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Background and objective Approximately 89% of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) suffer from dysarthria. Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT), a behavioral therapy, aims at improving speech and voice functions. The objective was to assess the effectiveness of LSVT compared with other/no speech interventions for dysarthria in patients with PD. Methods Electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library, were searched. The publication date of all included studies was prior to 6 March 2020. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the LSVT intervention compared to other/no speech intervention were considered. The data obtained from the included studies were described and the mean differences were calculated. Results Eight RCTs were included in this meta-analysis comparing LSVT with other /no speech interventions. In the comparison of LSVT versus no intervention, vocal intensity for sustained "Ah" phonation, reading the "Rainbow passage", monologue and describing a picture increased by 8.87 dB, 4.34 dB, 3.25 dB, 3.31 dB, respectively, after 1 month of therapy. Compared with the respiratory therapy group, the LSVT group also showed significant improvement in vocal intensity for sustained "Ah" phonation, reading the "Rainbow passage" and monologue immediately after treatment (13.39 dB, 6.66 dB, 3.19 dB). Positive improvement still existed after 24 months. There was no difference in the therapeutic effect between face-to-face LSVT and online-LSVT. Conclusions The effectiveness of LSVT for dysarthria in patients with PD was verified in these trials. However, future RCTs with sufficient participants are still essential to evaluate the effectiveness of LSVT for dysarthria.Many institutions rely upon prosection-based laboratories as more resource-efficient and time-effective alternatives to traditional cadaver dissection for human anatomy education. To facilitate growing enrollment numbers despite resource limitations, the University of Guelph (a non-medical institution) introduced a modified 'stepwise' prosection-based laboratory cohort to supplement a dissection-based course. see more In this design, all students attended the same lectures, but those in the dissection-based cohort learned by performing regional dissections and students in the prosection-based cohort studied from those dissections. Prosection students thereby witnessed a 'slow reveal' of structures throughout the course. This study compared the perceived course experiences, student approaches to learning, and academic performance between the two groups. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to isolate the effect of the laboratory environment on student approaches to learning and academic performance from demographic and situational covariates. Both groups reported positive course experience ratings and high average final grades that were not statistically dissimilar (P > 0.05), increased reliance on deep approaches to learning (P = 0.002), and decreased reliance on surface approaches to learning (P = 0.023). When controlling for covariates, participation in dissection had small but statistically significant positive associations with deep approaches to learning (P = 0.043), performance on laboratory oral assessments (P less then 0.001), and average final grades (P = 0.039). Ultimately, both designs promoted meaningful learning and desirable performance outcomes, indicating that both dissection and stepwise prosection have the potential to facilitate high quality human anatomy instruction.Introduction Automated slidemakers and stainers and digital microscopes are coupled with haematology analysers to achieve better efficiency and cost-effectiveness. This study evaluates the integrated performance of slidemakers and digital microscopes commonly available on the market. Methods We compared the percentage of neutrophils for five slidemakers (two Siemens Advia Autoslides, a SysmexSP-10 and SP-50 and an Abbot Alinity hs) and a Horiba Hemaprep to the corresponding haematology analyser data (Siemens Advia 2120i, Sysmex XN and Abbot Alinity hq). Differential leucocyte counting (DLC) was performed on three different CellaVision digital microscopes (DM96, DM1200 and DI-60) and manually. The quality of the smears was assessed using a CellaVision SmearChecker. Results We observed a significant positive absolute bias (P less then .05) for the percentage of neutrophils with the Autoslide and Alinity hs smears on the digital microscopes, but not when DLC was performed manually. The SP-10 and SP-50 showed no bias regardless of the DLC method. No bias was observed for the Hemaprep smears. All the smears had an acceptable monolayer quality, stain intensity and colour. All smears, except those from Sp-10, were of an acceptable length. Conclusion Users should be aware of a potential lack of accuracy that can be encountered when using some slidemakers and digital microscopes. All laboratories should validate or verify the differential counts from slidemakers and digital microscope with automated cell differential counters. Manual count validation should only be considered if a significant proportion of clinically relevant abnormal cells are present. Otherwise, haematology analyser results should be favoured.Aims The aim of this study was to examine whether left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) modified efficacy and safety of dapagliflozin 10 mg compared with placebo in the 4744 patients with LVEF ≤40% randomized in the Dapagliflozin And Prevention of Adverse-outcomes in Heart Failure trial (DAPA-HF). Methods and results We examined whether LVEF, analysed categorically or continuously, modified the effect of dapagliflozin. The primary efficacy outcome was the composite of a worsening heart failure (HF) event (unplanned HF hospitalization/an urgent HF visit requiring intravenous therapy) or cardiovascular death. Mean LVEF was 31.1% and LVEF categories analysed were 35% (P for interaction = 0.762). Similarly, the effect of dapagliflozin on the components of the primary endpoint was not modified by baseline LVEF (P for interaction for cardiovascular death = 0.974, and for worsening HF = 0.161). Safety of dapagliflozin was also consistent across the range of LVEF and neither efficacy nor safety were modified by diabetes status.