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Journal, Physical Therapy Education Jun 2024The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of physical therapists (PTs) regarding the importance of financial resource management (FRM) knowledge, skills,...
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of physical therapists (PTs) regarding the importance of financial resource management (FRM) knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) for entry-level practice and investigate the roles of PT education programs (PTEPs), clinical education experiences (CEEs), and employers in addressing these KSAs.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
FRM KSAs have been identified as components of professionalism and leadership and, as such, are a required element in student PTs (SPTs) educational preparation.
SUBJECTS
A purposive sampling of convenience strategy was employed by requesting a free mailing list for Ohio-licensed PTs.
METHODS
An online survey was developed based on PT Clinical Performance Instrument Criterion #17, "Patient Management: Financial Resources," as this tool is frequently used to endorse entry-level status of SPTs. Potential participants were solicited through email. Mixed methodology was used to analyze survey results.
RESULTS
The survey was completed by 266 PTs. FRM KSAs in legal and regulatory compliance were perceived as most important, followed by coding and billing. Forty-eight percent of participants indicated that FRM KSAs were "less important" (n = 111) or "considerably less important" (n = 17) than clinical care skills, whereas 39.8% (n = 106) believed that these skills are of the same level of importance. Ten themes were derived from qualitative responses regarding the FRM content that should be provided by PTEPs. Participants indicated that the role of PTEPs was to provide an introduction and foundation to FRM, whereas CEEs should facilitate intentional exposure and opportunities to apply FRM KSAs with supervision. Employers were expected to provide education regarding clinic-specific operations and reimbursement considerations, as well as mentorship that included reviewing complex billing for accuracy, offering guidance for improving time management skills, and discussing fiscal responsibilities to both the employer and patient.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
This information may guide PTEPs and clinical personnel in providing focused meaningful instruction regarding FRM aspects of PT practice to SPTs and entry-level clinicians.
Topics: Humans; Ohio; Physical Therapists; Surveys and Questionnaires; Male; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Female; Clinical Competence; Adult; Financial Management; Middle Aged; Attitude of Health Personnel
PubMed: 38758180
DOI: 10.1097/JTE.0000000000000306 -
Journal, Physical Therapy Education Jun 2024Effective academic-clinical partnerships require a greater understanding of how academic programs can best support clinical education (CE) faculty. This study aimed to...
INTRODUCTION
Effective academic-clinical partnerships require a greater understanding of how academic programs can best support clinical education (CE) faculty. This study aimed to determine resources and support that clinical partners need.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
As the number of physical therapist (PT) programs, cohort sizes, and CE weeks have risen, so has demand for CE sites. Conversely, staffing reductions, increased administrative duties, and rising productivity expectations have decreased the time available for clinical instruction. To promote a successful CE experience, there must be a renewed understanding of CE faculty needs.
SUBJECTS
Clinical education faculty affiliated with any of the 8 contributing programs from the Ohio-Kentucky Consortium participated in survey research (n = 24) and subsequent interview (n = 4) and focus group (n = 6) research.
METHODS
Constructivist grounded theory design was used to explore the needs of CE faculty. Academic and clinical partners developed the initial survey and used survey results to establish interview questions. The investigators iteratively assessed data saturation and clarity of results of coded survey, interview, and focus group data to determine whether the study's aims of identifying CE faculty needs had been met.
RESULTS
The aggregated results yielded 5 main themes of Director of Clinical Education support for CE faculty needs: student readiness for CE experience; effective academic-clinical partner communication; collaborative management of exceptional students; judicious standardization of CE processes; and provision of CE faculty development resources.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
Clinical education faculty have noted challenges that affect their ability to mentor students. They want academic programs to be more collaborative and proactive with communication, resources, and support. Future research should address aids and barriers to proactive communication, resource provision, and academic-clinical partner collaboration.
Topics: Humans; Focus Groups; Surveys and Questionnaires; Faculty; Grounded Theory; Physical Therapists; Cooperative Behavior; Ohio
PubMed: 38758178
DOI: 10.1097/JTE.0000000000000326 -
Genes, Brain, and Behavior Jun 2024Reading disorders (RD) are human-specific neuropsychological conditions associated with decoding printed words and/or reading comprehension. So far only a handful of...
Reading disorders (RD) are human-specific neuropsychological conditions associated with decoding printed words and/or reading comprehension. So far only a handful of candidate genes segregated in families and 42 loci from genome-wide association study (GWAS) have been identified that jointly provided little clues of pathophysiology. Leveraging human-specific genomic information, we critically assessed the RD candidates for the first time and found substantial human-specific features within. The GWAS candidates (i.e., population signals) were distinct from the familial counterparts and were more likely pleiotropic in neuropsychiatric traits and to harbor human-specific regulatory elements (HSREs). Candidate genes associated with human cortical morphology indeed showed human-specific expression in adult brain cortices, particularly in neuroglia likely regulated by HSREs. Expression levels of candidate genes across human brain developmental stages showed a clear pattern of uplifted expression in early brain development crucial to RD development. Following the new insights and loci pleiotropic in cognitive traits, we identified four novel genes from the GWAS sub-significant associations (i.e., FOXO3, MAPT, KMT2E and HTT) and the Semaphorin gene family with functional priors (i.e., SEMA3A, SEMA3E and SEMA5B). These novel genes were related to neuronal plasticity and disorders, mostly conserved the pattern of uplifted expression in early brain development and had evident expression in cortical neuroglial cells. Our findings jointly illuminated the association of RD with neuroglia regulation-an emerging hotspot in studying neurodevelopmental disorders, and highlighted the need of improving RD phenotyping to avoid jeopardizing future genetic studies of RD.
Topics: Humans; Dyslexia; Genome-Wide Association Study; Neuroglia
PubMed: 38752599
DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12899 -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2024Syndromic autism spectrum conditions (ASC), such as Klinefelter syndrome, also manifest hypogonadism. Compared to the popular Extreme Male Brain theory, the Enhanced... (Review)
Review
Syndromic autism spectrum conditions (ASC), such as Klinefelter syndrome, also manifest hypogonadism. Compared to the popular Extreme Male Brain theory, the Enhanced Perceptual Functioning model explains the connection between ASC, savant traits, and giftedness more seamlessly, and their co-emergence with atypical sexual differentiation. Overexcitability of primary sensory inputs generates a relative enhancement of local to global processing of stimuli, hindering the abstraction of communication signals, in contrast to the extraordinary local information processing skills in some individuals. Weaker inhibitory function through gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA) receptors and the atypicality of synapse formation lead to this difference, and the formation of unique neural circuits that process external information. Additionally, deficiency in monitoring inner sensory information leads to alexithymia (inability to distinguish one's own emotions), which can be caused by hypoactivity of estrogen and oxytocin in the interoceptive neural circuits, comprising the anterior insular and cingulate gyri. These areas are also part of the Salience Network, which switches between the Central Executive Network for external tasks and the Default Mode Network for self-referential mind wandering. Exploring the possibility that estrogen deficiency since early development interrupts GABA shift, causing sensory processing atypicality, it helps to evaluate the co-occurrence of ASC with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, and schizophrenia based on phenotypic and physiological bases. It also provides clues for understanding the common underpinnings of these neurodevelopmental disorders and gifted populations.
Topics: Humans; Androgens; Estrogens; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Male; Sex Differentiation; Klinefelter Syndrome; Perception; Brain
PubMed: 38752176
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1343759 -
Cureus Apr 2024Alexia without agraphia is a striking vascular syndrome of the acquired inability to read words just written down. This syndrome occurs after lesions in the splenium of...
Alexia without agraphia is a striking vascular syndrome of the acquired inability to read words just written down. This syndrome occurs after lesions in the splenium of the corpus callosum that disconnect the angular gyrus from the visual pathway. Most of the time, a lesion in the left occipital lobe is also present, and patients present with a visual field deficit. It is a classic neurological syndrome that is rarely seen. We present two cases of alexia without agraphia seen in our hospital the same week.
PubMed: 38752100
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.58309 -
Frontiers in Neuroscience 2024Reading and math constitute important academic skills, and as such, reading disability (RD or developmental dyslexia) and math disability (MD or developmental...
BACKGROUND
Reading and math constitute important academic skills, and as such, reading disability (RD or developmental dyslexia) and math disability (MD or developmental dyscalculia) can have negative consequences for children's educational progress. Although RD and MD are different learning disabilities, they frequently co-occur. Separate theories have implicated the cerebellum and its cortical connections in RD and in MD, suggesting that children with combined reading and math disability (RD + MD) may have altered cerebellar function and disrupted functional connectivity between the cerebellum and cortex during reading and during arithmetic processing.
METHODS
Here we compared Control and RD + MD groups during a reading task as well as during an arithmetic task on (i) activation of the cerebellum, (ii) background functional connectivity, and (iii) task-dependent functional connectivity between the cerebellum and the cortex.
RESULTS
The two groups (Control, RD + MD) did not differ for either task (reading, arithmetic) on any of the three measures (activation, background functional connectivity, task-dependent functional connectivity).
CONCLUSION
These results do not support theories that children's deficits in reading and math originate in the cerebellum.
PubMed: 38741787
DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1135166 -
Journal of the American College of... Jul 2024The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) represents a comprehensive functional assessment that is commonly used in patients with heart failure; however, data are lacking in...
BACKGROUND
The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) represents a comprehensive functional assessment that is commonly used in patients with heart failure; however, data are lacking in patients with transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA).
OBJECTIVES
This study aimed to assess the prognostic importance of the 6MWT in patients with ATTR-CA.
METHODS
A retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with ATTR-CA at the National Amyloidosis Centre who underwent a baseline 6MWT between 2011 and 2023 identified 2,141 patients, of whom 1,118 had follow-up at 1 year.
RESULTS
The median baseline 6MWT distance was 347 m (Q1-Q3: 250-428 m) and analysis by quartiles demonstrated an increased death rate with each distance reduction (deaths per 100 person-years: 6.3 vs 9.2 vs 13.6 vs 19.0; log-rank P < 0.001). A 6MWT distance of <350 m was associated with a 2.2-fold higher risk of mortality (HR: 2.15; 95% CI: 1.85-2.50; P < 0.001), with a similar increased risk across National Amyloidosis Centre disease stages (P for interaction = 0.761) and genotypes (P for interaction = 0.172). An absolute (reduction of >35 m) and relative worsening (reduction of >5%) of 6MWT at 1 year was associated with an increased risk of mortality (HR: 1.80; 95% CI: 1.51-2.15; P < 0.001 and HR: 1.89; 95% CI: 1.59-2.24; P < 0.001, respectively), which was similar across the aforementioned subgroups. When combined with established measures of disease progression (N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide progression and outpatient diuretic intensification), each incremental increase in progression markers was associated with an increased death rate (deaths per 100 person-years: 7.6 vs 13.9 vs 22.4 vs 32.9; log-rank P < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
The baseline 6MWT distance can refine risk stratification beyond traditional prognosticators. A worsening 6MWT distance can stratify disease progression and, when combined with established markers, identifies patients at the highest risk of mortality.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Retrospective Studies; Prognosis; Walk Test; Aged; Amyloid Neuropathies, Familial; Cardiomyopathies; Middle Aged; Follow-Up Studies
PubMed: 38739065
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2024.04.011 -
The Journal of Medical Investigation :... 2024This study aimed to investigate blood flow dynamics in the bilateral prefrontal cortex during silent and oral reading using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The...
This study aimed to investigate blood flow dynamics in the bilateral prefrontal cortex during silent and oral reading using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The subjects were 40 right-handed university students (20.5±1.8 years old, 20 men and 20 women). After completing the NIRS measurements, the subjects were asked to rate their level of proficiency in silent and oral reading, using a 5-point Likert scale. During oral reading, the left lateral prefrontal cortex (Broca's area) was significantly more active than the right side. During silent reading, prefrontal cortex activity was lower than that during oral reading, and there was no significant difference between both sides of the brain. A significant negative correlation was found between the change in oxy-hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentration in the left and right lateral prefrontal cortex during silent reading and silent reading speed. In addition, students with lower self-reported reading proficiency had significantly greater changes in oxy-Hb concentrations in the left and right lateral prefrontal cortex during silent/oral reading than did students with higher self-reported reading proficiency. Reading task assessment using NIRS may be useful for identifying language lateralization and Broca's area. The results demonstrate that NIRS is useful for assessing effortful reading and may be used to diagnose developmental dyslexia in children. J. Med. Invest. 71 : 92-101, February, 2024.
Topics: Humans; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; Prefrontal Cortex; Male; Reading; Female; Young Adult; Oxyhemoglobins; Cerebrovascular Circulation; Adult
PubMed: 38735731
DOI: 10.2152/jmi.71.92 -
BMC Pediatrics May 2024Reading learning disability (RLD) is characterized by a specific difficulty in learning to read that is not better explained by an intellectual disability, lack of...
Reading learning disability (RLD) is characterized by a specific difficulty in learning to read that is not better explained by an intellectual disability, lack of instruction, psychosocial adversity, or a neurological disorder. According to the domain-general hypothesis, a working memory deficit is the primary problem. Working memory in this population has recently been linked to altered resting-state functional connectivity within the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and frontoparietal network (FPN) compared to that in typically developing individuals. The main purpose of the present study was to compare the within-network functional connectivity of the DMN, SN, FPN, and reading network in two groups of children with RLD: a group with lower-than-average working memory (LWM) and a group with average working memory (AWM). All subjects underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and data were analyzed from a network perspective using the network brain statistics framework. The results showed that the LWM group had significantly weaker connectivity in a network that involved brain regions in the DMN, SN, and FPN than the AWM group. Although there was no significant difference between groups in reading network in the present study, other studies have shown relationship of the connectivity of the angular gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobe with the phonological process of reading. The results suggest that although there are significant differences in functional connectivity in the associated networks between children with LWM and AWM, the distinctive cognitive profile has no specific effect on the reading network.
Topics: Humans; Memory, Short-Term; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Child; Male; Female; Dyslexia; Brain; Nerve Net; Reading; Case-Control Studies
PubMed: 38720281
DOI: 10.1186/s12887-024-04791-2 -
Scientific Reports May 2024Phonological awareness (PA) is at the foundation of reading development: PA is introduced before formal reading instruction, predicts reading development, is a target...
Phonological awareness (PA) is at the foundation of reading development: PA is introduced before formal reading instruction, predicts reading development, is a target for early intervention, and is a core mechanism in dyslexia. Conventional approaches to assessing PA are time-consuming and resource intensive: assessments are individually administered and scoring verbal responses is challenging and subjective. Therefore, we introduce a rapid, automated, online measure of PA-The Rapid Online Assessment of Reading-Phonological Awareness-that can be implemented at scale without a test administrator. We explored whether this gamified, online task is an accurate and reliable measure of PA and predicts reading development. We found high correlations with standardized measures of PA (CTOPP-2, r = .80) for children from Pre-K through fourth grade and exceptional reliability (α = .96). Validation in 50 first and second grade classrooms showed reliable implementation in a public school setting with predictive value of future reading development.
Topics: Humans; Reading; Child; Female; Male; Phonetics; Dyslexia; Reproducibility of Results; Awareness; Child, Preschool
PubMed: 38704429
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60834-9