebias is a specious genus of the family Rivulidae, with ∼58 currently recognized species, extensively distributed in the temperate Neotropical region. Herein, we reviewed different aspects of the evolutionary biology with emphasis on the genome dynamic linked to the burst speciation process in this genus. Austrolebias constitutes an excellent model to study the genomic evolutionary processes underlying speciation events, since all the species of this genus analyzed so far share an unusually large genome size, with an average DNA content of 5.95 ± 0.45 picograms per diploid cell (mean C-value of about 2.98 pg). The drastic nuclear DNA-increasing would be associated with a considerable proportion of transposable elements (TEs) found in the Austrolebias genomes. The genomic proportion of the moderately repetitive DNA in the A. charrua genome represents approximately twice (45%) the amount of the repetitive components of the highly related sympatric and syntopic rivulinae taxon Cynopoecilus melanotaenia (25%), as well as from other rivulids and actinopterygian fish. These events could explain the great genome instability, the high genetic diversity, chromosome variability, as well as the morphological diversity in species of Austrolebias. Thus, species of this genus represent new model systems linking different evolutionary processes: drastic genome increase, massive TEs genomic representation, high chromosome instability, occurrence of natural hybridization between sister species, and burst speciation events.

Preoperative detection and evaluation of the need for psychological intervention in cancer and non-cancer patients referred to thoracic surgery.

OBJECTIVES: (a) to evaluate and compare the psychological treatment needs of patients with cancer and non-cancer, who are going to undergo scheduled thoracic surgery, and (b) evaluate and compare the diagnostic accuracy of the screening tests of psychological treatment needs for cancer and non-cancer patients. METHOD: The need for psychological treatment was evaluated in a total of 169 patients prior to thoracic surgery, through a clinical interview. The screening tests used were: the physician's judgment (yes/no), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and, the single-item interview to assess depression "Do you feel depressed?" (DEPQ). RESULTS: The number of patients who needed psychological treatment in the total sample was 47 (27.81%), in non-cancer-patients: 22 (30.99%) and in cancer patients: 25 (25.51%). The participants with treatment needs were more often young women with primary education levels, with more fears and concerns regarding their disease. With respect to the screening tests, the HADS-T (cut-off point ≥13) obtained a sensitivity (SE) of 0.75 and Specificity (SP) of 0.81 in the total sample. In patients with cancer, the HADS total score (cut-off point ≥10) obtained an SE=0.84 and SP=0.80, and, in non-cancer patients, the HADS total score (cut-off point ≥13) showed an SE=0.59 and SP=0.84. The DEPQ and the physician's judgment did not achieve adequate levels of precision. CONCLUSIONS: A high percentage of patients have psychological treatment needs before performing thoracic surgery, which are similar for cancer and non-cancer patients. Preoperative detection of patients who need psychological intervention is feasible with a simple screening test: HADS, which achieves greater precision in cancer patients.

Comprensiones alrededor del concepto de tránsito a la vida adulta y su relación con la autonomía desde el paradigma sistémico / Understandings Around the Concept of Transition to Adulthood and its Relationship with Autonomy From the Systemic Paradigm

Resumen El presente artículo parte de la importancia que el tránsito a la vida adulta ha adquirido a lo largo del tiempo, por ser un tema de reflexión y de múltiples estudios para conocer cómo las condiciones de hoy en día permiten este proceso en los jóvenes. Este artículo es un estudio cualitativo de revisión sistemática y tuvo como objetivo describir el tránsito a la adultez desde dos perspectivas. La primera, una construcción por medio de investigaciones realizadas por varios autores, los cuales encontraron que la transición a la adultez está mediada por aspectos como la autonomía, los nuevos roles, las expectativas individuales, las demandas, entre otras. Y la segunda, una visión anclada a paradigmas emergentes y el enfoque sistémico, que plantean que el tránsito a la vida adulta se ve permeado por elementos como la desvinculación, la individuación y las dinámicas familiares. La revisión permitió concluir que las condiciones familiares y sociales en las que se desarrolla el individuo son determinantes en su tránsito a la vida adulta, favoreciendo o dificultando este proceso.

Abstract This article is based on the importance that the transition to adulthood has had over time, as it is a subject of reflection and multiple studies that aim to understand how the current conditions allow this process in young people. This is a qualitative study of systematic review and its objective is to describe the transition to adulthood from two perspectives. The first, a construction through research conducted by different authors, who found that the transition to adulthood is mediated by aspects such as autonomy, new roles, individual expectations, and demands, among others. The second one, a vision anchored to emerging paradigms and the systemic approach, which suggests that the transition to adulthood is influenced by elements such as decoupling, individuation, and family dynamics. The review made it possible to conclude that the social and family conditions in which the individual develops are determining factors in his/her transition to adulthood, either favoring or hindering this process.

Growth of non-English-language literature on biodiversity conservation.

English is widely recognized as the language of science, and English-language publications (ELPs) are rapidly increasing. It is often assumed that the number of non-ELPs is decreasing. This assumption contributes to the underuse of non-ELPs in conservation science, practice, and policy, especially at the international level. However, the number of conservation articles published in different languages is poorly documented. Using local and international search systems, we searched for scientific articles on biodiversity conservation published from 1980 to 2018 in English and 15 non-English languages. We compared the growth rate in publications across languages. In 12 of the 15 non-English languages, published conservation articles significantly increased every year over the past 39 years, at a rate similar to English-language articles. The other three languages showed contrasting results, depending on the search system. Since the 1990s, conservation science articles in most languages increased exponentially. The variation in the number of non-English-language articles identified among the search systems differed markedly (e.g., for simplified Chinese, 11,148 articles returned with local search system and 803 with Scopus). Google Scholar and local literature search systems returned the most articles for 11 and 4 non-English languages, respectively. However, the proportion of peer-reviewed conservation articles published in non-English languages was highest in Scopus, followed by Web of Science and local search systems, and lowest in Google Scholar. About 20% of the sampled non-English-language articles provided no title or abstract in English; thus, in theory, they were undiscoverable with English keywords. Possible reasons for this include language barriers and the need to disseminate research in countries where English is not widely spoken. Given the known biases in statistical methods and study characteristics between English- and non-English-language studies, non-English-language articles will continue to play an important role in improving the understanding of biodiversity and its conservation.

RESUMEN: El inglés es reconocido como el idioma de la ciencia y las publicaciones en inglés (PI) cada vez son más. Con frecuencia se asume que el número de publicaciones en idiomas diferentes al inglés está disminuyendo. Esta suposición contribuye al uso reducido de las publicaciones que no están en inglés en las ciencias, prácticas y políticas de la conservación, especialmente a nivel internacional. Sin embargo, el número de artículos de conservación publicados en diferentes idiomas está muy mal documentado. Usamos sistemas de búsqueda locales e internacionales para buscar artículos científicos sobre la conservación de la biodiversidad publicados entre 1980 y 2018 en inglés y en quince idiomas diferentes al inglés. También comparamos la tasa de incremento de publicaciones en los diferentes idiomas. En doce de los quince idiomas diferentes al inglés, los artículos de conservación publicados incrementaron significativamente cada año durante los últimos 39 años, una tasa similar a los artículos en inglés. Los otros tres idiomas mostraron resultados contrastantes según el sistema de búsqueda. Desde la década de 1990, los artículos sobre ciencias de la conservación incrementaron exponencialmente en la mayoría de los idiomas. La variación en el número de artículos identificados en idiomas diferentes al inglés difirió notablemente de acuerdo con los sistemas de búsqueda (p. ej.: en el caso del chino simplificado, obtuvimos 11,148 artículos con el sistema de búsqueda local y 803 con Scopus). Google Scholar y los sistemas locales de búsqueda arrojaron la mayor cantidad de artículos en 11 y 4 idiomas diferentes al inglés, respectivamente. Sin embargo, la proporción de artículos sobre conservación revisados por pares y publicados en idiomas diferentes al inglés fue mayor en Scopus, seguida por Web of Science y los sistemas locales de búsqueda, con la menor proporción en Google Scholar. Aproximadamente el 20% de la muestra de artículos en idiomas diferentes al inglés no contaban con título o con resumen en inglés; por lo tanto, en teoría, eran imposibles de encontrar mediante palabras clave en inglés. Las posibles explicaciones de esto incluyen las barreras del idioma y la necesidad de difundir la investigación en países en los que el inglés no se habla extensamente. Con los sesgos conocidos de los métodos estadísticos y de las características de estudio entre los trabajos en inglés y en otros idiomas, los artículos en idiomas diferentes al inglés seguirán desempeñando un papel importante en el entendimiento de la biodiversidad y su conservación. Incremento de la Literatura sobre la Conservación de la Biodiversidad en Idiomas Diferentes al Inglés.

Preoperative detection and evaluation of the need for psychological intervention in cancer and non-cancer patients referred to thoracic surgery.

OBJECTIVES: (a) to evaluate and compare the psychological treatment needs of patients with cancer and non-cancer, who are going to undergo scheduled thoracic surgery, and (b) evaluate and compare the diagnostic accuracy of the screening tests of psychological treatment needs for cancer and non-cancer patients. METHOD: The need for psychological treatment was evaluated in a total of 169 patients prior to thoracic surgery, through a clinical interview. The screening tests used were: the physician's judgment (yes/no), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and, the single-item interview to assess depression "Do you feel depressed?" (DEPQ). RESULTS: The number of patients who needed psychological treatment in the total sample was 47 (27.81%), in non-cancer-patients: 22 (30.99%) and in cancer patients: 25 (25.51%). The participants with treatment needs were more often young women with primary education levels, with more fears and concerns regarding their disease. With respect to the screening tests, the HADS-T (cut-off point ≥13) obtained a sensitivity (SE) of 0.75 and Specificity (SP) of 0.81 in the total sample. In patients with cancer, the HADS total score (cut-off point ≥10) obtained an SE=0.84 and SP=0.80, and, in non-cancer patients, the HADS total score (cut-off point ≥13) showed an SE=0.59 and SP=0.84. The DEPQ and the physician's judgment did not achieve adequate levels of precision. CONCLUSIONS: A high percentage of patients have psychological treatment needs before performing thoracic surgery, which are similar for cancer and non-cancer patients. Preoperative detection of patients who need psychological intervention is feasible with a simple screening test: HADS, which achieves greater precision in cancer patients.

Vulnerability of bat-plant pollination interactions due to environmental change.

Plant-pollinator interactions are highly relevant to society as many crops important for humans are animal pollinated. However, changes in climate and land use may put such interacting patterns at risk by disrupting the occurrences between pollinators and the plants they pollinate. Here, we analyse how the co-occurrence patterns between bat pollinators and 126 plant species they pollinate may be disrupted given changes in climate and land use, and we forecast relevant changes of the current bat-plant co-occurrence distribution patterns for the near future. We predict under RCP8.5 21% of the territory will experience a loss of bat species richness, plants with C3 metabolism are predicted to reduce their area of distribution by 6.5%, CAM species are predicted to increase their potential area of distribution up to 1% and phanerophytes are predicted to have a 14% reduction in their distribution. The potential bat-plant interactions are predicted to decrease from an average of 47.1 co-occurring bat-plant pairs in the present to 34.1 in the pessimistic scenario. The overall changes in suitable environmental conditions for bats and the plant species they pollinate may disrupt the current bat-plant co-occurrence network and will likely put at risk the pollination services bat species provide.

Towards the elimination of dog-mediated rabies: development and application of an evidence-based management tool.

BACKGROUND: International organizations advocate for the elimination of dog-mediated rabies, but there is only limited guidance on interpreting surveillance data for managing elimination programmes. With the regional programme in Latin America approaching elimination of dog-mediated rabies, we aimed to develop a tool to evaluate the programme's performance and generate locally-tailored rabies control programme management guidance to overcome remaining obstacles. METHODS: We developed and validated a robust algorithm to classify progress towards rabies elimination within sub-national administrative units, which we applied to surveillance data from Brazil and Mexico. The method combines criteria that are easy to understand, including logistic regression analysis of case detection time series, assessment of rabies virus variants, and of incursion risk. Subjecting the algorithm to robustness testing, we further employed simulated data sub-sampled at differing levels of case detection to assess the algorithm's performance and sensitivity to surveillance quality. RESULTS: Our tool demonstrated clear epidemiological transitions in Mexico and Brazil: most states progressed rapidly towards elimination, but a few regressed due to incursions and control lapses. In 2015, dog-mediated rabies continued to circulate in the poorest states, with foci remaining in only 1 of 32 states in Mexico, and 2 of 27 in Brazil, posing incursion risks to the wider region. The classification tool was robust in determining epidemiological status irrespective of most levels of surveillance quality. In endemic settings, surveillance would need to detect less than 2.5% of all circulating cases to result in misclassification, whereas in settings where incursions become the main source of cases the threshold detection level for correct classification should not be less than 5%. CONCLUSION: Our tool provides guidance on how to progress effectively towards elimination targets and tailor strategies to local epidemiological situations, while revealing insights into rabies dynamics. Post-campaign assessments of dog vaccination coverage in endemic states, and enhanced surveillance to verify and maintain freedom in states threatened by incursions were identified as priorities to catalyze progress towards elimination. Our finding suggests genomic surveillance should become increasingly valuable during the endgame for discriminating circulating variants and pinpointing sources of incursions.

Evaluation of analgesic, sympathetic and motor effects of 1% and 2% lidocaine administered epidurally in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To compare, versus a control, the sensory, sympathetic and motor blockade of lidocaine 1% and 2% administered epidurally in bitches undergoing ovariohysterectomy. STUDY DESIGN: Randomized, blinded, controlled clinical trial. ANIMALS: A total of 24 mixed-breed intact female dogs. METHODS: All dogs were administered dexmedetomidine, tramadol and meloxicam prior to general anesthesia with midazolam-propofol and isoflurane. Animals were randomly assigned for an epidural injection of lidocaine 1% (0.4 mL kg-1; group L1), lidocaine 2% (0.4 mL kg-1; group L2) or no injection (group CONTROL). Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (fR), end-tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide (Pe'CO2), and invasive systolic (SAP), mean (MAP) and diastolic (DAP) arterial pressures were recorded every 5 minutes. Increases in physiological variables were treated with fentanyl (3 µg kg-1) intravenously (IV). Phenylephrine (1 µg kg-1) was administered IV when MAP was <60 mmHg. Postoperative pain [Glasgow Composite Pain Score - Short Form (GCPS-SF)] and return of normal ambulation were recorded at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 hours after extubation. RESULTS: There were no differences over time or among groups for HR, fR, Pe'CO2 and SAP. MAP and DAP were lower in epidural groups than in CONTROL (p = 0.0146 and 0.0047, respectively). There was no difference in the use of phenylephrine boluses. More fentanyl was administered in CONTROL than in L1 and L2 (p = 0.011). GCPS-SF was lower for L2 than for CONTROL, and lower in L1 than in both other groups (p = 0.001). Time to ambulation was 2 (1-2) hours in L1 and 3 (2-4) hours in L2 (p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Epidural administration of lidocaine (0.4 mL kg-1) reduced fentanyl requirements and lowered MAP and DAP. Time to ambulation decreased and postoperative pain scores were improved by use of 1% lidocaine compared with 2% lidocaine.

The Sonozotz project: Assembling an echolocation call library for bats in a megadiverse country.

Bat acoustic libraries are important tools that assemble echolocation calls to allow the comparison and discrimination to confirm species identifications. The Sonozotz project represents the first nation-wide library of bat echolocation calls for a megadiverse country. It was assembled following a standardized recording protocol that aimed to cover different recording habitats, recording techniques, and call variation inherent to individuals. The Sonozotz project included 69 species of echolocating bats, a high species richness that represents 50% of bat species found in the country. We include recommendations on how the database can be used and how the sampling methods can be potentially replicated in countries with similar environmental and geographic conditions. To our knowledge, this represents the most exhaustive effort to date to document and compile the diversity of bat echolocation calls for a megadiverse country. This database will be useful to address a range of ecological questions including the effects of anthropogenic activities on bat communities through the analysis of bat sound.

Evaluation of a deep learning system for the joint automated detection of diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.

PURPOSE: To validate the performance of a commercially available, CE-certified deep learning (DL) system, RetCAD v.1.3.0 (Thirona, Nijmegen, The Netherlands), for the joint automatic detection of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in colour fundus (CF) images on a dataset with mixed presence of eye diseases. METHODS: Evaluation of joint detection of referable DR and AMD was performed on a DR-AMD dataset with 600 images acquired during routine clinical practice, containing referable and non-referable cases of both diseases. Each image was graded for DR and AMD by an experienced ophthalmologist to establish the reference standard (RS), and by four independent observers for comparison with human performance. Validation was furtherly assessed on Messidor (1200 images) for individual identification of referable DR, and the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) dataset (133 821 images) for referable AMD, against the corresponding RS. RESULTS: Regarding joint validation on the DR-AMD dataset, the system achieved an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 95.1% for detection of referable DR (SE = 90.1%, SP = 90.6%). For referable AMD, the AUC was 94.9% (SE = 91.8%, SP = 87.5%). Average human performance for DR was SE = 61.5% and SP = 97.8%; for AMD, SE = 76.5% and SP = 96.1%. Regarding detection of referable DR in Messidor, AUC was 97.5% (SE = 92.0%, SP = 92.1%); for referable AMD in AREDS, AUC was 92.7% (SE = 85.8%, SP = 86.0%). CONCLUSION: The validated system performs comparably to human experts at simultaneous detection of DR and AMD. This shows that DL systems can facilitate access to joint screening of eye diseases and become a quick and reliable support for ophthalmological experts.

Transcriptome-Based SNP Discovery and Validation in the Hybrid Zone of the Neotropical Annual Fish Genus Austrolebias.

The genus Austrolebias (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae) represents a specious group of taxa following annual life cycles in the neotropical ichthyofauna. They live in temporary ponds and each generation must be completed in a few months, depending on environmental stochasticity. Annual fish survive the dry season through diapausing eggs buried in the substrate of these ponds. A hypothesized bimodal hybrid zone between two taxa of the genus, A. charrua and A. reicherti from Dos Patos Merin lagoon system, was recently proposed based on genetics and morphological analyses. However, hundreds of additional nuclear molecular markers should be used to strongly support this hypothesized bimodal pattern. In the present paper, we conducted RNA-seq-based sequencing of the transcriptomes from pools of individuals of A. charrua, A. reicherti and their putative natural hybrids from the previously characterized hybrid zone. As a result, we identified a set of 111,725 SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) markers, representing presumably fixed allelic differences among the two species. The present study provided the first panel of 106 SNP markers as a single diagnostic multiplex assay and validated their capacity to reconstruct the patterns of the hybrid zone between both taxa. These nuclear markers combined with Cytb gene and morphological analyses detected a population structure in which some groups among the hybrid swarms showed different level of introgression towards one or the other parental species according to their geographic distribution. High-quality transcriptomes and a large set of gene-linked SNPs should greatly facilitate functional and population genomics studies in the hybrid zone of these endangered species.

Reduced Peripapillary and Macular Vessel Density in Unilateral Postgeniculate Lesions With Retrograde Transsynaptic Degeneration.

BACKGROUND: Retrograde transsynaptic degeneration (RTSD) of the retinal ganglion cells and retinal nerve fiber layer after postgeniculate injury has been well documented, but to the best of our knowledge, associated retinal microvascular changes have not been examined. The purpose of our study was to assess vessel density (VD) at macular and peripapillary regions in patients with RTSD. METHODS: Cross-sectional study including 16 patients with homonymous visual field defects secondary to unilateral postgeniculate visual pathway injury and 18 age-matched controls. All participants were examined with AngioVue optical coherence tomography angiography to measure the peripapillary vessel density and macular vessel density (pVD/mVD) as well as the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) and macular ganglion cell complex (GCC) thicknesses. The pRNFL and macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thicknesses also were evaluated using Cirrus OCT. A normalized asymmetry score (NAS) was calculated for GCIPL and GCC thickness, and mVD. RESULTS: Average pRNFL and macular GCIPL/GCC thicknesses were significantly thinner in both eyes of patients compared with control eyes (all P ≤ 0.05). Eight patients (50%), who showed a RTSD of the GCIPL map, had a relative thinning of the GCIPL/GCC ipsilateral to the brain lesion in both eyes (represented by a positive GCIPL-NAS/GCC-NAS). The mean pVD and mVD also were significantly reduced in patients (all P ≤ 0.05). There was a strong correlation between GCIPL-NAS/GCC-NAS and mVD-NAS index in both eyes (all r > 0.7, P = 0.001). Furthermore, there was a similar spatial pattern of damage for the macular GCC thickness and VD values. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated a significant VD decrease in peripapillary and macular areas of patients with RTSD because of postgeniculate lesions. The structural and microvascular asymmetry indexes were significantly correlated. These findings provide new insights regarding transsynaptic degeneration of the visual system.

Implementación de un programa de cribado del malestar emocional en un servicio de cirugía torácica / Implementing a distress screening program in a thoracic surgery service

Introducción: El objetivo del presente estudio es examinar la precisión diagnóstica de los test de cribado utilizados para detectar la necesidad de atención psicológica en pacientes remitidos para cirugía torácica. Métodos: Se evaluó la presencia de malestar emocional en un total de 105 pacientes remitidos para cirugía torácica por medio de la entrevista clínica psicológica (variable criterio). Los métodos de cribado utilizados fueron: el juicio del médico (sí/no), la Escala Hospitalaria de Ansiedad y Depresión (HADS), la pregunta única para evaluar depresión "¿se siente usted deprimido?" (ADEP) (1-5) y la pregunta única para medir ansiedad "¿se siente ansioso?" (AANA) (1-5). Resultados: De acuerdo con la entrevista entrevista clínica psicológica, el 34% de los pacientes fueron casos clínicos que requerían intervención psicológica. La puntuación total de la escala HADS (punto de corte 10) mostró una sensibilidad del 0,89, especificidad del 0,75 y un ABC de 0,883; la ADEP (punto de corte 1) mostró una sensibilidad del 0,79, especificidad del 0,74 y ABC del 0,795; la AANS (>1) obtuvo una sensibilidad del 0,78, especificidad del 0,41 y ABC de 0,69 y el juicio del médico mostró una sensibilidad del 0,47 y especificidad del 0,86. Conclusiones: Un alto porcentaje de pacientes remitidos para cirugía torácica requirieron intervención psicológica. El mejor instrumento para identificar a aquellos pacientes con necesidades psicológicas, tomando la entrevista psicológica como variable criterio, fue la puntuación total del HADS. Este instrumento es simple y breve, bien aceptado por los pacientes, de fácil aplicación en un servicio de cirugía torácica y tiene buena capacidad diagnóstica

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to examine the diagnostic accuracy of screening tests in detecting cases requiring psychological intervention among patients referred for thoracic surgery. Methods: Emotional distress was evaluated in 105 patients referred for thoracic surgery by means of a diagnostic psychological interview (criterion variable). The screening ability of the following methods was analyzed: the physician's opinion (Yes/No), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), single-item interview: «Are you depressed?» (Depression Question, ADEP) (1-5) and the single-item interview: «Are you anxious?» (Anxiety Question, ANXQ) (1-5). Results: According to the clinical interview, 34% of the patients were clinical cases requiring psychological intervention. The total HADS (cut-off point of 10) showed a sensitivity = 0.89, specificity = 0.75 and AUC = 0.883; the ADEP scale (>1) showed a sensitivity = 0.79, specificity = 0.74 and AUC = 0.795; the ANXQ scale (>1) showed a sensitivity = 0.78, specificity = 0.41 and AUC = 0.690; and the physician's opinion showed a sensitivity = 0.47 and specificity = 0.86. Conclusions: A high percentage of patients referred for thoracic surgery required psychological intervention. The best instrument to identify those patients requiring psychological care, taking a psychological interview as the criterion variable, was the total HADS score. This test is brief, simple and well accepted by patients; it is easy to implement within a thoracic surgery service and has a good diagnostic accuracy

Implementing a distress screening program in a thoracic surgery service. / Implementación de un programa de cribado del malestar emocional en un servicio de cirugía torácica.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the present study was to examine the diagnostic accuracy of screening tests in detecting cases requiring psychological intervention among patients referred for thoracic surgery. METHODS: Emotional distress was evaluated in 105 patients referred for thoracic surgery by means of a diagnostic psychological interview (criterion variable). The screening ability of the following methods was analyzed: the physician's opinion (Yes/No), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), single-item interview: «Are you depressed?¼ (Depression Question, ADEP) (1-5) and the single-item interview: «Are you anxious?¼ (Anxiety Question, ANXQ) (1-5). RESULTS: According to the clinical interview, 34% of the patients were clinical cases requiring psychological intervention. The total HADS (cut-off point of 10) showed a sensitivity=0.89, specificity=0.75 and AUC=0.883; the ADEP scale (>1) showed a sensitivity=0.79, specificity=0.74 and AUC=0.795; the ANXQ scale (>1) showed a sensitivity=0.78, specificity=0.41 and AUC=0.690; and the physician's opinion showed a sensitivity=0.47 and specificity=0.86. CONCLUSIONS: A high percentage of patients referred for thoracic surgery required psychological intervention. The best instrument to identify those patients requiring psychological care, taking a psychological interview as the criterion variable, was the total HADS score. This test is brief, simple and well accepted by patients; it is easy to implement within a thoracic surgery service and has a good diagnostic accuracy.

Spatial and taxonomic biases in bat records: Drivers and conservation implications in a megadiverse country.

Biases in data availability have serious consequences on scientific inferences that can be derived. The potential consequences of these biases could be more detrimental in the less-studied megadiverse regions, often characterized by high biodiversity and serious risks of human threats, as conservation and management actions could be misdirected. Here, focusing on 134 bat species in Mexico, we analyze spatial and taxonomic biases and their drivers in occurrence data; and identify priority areas for further data collection which are currently under-sampled or at future environmental risk. We collated a comprehensive database of 26,192 presence-only bat records in Mexico to characterize taxonomic and spatial biases and relate them to species' characteristics (range size and foraging behavior). Next, we examined variables related to accessibility, species richness and security to explain the spatial patterns in occurrence records. Finally, we compared the spatial distributions of existing data and future threats to these species to highlight those regions that are likely to experience an increased level of threats but are currently under-surveyed. We found taxonomic biases, where species with wider geographical ranges and narrow-space foragers (species easily captured with traditional methods), had more occurrence data. There was a significant oversampling toward tropical regions, and the presence and number of records was positively associated with areas of high topographic heterogeneity, road density, urban, and protected areas, and negatively associated with areas which were predicted to have future increases in temperature and precipitation. Sampling efforts for Mexican bats appear to have focused disproportionately on easily captured species, tropical regions, areas of high species richness and security; leading to under-sampling in areas of high future threats. These biases could substantially influence the assessment of current status of, and future anthropogenic impacts on, this diverse species group in a tropical megadiverse country.

Towards an integration of the health promotion models of self-determination theory and theory of planned behavior among people with chronic pain.

PURPOSE: People with chronic pain and related disability often report motivational difficulties with engaging in health-promoting behaviors. Although health promotion models of self-determination theory (SDT) and theory of planned behavior (TPB) have been shown to explain the motivational processes behind health behaviors in the general population, there is limited theoretical research among persons with chronic pain. This study examined the integration of such theories relevant to physical activity and exercise behavior among pain populations. RESEARCH METHOD: Secondary data analyses were conducted using cross-sectional surveys from 198 participants with chronic musculoskeletal pain recruited from U.S. clinics and community networks. The primary outcome was self-reported physical activity and exercise participation. Predictor variables included pain intensity, functional disability, and SDT and TPB measures. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to examine the associations between these variables. RESULTS: Findings demonstrated that in the first step, functional disability was associated with physical activity and exercise; and in the second step, all SDT factors were associated with physical activity and exercise. In the final step of the model, only certain SDT and TPB factors were associated with physical activity and exercise. CONCLUSIONS: Despite preexisting pain and functional disability, the findings suggest that health behavior factors from both SDT and TPB are associated with physical activity and exercise participation. This line of research should encourage rehabilitation professionals to recommend regular physical activity and exercise, while simultaneously addressing and monitoring the SDT and TPB factors that are well-timed and appropriate for persons with chronic pain through motivation-oriented rehabilitation approaches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).