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Purpose: Previous research suggests that catastrophisation and perseverative, or repetitive negative thinking (RNT) could play an important role in the aetiology of Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures (PNES). This study was designed to explore whether these cognitive tendencies are more prevalent in patients with PNES than those with epilepsy and to examine the relationship between these cognitions, depression, anxiety, seizure frequency and diagnosis.Methods: 26 patients with PNES (PWPNES) and 29 with epilepsy (PWE) self-reported RNT (Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire), catastrophisation tendencies (modified Safety Behaviors and Catastrophizing Scale), symptoms of anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment 7) and depression (Primary Health Questionnaire 9) as well as seizure frequency.Results: RNT and catastrophic thinking were highly correlated with each other and more prevalent in PWPNES than PWE. Positive correlations were also found between all other self-report measures and seizure frequency. The PNES diagnosis predicted RNT (perseverative thinking) independently of catastrophic thinking, anxiety, depression and seizure frequency.Conclusion: PWPNES exhibit greater negative perseverative and catastrophising cognitive tendencies than PWE. PNES as a diagnosis independently predicted RNT. Hence, RNT and catastrophisation should be considered as possible specific targets for psychological interventions in patients with PNES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiomics - the high-throughput computation of quantitative image features extracted from medical imaging modalities- can be used to aid clinical decision support systems in order to build diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive models, which could ultimately improve personalized management based on individual characteristics. Various tools for radiomic features extraction are available, and the field gained a substantial scientific momentum for standardization and validation. Radiomics analysis of molecular imaging is expected to provide more comprehensive description of tissues than that of currently used parameters. We here review the workflow of radiomics, the challenges the field currently faces, and its potential for inclusion in clinical decision support systems to maximize disease characterization, and to improve clinical decision-making. We also present guidelines for standardization and implementation of radiomics in order to facilitate its transition to clinical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This systematic review aims to contrast levels, manifestations and associations of depression in patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) and those with epilepsy.Methods: ScienceDirect and Web of Science were searched for primary research reports describing quantitative studies involving separate epilepsy and PNES samples (age 16+) and using a validated measure of depression.Results: While 34 studies were identified, most were of low quality and had small sample sizes. Studies consistently found higher levels of self-reported depression in the PNES than epilepsy groups, with a meta-analysis demonstrating a significant difference between the groups. Although patients with PNES were also more likely to have a clinical diagnosis of depression than those with epilepsy, the difference between the groups was less pronounced in studies based on such diagnoses rather than self-report. Patients with PNES were more likely to report physical symptoms of depression than those with epilepsy. Interpersonal factors explained more variation in depression levels in patients with PNES than those with epilepsy, for whom illness related factors were more influential, but in both patient groups, depression had a significant impact on health related quality of life.Conclusions: This systematic review demonstrates a higher prevalence of depression in patients with PNES compared to patients with epilepsy and suggests differences in the expression and possible causes of depression between these groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic of this paper is our knowledge of the natural numbers, and in particular, our knowledge of the basic axioms for the natural numbers, namely the Peano axioms. The thesis defended in this paper is that knowledge of these axioms may be gained by recourse to judgments of probability. While considerations of probability have come to the forefront in recent epistemology, it seems safe to say that the thesis defended here is heterodox from the vantage point of traditional philosophy of mathematics. So this paper focuses on providing a preliminary defense of this thesis, in that it focuses on responding to several objections. Some of these objections are from the classical literature, such as Frege's concern about indiscernibility and circularity (Section 2.1), while other are more recent, such as Baker's concern about the unreliability of small samplings in the setting of arithmetic (Section 2.2). Another family of objections suggests that we simply do not have access to probability assignments in the setting of arithmetic, either due to issues related to the ω-rule (Section 3.1) or to the non-computability and non-continuity of probability assignments (Section 3.2). Articulating these objections and the responses to them involves developing some non-trivial results on probability assignments Appendix A- Appendix C), such as a forcing argument to establish the existence of continuous probability assignments that may be computably approximated Theorem 4 Appendix B). In the concluding section, two problems for future work are discussed: developing the source of arithmetical confirmation and responding to the probabilistic liar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• First quantitative analysis of seed production in temperate Eucalyptus species. • A new seed production model was developed using tree size and reproductive traits. • Fruit size was better than seed size for predicting mean annual seed production. • Quadratic mean diameter was used to estimate forest stand maturity. Quantifying mean annual tree seed production is important for conservation and forestry applications, but its estimation remains a substantial challenge. Interspecies variation in seed production is often expressed as a trade-off between seed size and seed number, forming a key component of established models of mean annual seed production in forest stands. In this study we improved on these models by quantifying additional effects from accessory costs and reproductive maturity status, using data from temperate-zone Eucalyptus species to assess model performance. Firstly, by evaluating a range of reproductive traits, we found that seed rain density was more closely associated with 'fruit cost per seed' measures than seed size measures. For the most common measure of seed rain density (based on direct observations of free seed fall), woody capsule surface area per viable seed explained 70% of observed variation, while seed mass explained only 28% (n = 16 species). Secondly, an existing model based on seed mass, tree size and tree density was extended to include a stand maturity function, and to use alternative reproductive traits. For a smaller dataset with long-term observations and detailed stand measurements, the proportion of variance explained by the extended model ranged from 81 to 98% depending on trait selection (mean = 93%), with published models explaining less variance (75–83%, mean = 80%). By reframing interspecies variation in seed production as a trade-off between seed cost and seed number, we found evidence that investment in heavy fruit structures may represent a substantial constraint on seed output among forest stands from a common genus and region, although our results must be considered somewhat preliminary, given the small number of species examined. We have also developed an enhanced predictive model, which could be used with stand-level models for tree size and tree density to improve predictions of mean annual forest seed production in landscape simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiomics, the high-throughput mining of quantitative image features from (standard-of-care) medical imaging that enables knowledge extraction and application within clinical-decision support systems to improve diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive accuracy, is gaining importance in oncology. Radiomics utilizes artificial intelligence tools together with medical imaging data (complimentary to clinical, biological/genetic, and cost data) to help make precision medicine a reality. This talk describes the process of radiomics, its challenges, opportunities, and capacity to improve clinical decision making. Currently, radiomics is developing swiftly; though it lacks standardized evaluation criteria of both the scientific veracity and the clinical importance of published studies. Therefore, rigorous evaluation criteria and reporting guidelines need to be established in order for radiomics to mature as a discipline. To this end for both retrospective and prospective studies, the radiomics quality score (RQS: www.radiomics.world) and an online digital phantom (DOI: 10.17195/candat.2016.08.1) are offered to provide guidance and help meet this need in the field of radiomics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Objective: In acute exacerbations of asthma in children, corticosteroids reduce relapses, subsequent hospital admission, and the need for ß2-agonist bronchodilators. Prednisolone is the most commonly used corticosteroid, but prolonged treatment course, vomiting, and a bitter taste may reduce patient compliance. Dexamethasone has a longer half-life and has been used safely in other acute pediatric conditions. We examine whether a single dose of oral dexamethasone is noninferior to prednisolone in the emergency department (ED) treatment of asthma exacerbations in children, as measured by the Pediatric Respiratory Assessment Measure (PRAM) at day 4.Methods: We conducted a randomized, open-label, noninferiority trial comparing oral dexamethasone (single dose of 0.3 mg/kg) with prednisolone (1 mg/kg per day for 3 days) in patients aged 2 to 16 years and with a known diagnosis of asthma or at least 1 previous episode of ß2-agonist-responsive wheeze who presented to a tertiary pediatric ED. The primary outcome measure was the mean PRAM score (range of 0 to 12 points) performed on day 4. Secondary outcome measures included requirement for further steroids, vomiting of study medication, hospital admission, and unscheduled return visits to a health care practitioner within 14 days.Results: There were 245 enrollments involving 226 patients. There was no difference in mean PRAM scores at day 4 between the dexamethasone and prednisolone groups (0.91 versus 0.91; absolute difference 0.005; 95% CI -0.35 to 0.34). Fourteen patients vomited at least 1 dose of prednisolone compared with no patients in the dexamethasone group. Sixteen children (13.1%) in the dexamethasone group received further systemic steroids within 14 days after trial enrollment compared with 5 (4.2%) in the prednisolone group (absolute difference 8.9%; 95% CI 1.9% to 16.0%). There was no significant difference between the groups in hospital admission rates or the number of unscheduled return visits to a health care practitioner.Conclusion: In children with acute exacerbations of asthma, a single dose of oral dexamethasone (0.3 mg/kg) is noninferior to a 3-day course of oral prednisolone (1 mg/kg per day) as measured by the mean PRAM score on day 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To construct a comprehensive model of predictors of IQ and its developmental trajectories in survivors of very preterm birth from childhood to adult life. We examined trajectories of Full-scale, Verbal and Performance IQ from age 8 to 30 years in individuals who were born very preterm (<33 weeks of gestation). Using linear mixed-effect modelling and model selection procedures, we systematically evaluated the impact of perinatal and socio-demographic factors on all IQ subtypes and their trajectories. The association between all IQ subtypes and gestational age, socio-economic status and sex was stable over the studied time points. There was a linear association between IQ and gestation age when considering the full gestational age spectrum, following removal of participants born at 24 weeks of gestation. For those individuals born between 25 and 33 weeks, every full gestational week was associated with 1.4 points increase in Full-scale IQ (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.64–2.15) and 1.3 points increase in IQ subtypes (95% CI: 0.64–2.01). Younger gestational age was associated with lower Performance IQ to a greater extent than Verbal IQ. Low SES was associated with lower Full-scale IQ and males had higher Full-scale IQ than females. Individuals who were born very preterm, and especially those born at the lower end of the gestational age spectrum, continue to be at higher risk of cognitive impairment in adult life, with their Performance IQ being particularly affected. • This is a longitudinal study examining intelligence in adults born preterm • A systematic assessment of perinatal factors revealed significant predictors of IQ trajectory • The association between gestational age and IQ was linear when participants born at 24 weeks were removed. • Younger gestational age was associated with lower Performance IQ to a greater extent than Verbal IQ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]