Activity

To systematically review the clinical manifestations and treatment outcomes of patients with subaxial cervical spinal tuberculosis (SCS-TB) and evaluate the current evidence for surgical or nonsurgical treatment.

A systematic review was performed using the PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases. Studies published in English from January 2000 to December 2018 were included in the search. A reference lists search of relevant articles was also conducted for other potential references. The risk of bias was assessed with the 13-item criteria recommended by the Cochrane Back and Neck Group and the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies.

Fifteen articles were included with a total of 456 patients, of which only 1 study was randomized and fourteen were nonrandomized. The most common symptom reported was neck pain and stiffness, and the most common segment involved was C5. Of the 456 patients, 329 (72.1%) were treated surgically. Most experiee for children, radical debridement may cause the development of progressive kyphosis during growth. Larger randomized comparative studies with longer follow-up times are needed.Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can improve visual perception. click here However, the effect of tDCS on visual perception is largely variable, possibly due to individual differences in initial performance. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the dependency of visual motion perception improvements on initial performance. Twenty-eight observers were randomly divided into two groups. Anodal tDCS and sham stimulation were separately applied to V5 (1.5 mA, 20 min), while observers performed a coherent motion direction identification task. The results showed that compared to sham stimulation, anodal tDCS induced a significant improvement in motion perception that lasted at least 20 min. In addition, the degree of improvement was dependent on initial performance, with a greater improvement magnitude observed for those with poorer initial performance. These results may have implications for understanding the nature of the stimulation rule and for the use of a customised stimulation protocol to enhance tDCS efficiency in practical applications.A goal-directed flexible behavior warrants our ability to timely inhibit impending movements deemed inappropriate due to an abrupt change in the context. Race model of countermanding rapid saccadic eye movement posits a competition between a preparatory GO process and an inhibitory STOP process rising to reach a fixed threshold. Stop-signal response time (SSRT), which is the average time STOP takes to rise to the threshold, is widely used as a metric to assess the ability to revoke a movement. A reliable estimation of SSRT critically depends on the assumption of independence between GO and STOP process, which has been violated in many studies. In addition, the physiological correlate of stochastic rise of STOP process to a threshold remains unsubstantiated thus far. Here, we introduce a method to estimate the efficacy of inhibitory control on the premise of an alternative model that assumes deceleration of GO process following the stop-signal onset. The average reaction time increased exponentially with the increase in the maximum duration available to attenuate GO process by the stop-signal. Our method estimates saccade procrastination in anticipation of the stop-signal, and the rate of increase in attenuation on GO process. Unlike SSRT, these new metrics are independent of how the stopping performance varies with the delay between go- and stop-signal onsets. We reckon that these metrics together qualify to be considered as an efficient alternative to SSRT for the estimation of individuals’ ability to countermand saccades, especially in cases when the assumptions of race model are no longer valid.The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of hierarchical goal structure of a yet-to-be performed task on gait and eye fixation behavior while walking to the location of where the task was to be performed. Subjects performed different goal-directed tasks representing three hierarchical levels of planning. The first level of planning consisted of having the subject walk to a bookcase on which an object (a cup) was located in the middle of a shelf. The second level of planning consisted of walking to the bookcase and picking up the cup which was in the middle, on the right side, or on the left side of the bookcase shelf. The third level of planning consisted of walking to the bookcase, picking up the cup which was located in the middle of the bookcase shelf, and moving it to a higher shelf. Findings showed that hierarchal goals do affect center of mass velocity and eye fixation behavior. Center of mass velocity to the bookcase increased with an increase in the number of goals. Subjects decreased gait velocity as they approached the bookcase and adjusted their last steps to accommodate picking up the cup. The findings also demonstrated the important role of vision in controlling gait velocity in goal-directed tasks. Eye fixation duration was more important than the number of eye fixations in controlling gait velocity. Thus, the amount of information gained through object fixation duration is of greater importance than the number of fixations on the object for effective goal achievement.

The aim of this study was to evaluate through a systematic review the extraction of third molars as a risk factor for temporomandibular disorders (TMDs).

Randomized and nonrandomized controlled clinical trials where patients underwent third molar extraction and with qualitative evaluation of TMDs before and after extraction were included.

After applying the inclusion criteria, seven nonrandomized clinical studies were included. QUIPS tool showed that four articles presented a moderate and three a high risk of bias (RoB). Six studies reported that TMDs presented higher level after removal of third molars ranging from OR, 1.81 to 2.15/RR, 2.1. However, one study showed no significant association. GRADE showed heterogeneity in relation to general results, which means that confidence in the estimated effects varied from low to moderate GRADE. The quality of clinical recommendations decreased especially due to the risk of bias in some of the included studies evaluated with the QUIPS tool.

Third molar extraction can be associated with the development of TMD signs and symptoms.