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Timely and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in clinical practice remains challenging. PET and CSF biomarkers are the most widely used biomarkers to aid diagnosis in clinical research but present limitations for clinical practice (i.e., cost, accessibility). Emerging blood-based markers have the potential to be accurate, cost-effective, and easily accessible for widespread clinical use, and could facilitate timely diagnosis. The EU/US CTAD Task Force met in May 2022 in a virtual meeting to discuss pathways to implementation of blood-based markers in clinical practice. Specifically, the CTAD Task Force assessed: the state-of-art for blood-based markers, the current use of blood-based markers in clinical trials, the potential use of blood-based markers in clinical practice, the current challenges with blood-based markers, and the next steps needed for broader adoption in clinical practice.

BackgroundGreater subjective cognitive changes on the Cognitive Function Index (CFI) was previously found to be associated with elevated amyloid (Aß) status in participants screening for the A4 Study, reported by study partners and the participants themselves. While the total score on the CFI related to amyloid for both sources respectively, potential differences in the specific types of cognitive changes reported by either participants or their study partners was not investigated.ObjectivesTo determine the specific types of subjective cognitive changes endorsed by participants and their study partners that are associated with amyloid status in individuals screening for an AD prevention trial.Design, setting, participantsFour thousand four hundred and eighty-six cognitively unimpaired (CDR=0; MMSE 25-30) participants (ages 65-85) screening for the A4 Study completed florbetapir (Aß) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging. Participants were classified as elevated amyloid (Aß+; n=1323) or non-elevated amyloid (Aß-; n=3163).MeasurementsPrior to amyloid PET imaging, subjective report of changes in cognitive functioning were measured using the CFI (15 item questionnaire; Yes/Maybe/No response options) and administered separately to both participants and their study partners (i.e., a family member or friend in regular contact with the participant). The impact of demographic factors on CFI report was investigated. For each item of the CFI, the relationship between Aß and CFI response was investigated using an ordinal mixed effects model for participant and study partner report.ResultsIndependent of Aß status, participants were more likely to report 'Yes' or 'Maybe' compared to the study partners for nearly all CFI items. Older age (r= 0.06, p

Dental caries is a multifactorial disease caused by pathogenic biofilm. In particular, Streptococcus mutans synthesizes biofilm exopolysaccharides, while Candida albicans is associated with the development of severe carious lesions. This study aimed to prevent the formation of S. mutans and C. albicans biofilms by exploiting pH-sensitive nanoparticle carriers (NPCs) with high affinity to exopolysaccharides to increase the substantivity of multi-targeted antibiofilm drugs introduced topically in vitro. Dual-species biofilms were grown on saliva-coated hydroxyapatite discs with sucrose. Twice-daily, 1.5 min topical treatment regimens of unloaded and drug-loaded NPC were used. Drugs included combinations of two or three compounds with distinct, complementary antibiofilm targets: tt-farnesol (terpenoid; bacterial acid tolerance, fungal quorum sensing), myricetin (flavonoid; exopolysaccharides inhibitor), and 1771 (lipoteichoic acid inhibitor; bacterial adhesion and co-aggregation). Biofilms were evaluated for biomass, microbial population, and architecture. NPC delivering tt-farnesol and 1771 with or without myricetin completely prevented biofilm formation by impeding biomass accumulation, bacterial and fungal population growth, and exopolysaccharide matrix deposition (vs. control unloaded NPC). Both formulations hindered acid production, maintaining the pH of spent media above the threshold for enamel demineralization. However, treatments had no effect on pre-established dual-species biofilms. Complementary antibiofilm drug-NPC treatments prevented biofilm formation by targeting critical virulence factors of acidogenicity and exopolysaccharides synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effects of leaders' self-awareness of their own leadership on followers' satisfaction, self-leadership, and leader effectiveness. A leader's self-awareness was conceptualized as the degree of similarity between [...]

Background: Dental caries is a multifactorial disease caused by pathogenic biofilm. In particular, Streptococcus mutans synthesizes biofilm exopolysaccharides, while Candida albicans is associated with the development of severe carious lesions. Aim: This study aimed to prevent the formation of S. mutans and C. albicans biofilms by exploiting pH-sensitive nanoparticle carriers (NPCs) with high affinity to exopolysaccharides to increase the substantivity of multi-targeted antibiofilm drugs introduced topically in vitro. Methods: Dual-species biofilms were grown on saliva-coated hydroxyapatite discs with sucrose. Twice-daily, 1.5 min topical treatment regimens of unloaded and drug-loaded NPC were used. Drugs included combinations of two or three compounds with distinct, complementary antibiofilm targets: tt-farnesol (terpenoid; bacterial acid tolerance, fungal quorum sensing), myricetin (flavonoid; exopolysaccharides inhibitor), and 1771 (lipoteichoic acid inhibitor; bacterial adhesion and co-aggregation). Biofilms were evaluated for biomass, microbial population, and architecture. Results: NPC delivering tt-farnesol and 1771 with or without myricetin completely prevented biofilm formation by impeding biomass accumulation, bacterial and fungal population growth, and exopolysaccharide matrix deposition (vs. control unloaded NPC). Both formulations hindered acid production, maintaining the pH of spent media above the threshold for enamel demineralization. However, treatments had no effect on pre-established dual-species biofilms. Conclusion: Complementary antibiofilm drug-NPC treatments prevented biofilm formation by targeting critical virulence factors of acidogenicity and exopolysaccharides synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1989 'Top management group heterogeneity and firm performance.' Strategic Management Journal, Special Issue: 10: 125-141. Norburn, David, and Sue Birley 1988 'The top management team and corporate performance.' Strategic Management [...]

Introduction: Controlled clinical trials (CCTs) have traditionally been limited to urban academic clinical centers. Implementation of CCTs in rural setting is challenged by lack of resources, the inexperience of patient care team members in CCT conductance and workflow interruption, and global inexperience with remote data monitoring. Methods: We report our experience during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in activating through remote monitoring a multicenter clinical trial (the Study of Efficacy and Safety of Canakinumab Treatment for cytokine release syndrome (CRS) in Participants with COVID-19-induced Pneumonia [CAN-COVID] trial, ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04362813) at a rural satellite hospital, the VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital (VCU-CMH) in South Hill, VA, that is part of the larger VCU Health network, with the lead institution being VCU Health Medical College of Virginia Hospital (VCU-MCV), Richmond, VA. We used the local resources at the facility and remote guidance and oversight from the VCU-MCV resources using a closed-loop communication network. Investigational pharmacy, pathology, and nursing were essential to operate the work in coordination with the lead institution. Results: Fifty-one patients with COVID-19 were enrolled from May to August 2020, 35 (69%) at VCU-MCV, and 16 (31%) at VCU-CMH. Among the patients enrolled at VCU-CMH, 37.5% were female, 62.5% Black, and had a median age of 60 (interquartile range 56–68) years. Conclusion: Local decentralization of this trial in our experience gave rural patients access to a novel treatment and also accelerated enrollment and more diverse participants' representative of the target population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study integrates theories from the leadership and team development literatures to resolve ambiguity regarding the relative benefits of empowering and directive leadership in teams by focusing on their influence on team development processes over time. Empirical results based on longitudinal performance data from 60 teams suggest that teams led by a directive leader initially outperform those led by an empowering leader. However, despite lower early performance, teams led by an empowering leader experience higher performance improvement over time because of higher levels of team learning, coordination, empowerment, and mental model development. Implications for current and future team leadership research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Customer demands and an increasingly complex environment can make team selling critical to strategy implementation, profitability and competitive advantage. The increased use of selling teams has not been matched by an increased understanding of how to foster enhanced selling team effectiveness. In this article the authors define empowered selling teams and the shared leadership process within such teams. We develop a limited model of selling team effectiveness where team member characteristics, and vertical leadership, influence shared leadership and shared leadership indirectly and directly influences selling team effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the paradoxical role of the external leaders of self-managing work teams. Observation, interviews, group elicitation's, and a literature search were used to identify salient leader behaviors in a medium-sized manufacturing plant that had been operating far several years under a system of self-managing work teams. A self-management leadership questionnaire was developed to measure the 21 leader behaviors identified. Correlations with overall leadership-effectiveness ratings generally indicated that the external leaders' most important behaviors are those that facilitate the team's self-management through self-observation, self-evaluation, and self-reinforcement. The study suggests that there is a legitimate role for external leaders of self-managing work teams but that it differs from traditional and participative leadership roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This justice-theory-based study of punishment surveyed supervisors and their disciplined subordinates about specific punishment events. Path analysis results suggested that two personality traits-belief in a just world and negative affectivity-were associated with the subordinates' perceptions of the events. Perceived harshness, a distributive characteristic of the events, was associated with the supervisors' perceptions of the subordinates' subsequent performance. Subordinate control, a procedural characteristic of the events, was associated with the supervisors' perceptions of subsequent citizenship behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigated the environmental antecedents of expectancy I and expectancy II. Expectancy II was found to be strongly related to supervisory variables and, to a lesser extent, to organization practices variables. Expectancy I was mildly related to organization practices variables. Internal control individuals had stronger El and Ell perceptions. Implications for management development and training are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of interrelationships among role variables, locus of control, and subordinate satisfaction and performance revealed that: (a) internals perceived less role conflict, were neither more satisfied nor performed better than externals; (b) role conflict and ambiguity explained more variance in satisfaction and performance than locus of control; and (c) role ambiguity increasingly explained more variance in job satisfaction as occupational level rose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceptual methods of measuring six job characteristic dimensions were developed and validated. A perceptual instrument, called the Job Characteristic Inventory (JCI), demonstrated construct validity, reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity across two diverse samples. Uses of the instrument for research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationships between leader behavior and subordinate satisfaction and performance, unmoderated and moderated by a subordinate's role ambiguity, were studied at multiple occupational skill levels in a hospital. The results supported path-goal theory's propositions concerning the relationship between leader initiating structure and subordinate satisfaction, but not leader initiating structure and subordinate performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social learning theory notion of vicarious learning through modeling can elucidate the phenomenon of behavioral change in organizations. Vicarious learning encompasses attentional, retention, motor reproduction, and motivational processes. If any of these processes is lacking or impaired, the learner is less likely to perform an observed behavior. Whether or not a model is attractive, competent, and successful contributes to the overall probability of that model's behavior being imitated by others. Managers need to use modeling effectively to enhance the achievement of organizational and personal goals. In particular, attention should be given to day-to-day modeling as well as to formal training to effect organizational behavior changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I supplement the preceding Arvey and Ivancevich discussion by examining punishment research in organizational settings. The review is divided into three categories: (1) cross-sectional psychometric, (2) longitudinal psychometric, and (3) laboratory and field studies. Two major conclusions emerge. First, in most studies that contrast positive and punitive leader behavior, reward behavior tends to have a much stronger effect on employee performance. Second, both longitudinal field and laboratory studies seem to support the idea that punishment tends to be more a result of employee behavior than a cause of employee behavior. More specifically, managers tend to increase punitive behavior in response to poor employee performance. I also pose several questions that should be useful in guiding future research into the effects of punishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the authors examine the effectiveness of simulation gaming in business education. They discuss previous research that has indicated that business students have not been properly prepared for the real world dimensions of their careers. In this paper they propose that simulation gaming has begun to combat this problem by allowing students to face the real world situations they can expect to encounter after school. They assert that gaming has the ability to prepare students for the environment of uncertainty that exists in real organizations. By gaining experience with techniques such as managing both people and products students can better equip themselves for the decisions they will face as managers.

Background: Cerebral arterial gas embolism is a potentially life-threatening event. Intraarterial air can occlude blood flow directly or cause thrombosis. Sclerotherapy is an extremely rare cause of cerebral arterial gas embolism.Method: Case-reportResults: A 38-year-old female suffered acute onset of a left middle cerebral artery (LMCA) syndrome with an NIH stroke score of 11 approximately 10 min after lower extremity sclerotherapy. CT angiogram demonstrated LMCA intraarterial air. Patient fully recovered after hyperbaric oxygen treatment with complete resolution of intraarterial air. However, thrombus replaced intraarterial air despite anticoagulation with heparin.Conclusion: We provide radiological evidence of hyperbaric oxygen therapy resolving intraarterial air but also demonstrate the thrombogenic potential of this procedural complication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]