Similarities and differences between eating disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder in childhood and adolescence: a systematic review.

Background: The developmental age, comprising childhood and adolescence, constitutes an extremely important phase of neurodevelopment during which various psychiatric disorders can emerge. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Eating Disorders (ED) often manifest during this critical developmental period sharing similarities but also differences in psychopathology, neurobiology, and etiopathogenesis. The aim of this study is to focus on clinical, genetic and neurobiological similarities and differences in OCD and ED. Methods: This study is based on a PubMed/MEDLINE and Cochrane Central Register for Controlled Trial (CENTRAL). The research adhered to the guidelines outlined in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Results: The aforementioned search yielded an initial collection of 335 articles, published from 1968 to September 2023. Through the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 324 articles were excluded, culminating in a final selection of 10 articles. Conclusions: Our findings showed both differences and similarities between OCD and ED. Obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms are more prevalent in ED characterized by a binge/purge profile than in those with a restrictive profile during developmental age. OC symptomatology appears to be a common dimension in both OCD and ED. When presents, OC symptomatology, exhibits transversal characteristic alterations in the anterior cingulate cortex and poorer cognitive flexibility. These correlations could be highlighted by genetic overlaps between disorders. A comprehensive definition, integrating psychopathological and neurobiological aspects could significantly aid treatment selection and thereby influence the prognosis of these patients.

Accuracy of narrow-band imaging in predicting the histology of anal intraepithelial lesions.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) is the precursor of anal squamous carcinoma, frequently underappreciated by most gastroenterologists. Purpose of the study is to assess the diagnostic accuracy of narrow-band imaging (NBI) in predicting the histology of anal lesions, considering a new NBI classification. METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients with suspected anal squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs) and superficially invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SISCCA) who underwent anorectal-sigmoidoscopy. Three expert endoscopists reviewed all the images collected during colonoscopies in white light and NBI in order to generate a practical classification of three main different NBI patterns. RESULTS: After the modified Delphi process, the final NBI classification, mainly based on intrapapillary capillary loops (IPCL) changes included three different NBI pattern. NBI pattern I: elongation of IPCL toward epithelial surface; NBI pattern 2: thickened and tortuous IPCL; NBI pattern 3: mosaic-like disposition of IPCL. We found that NBI pattern positively correlated to the histologic type of the lesions and tumor grade (Spearman's rho = 0.9671, P = 0.0000). Among 58 anal lesions included, 41/41 (100%) LSILs have been classified as NBI pattern I, 10/11 (90.91%) HSILs as NBI pattern II, 1/11 HSIL as NBI pattern I, 4/4 SISCCA as NBI pattern III and 2/2 invasive cancer as NBI pattern III. Diagnostic accuracy of NBI pattern II or III in predicting histology differentiating HSIL or SISCCA/IC versus LSIL showed a sensitivity of 100%, (95% CI: 92.3-100%) and a specificity of 94.1% (95% CI: 83.8-98.3%). CONCLUSION: The accuracy of this new NBI score system in predicting the histology of anal lesions showed encouraging data in term of sensitivity and specificity in differentiating HSIL or SISCCA/IC versus LSIL, but the clinical usefulness and application of these findings should be evaluated in a prospective larger study.

Worker satisfaction with adaptive automation and working conditions: a theoretical model and questionnaire as an assessment tool.

This article focuses on methods and tools to measure worker satisfaction with reference to industrial automation. Despite technological advances in automation, the role of human workers on industrial shop floors remains crucial. To promote humans' roles, production systems should be designed and organized so workers are valued and get satisfactory jobs. The article presents a novel holistic model of worker satisfaction with adaptive automation and working conditions. The model takes into account psychosocial and physical working conditions and the characteristics of the automation system the worker interacts with and its user interface. We propose a questionnaire to be used as a practical tool to assess worker satisfaction with industrial automation, considering also the case of adaptive automation. The proposed version of the questionnaire is the result of pilot testing carried out among shop floor operators and takes into account adjustments derived from end-user feedback.

The Index of Cognitive Activity - Eligibility for task-evoked informational strain and robustness towards visual influences.

Various researchers have proposed pupillometric indicators to assess a person's cognitive strain. However, to distinguish the variation of pupil light response from psychosensory pupil response in experimental field conditions is a challenge. The Index of Cognitive Activity (ICA) addresses this problem by wavelet separation. This research investigates the ICA's sensitivity for multiple level task-evoked cognitive activity and visual influences concerning informational work tasks. Objective and subjective measures assessed cognitive strain of participants (N = 22) during various tasks. In a first experiment, mental arithmetic tasks were used to induce different levels of cognitive activity. In a second experiment, influences of screen polarity and presentation of information were investigated (N = 18). The results indicate that eye metrics are rarely sensitive to slight variations in task difficulty. Moreover, the ICA is likely to be sensitive towards constant screen illumination and shows tendencies regarding changes in displayed information. Possible ramifications for the objective assessment of cognitive strain are discussed.

Fast and effective estimation of narrowband components for bioelectrical signals.

In this paper we propose a novel approach for estimating narrowband components from bioelectrical signals. The approach is based on the notion of modulated quadratic variation, introduced as a measure of variability for narrowband signals. The algorithm is the closed-form solution to a constrained convex optimization problem, where narrowband components are estimated tracking the slow variations around a central frequency in the measured signal. The approach is general and can be applied to any bioelectrical signal, either for diagnostic or denoising purposes. In this paper we assess its performance on ECG and EMG signals. Numerical results show its effectiveness in removing narrowband artifacts, such as power-line interference, while preserving signal morphology. It greatly outperforms conventional notch filtering. Moreover, it is also very fast, as its computational complexity is linear in the size of the vector to process.

Statistical assessment of performance of algorithms for detrending RR series.

Detrending RR series is a common processing step prior to HRV analysis. Customarily, RR series, which are inherently unevenly sampled, are interpolated and uniformly resampled, thus introducing errors in subsequent HRV analysis. We have recently proposed a novel approach to detrending unevenly sampled series, which is based on the notion of weighted quadratic variation reduction. In this paper, we extensively assess its performance on RR series through a statistical analysis. Numerical results confirm the effectiveness of the approach, which outperforms state-of-the-art methods. Furthermore, it is statistically uniformly better than competing algorithms. A sensitivity analysis shows that it is robust to variations of its controlling parameter. The algorithm is simple and favorable in terms of computational complexity, thus being suitable for long-term HRV analysis. To the best of the authors' knowledge, it is the fastest algorithm for detrending RR series.

Fecal calprotectin levels in patients with colonic polyposis.

CONTEXT: The usefulness of stool calprotectin determination in diagnosis of inflammatory disease of the colon has been reported; information about its usefulness for patients with polyposis are scarce, however. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the significance of stool calprotectin concentrations for patients affected by colonic polyposis. PATIENTS: Sixty-three consecutive patients (35 males, 28 females, mean age 60.3 years, range 39-78 years) were enrolled: 26 patients (41.3%) with polyps, 17 patients (27.0%) with asymptomatic diverticular disease, and 20 subjects (31.7%) with normal endoscopic appearance of the colon. RESULTS: Stool calprotectin concentrations were 17.4 +/- 24.5 microg g(-1) for patients with colonic polyposis, significantly higher than concentrations for patients with diverticulosis (7.1 +/- 5.7 microg g(-1); P = 0.026) or for patients with normal appearance of the colon (calprotectin 6.0 +/- 5.8 microg g(-1); P = 0.003). For patients with a single polyp, stool calprotectin concentrations were similar to those for patients with multiple polyps. Calprotectin fecal concentrations for patients with sessile polyps and those with flat polyps were not significantly different. Calprotectin concentrations were not significantly related to the size of the polyps. CONCLUSION: Our data show that colonic polyposis may cause an increase in stool calprotectin values and that these colonic lesions should be suspected when elevated stool calprotectin concentrations are found.