Malolactic fermentation in lingonberry juice and its use as a preservative

Lingonberry is a common wild berry that is often sold as jams and beverages. It naturally contains high amounts of the weak acid preservative benzoic acid making it an interesting ingredient for shelf-life extension. Despite this, their use as a raw ingredient is limited by the inherently intense sour taste. This study aimed to improve the taste of lingonberry juice by subjecting it to malolactic fermentation in order to reduce the sourness, and to investigate the benzoic acid in lingonberries as a natural preservative in juice blends by determining the microbial stability. After initial screening of lactic acid bacteria, a Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strain was used as the starter for subsequent investigations. Upon raising the pH, all malic acid was completely converted to lactic acid after seven days. The fermented juice was mixed with blackcurrant juice in different proportions. Challenge tests of the blends showed Listeria monocytogenes could not grow in any juice samples, while Candida albicans only grew in the pure blackcurrant juice. Aspergillus brasiliensis growth was delayed in all samples containing benzoic acid in a concentration-dependent manner. The sourness and astringency were substantially reduced in the juice with added L. plantarum compared to the unfermented juice.

Home living older adults' subjective perceptions, evaluation, and interpretations of various welfare technology: A systematic review of qualitative studies

Objectives

This paper aims to map home-living older adults' subjective perceptions, evaluations, and interpretations of various welfare technologies.

Study design

Systematic literature review.

Methods

The study was designed as a systematic literature review of qualitative studies. This systematic literature review was carried out according to the PRISMA statement and was prospectively registered in PROSPERO registration number CRD42020190206. The international electronic bibliographic databases included AMED, Academic, CINAHL, Cochrane Reviews, EMBASE, Google Scholar, MEDLINE via PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The scientific evidence was synthesized using qualitative analysis. All aspects of the study method followed COREQ guidelines.

Results

Following a detailed systematic search and screening of 1405 studies, 10 were included in the systematic review. The study shows that implementing Welfare Technology seems to prolong older adults' independent living in their own homes and was perceived as a complement to face-to-face contact with health care providers.

Conclusions

This study indicated that older adults consider accepting Welfare Technology as it contributes to a sense of security and empowerment in their everyday lives.

Infants' top-down perceptual modulation is specific to own-race faces

Recent studies have revealed the influence of higher-level cognitive systems in modulating perceptual processing (top-down perceptual modulation) in infancy. However, more research is needed to understand how top-down processes in infant perception contribute to early perceptual development. To this end, this study examined infants' top-down perception of own- and other-race faces to reveal whether top-down modulation is linked to the emergence of perceptual specialization. Infants first learned an association between a sound and faces, with the race of the faces manipulated between groups (own race vs. other race). We then tested infants' face perception across various levels of perceptual difficulty (manipulated by presentation duration) and indexed top-down perception by the change in perception when infants heard the sound previously associated with the face (predictive sound) versus an irrelevant sound. Infants exhibited top-down face perception for own-race faces (Experiment 1). However, we present new evidence that infants did not show evidence of top-down modulation for other-race faces (Experiment 2), suggesting an experience-based specificity of this capacity with more effective top-down modulation in familiar perceptual contexts. In addition, we ruled out the possibility that this face race effect was due to differences in infants' associative learning of the sound and faces between the two groups. This work has important implications for understanding the mechanisms supporting perceptual development and how they relate to top-down perception in infancy.

Irreducibility of sensory experiences: Dual representations lead to dual context biases

There are three views of cognitive representation: the amodal, strong-embodiment, and weak-embodiment views of cognition. The present research provides support for the weak-embodiment view by demonstrating that two representational systems, one conceptual and one perceptual, underlie the cognitive processing of sensory experiences. We find that an initial sensory experience can exert two independent influences on judgments about a subsequent sensory experience. Specifically, we show that the conceptual representation of an initial sensory experience creates an expectation that biases judgments of the subsequent experience toward the initial experience (i.e., an assimilation bias), while the perceptual representation of an initial sensory experience creates a comparison standard that biases judgments of the subsequent experience away from the initial experience (i.e., a contrast bias). Documenting concurrent assimilation and contrast biases supports the claim of a dual representational system espoused by the weak-embodiment view. In so doing, we update the classic literature on context effects and contribute to the debate on representational systems in cognition.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of blood donation: A cross-sectional survey in Khulna city, Bangladesh

Background

There is evidence that the worldwide need for safe blood is not being met, particularly in poor nations like Bangladesh, where there is a scarcity of voluntary blood donors. This research intends to evaluate the public's knowledge, attitude, and practice of voluntary blood donation and the socio-demographic factors associated with blood donation in Khulna city, Bangladesh.

Materials and methods

720 interviews were taken using a structural questionnaire with Khulna city residents implementing the convenience sampling technique. After pre-processing and removing missing values, 697 records were left for further analysis. To investigate the association of sociodemographic factors such as age, gender, education, occupation, marital status, permanent address, and smoking status with knowledge, attitude, and practice of blood donation, the binary logistic regression model was used.

Results

According to this research, 478 (68.58%), 654 (93.83%), and 451 (64.71%) respondents were knowledgeable, had a favorable attitude, and practiced VBD, respectively. The study level higher secondary (AOR = 2.2; CI: 1.16-4.18), honors or degree (AOR = 2.37; CI: 1.3-4.3), and masters or above (AOR = 3.27; CI: 1.69-6.35) were associated with the knowledge. The favorable attitude was connected with being male (AOR = 2.24; CI: 1.23-4.06), learning about VBD through online social media (AOR = 2.61; CI: 1.13-6.05), and having knowledge of VBD (AOR = 3.05; CI: 1.82-5.12). Age between 26 and 35 years (AOR = 2.83; CI: 1.43-5.57) and older than 45 years (AOR = 3.74; CI: 1.34-10.4), being a man (AOR = 3.6; CI: 2.25-5.78), being a smoker (AOR = 1.87; CI: 1.17-2.98), knowing about VBD (AOR = 2.31; CI: 1.55-3.42), and having a positive attitude (AOR = 3.78; CI: 2.11-6.77) were significant factors for practicing blood donation.

Conclusion

This research demonstrates poor blood donation practices and limited knowledge of blood donation among Khulna city residents. The awareness of the residents should be prolonged for voluntary blood donation by the health bureau, the government, and non-governmental organizations.

Beauty is in the nose of the beholder: Fragrance modulates attractiveness, confidence and femininity ratings and neural responses to faces of self and others

Previous research investigated cross-modal influence of olfactory stimuli on perception and evaluation of faces. However, little is known about the neural dynamics underpinning this multisensory perception, and no research examined perception for images of oneself, and others, in presence of fragrances. This study investigated the neural mechanisms of olfactory-visual processing using electroencephalography (EEG) and subjective evaluations of self- and other-images. 22 female participants evaluated images of female actors and themselves while being exposed to the fragrance of a commercially available body wash or clean air delivered via olfactometer. Participants rated faces for attractiveness, femininity, confidence and glamorousness on visual analogue scales. EEG data was recorded and event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with onset of face stimuli were analysed to consider effects of fragrance presence on face processing, and interactions between fragrance and self-other image-type. Subjective ratings of confidence, attractiveness and femininity were increased for both image-types in pleasant fragrance relative to clean air condition. ERP components covering early-to-late stages of face processing were modulated by the presence of fragrance. Findings also revealed a cross-modal fragrance-face interaction, with pleasant fragrance particularly affecting ERPs to self-images in mid-latency ERP components. Results showed that the pleasant fragrance of the commercially available body wash impacted how participants perceived faces of self and others. Self- and other-image faces were subjectively rated as more attractive, confident and feminine in the presence of the pleasant fragrance compared to an un-fragranced control. The pleasant fragrance also modulated underlying electrophysiological activity. For the first time, an effect of pleasant fragrance on face perception was observed in the N1 component, suggesting impact within 100 ms. Pleasant fragrance also demonstrated greater impact on subsequent neural processing for self, relative to other-faces. The findings have implications for understanding multisensory integration during evaluations of oneself and others.

Patients' perceptions of patient-centered communication with healthcare providers and associated factors in Japan - The INFORM Study 2020

OBJECTIVE

To describe patients' perceptions of the patient-centeredness of their communication with healthcare providers in Japan, and to examine factors associated with these perceptions.

METHODS

We analyzed the cross-sectional data from the INFORM Study 2020, which is a nationwide survey on health information access in Japan. A total of 3605 respondents completed the survey. Our primary outcome was the nine elements of the patient-centered communication scale (PCCS), which was compiled from 2703 respondents (75.0%) reporting at least one provider visit within 12 months. It was rated on a four-point Likert scale: always, usually, sometimes, and never. We used binary logistic regression to examine the association between sociodemographic and health-related variables, and each element of the PCCS.

RESULTS

For all elements, the percentage of respondents who agreed that their healthcare providers always communicated in a patient-centered way was low (17-31%). Patients with higher age, higher education, poorer general health status and a larger number of visits to providers in the previous 12 months were more likely to have positive perception.

CONCLUSION

Patient-centered communication as reported in a national sample in Japan was low.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Efforts are needed to improve the patient-centeredness of patient-provider communication in Japan to optimize health outcomes.

Developmental changes in the visual, haptic, and bimodal perception of geometric angles

Geometrical knowledge is typically taught to children through a combination of vision and repetitive drawing (i.e. haptics), yet our understanding of how different spatial senses contribute to geometric perception during childhood is poor. Studies of line orientation suggest a dominant role of vision affecting the calibration of haptics during development; however, the associated multisensory interactions underpinning angle perception are unknown. Here we examined visual, haptic, and bimodal perception of angles across three age groups of children: 6 to 8 years, 8 to 10 years, and 10 to 12 years, with age categories also representing their class (grade) in primary school. All participants first learned an angular shape, presented dynamically, in one of three sensory tracing conditions: visual only, haptic only, or bimodal exploration. At test, which was visual only, participants selected a target angle from four possible alternatives with distractor angle sizes varying relative to the target angle size. We found a clear improvement in accuracy of angle perception with development for all learning modalities. Angle perception in the youngest group was equally poor (but above chance) for all modalities; however, for the two older child groups, visual learning was better than haptics. Haptic perception did not improve to the level of vision with age (even in a comparison adult group), and we found no specific benefit for bimodal learning over visual learning in any age group, including adults. Our results support a developmental increment in both spatial accuracy and precision in all modalities, which was greater in vision than in haptics, and are consistent with previous accounts of cross-sensory calibration in the perception of geometric forms.

Impacts of childhood malocclusion on the family

PURPOSE

To analyze the effects of children's malocclusions and associated quality of life on family relationships by evaluating psychometric characteristics of the Family Impact Scale (FIS) in adolescents seeking orthodontic treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Included were 334 participants (children aged 11-14 years; 53% female and 47% male) and their parents (84% mothers, 16% fathers) who were recruited at two dental clinics in Croatia. The Child Perception Questionnaire, Parental-Caregiver Perception Questionnaire, and FIS were administered. Malocclusion severity was estimated using the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need Dental Health Component. The presence of caries was also recorded. Factor analysis, t‑test, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression analysis were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Unidimensional FIS measuring global family impacts had higher internal consistency (α = 0.73-0.81) compared to the specific dimensions of family impacts (α = 0.60-0.69). Global family impacts were higher in children with more severe malocclusions and existing dental caries, primarily influencing parental activity, and parental emotions dimensions (p < 0.05). In multiple regression, parental perception of child's emotional well-being, oral symptoms, and social well-being (p < 0.001) were significant predictors of global family impacts, whereas child's quality of life perception, malocclusion severity, or child sex were not. Reduction of an increased overjet by orthodontic treatment affected changes in the global family impacts, mainly by reducing the emotional issues of parents (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The child's malocclusion influenced the family, primarily parental emotions. Family influences were mostly determined by parental perception of the child's altered psychosocial well-being. The FIS had adequate psychometric properties.

Do we protect ourselves against West Nile Virus? A systematic review on knowledge, attitudes, and practices and their determinants

BACKGROUND

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus. In humans, 80% of infections are asymptomatic, while approximately 20% experience influenza-like symptoms. Fewer than 1% develop the neuroinvasive form which can lead to encephalitis, meningitis, acute flaccid paralysis, and even death. The global spread of the virus to areas where it was not previously present has become a growing concern. Since the 2000 s, there have been numerous outbreaks affecting local and travelling populations worldwide. Given the lack of a vaccine, preventative measures are primarily focused on surveillance, vector control, and the use of personal protective behaviours (PPBs). The importance of PPBs is central to public health recommendations. However, translating these messages into coherent action by the public can prove challenging, as the uptake of such measures is inevitably influenced by socio-economic factors, awareness, knowledge, and risk perception.

METHODS

A PRISMA-based systematic research was conducted on EMBASE, PubMed/MEDLINE, and Web of Science databases. PROSPERO registration number CRD42023459714. Quality of studies included in the final stage was evaluated using the Critical Appraisal Checklist for Cross-Sectional Study (CEBMa).

RESULTS

2963 articles were screened, and 17 studies were included in the final round. Out of these, six were deemed of high quality, ten were of medium quality, and one was of low quality. In almost all studies considered, both awareness and knowledge of WNV transmission were above 90%, while concern about WNV ranged from 50% to 80%. Concern about the safety of repellents, either with or without DEET, ranged from 27% to 70%. The percentage of people actually using repellents ranged from 30% to 75%, with the lowest usage reported among individuals over 60 years old (29%) and pregnant women (33%), and the highest among students aged 9-11 (75%). Concern for West Nile Virus (WNV) was consistently linked to an increase in taking preventative measures, including the use of repellents, by two to four times across studies. The school-based intervention was effective in increasing the practice of removing standing water (AOR=4.6; 2.7-8.0) and wearing long clothing (AOR=2.4; 95%CI: 1.3-4.3), but did not have a significant impact on the use of repellents.

CONCLUSIONS

The present systematic review provides an overview of the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of WNV and their determinants. While concern about West Nile Virus (WNV) and its effects can be a significant motivator, it is important to promote evidence-based personal protective behaviours (PPBs) to counter unwarranted fears. For example, the use of repellents among the most vulnerable age groups. Given the geographical expansion of WNV, it is necessary to target the entire population preventively, including those who are difficult to reach and areas not yet endemic. The findings of this investigation could have significant implications for public health and support well-informed and effective communication strategies and interventions.

Perception and reality: The mismatch between absolute and relative physical activity intensity during pregnancy and postpartum in United States women

OBJECTIVE

To explore whether a mismatch between absolute physical activity intensity (PAI) and relative self-reported PAI exists during pregnancy and postpartum.

METHODS

Women from the PIN3/Postpartum study completed physical activity questionnaires during pregnancy (n = 770; Trimester 2: T2, Trimester 3: T3) and postpartum (n = 181; 3 months: PP3, 12 months PP12) (2001-2005). Activities women engaged in were assigned Metabolic Equivalent (MET) values for absolute intensity; women self-reported perceived exertion (using the Borg scale) for each activity to provide relative intensity. Hierarchical regression models were used to determine whether a mismatch between absolute and relative PAI (for moderate or vigorous physical activity (MPA; VPA)) differed during pregnancy and postpartum. Models were adjusted for socio-demographic factors.

RESULTS

Women commonly overestimated the amount of MPA and VPA they engaged in [T2 MPA mean 60.5 min/week (49.1, 72.0), VPA 3.7 (-1.4, 8.8); T3: MPA 47.7 (38.9, 56.4), 2.9 (-1.7, 7.4); PP3: MPA 69.5 (43.9, 95.1), VPA 15.8 (1.8, 29.7); PP12: MPA 42.20 (26.8, 57.6), VPA 2.75 (-7.8, 12.9)]. Women overestimated both MPA and VPA to a lesser extent at T3 compared to T2 (MPA: β for difference:-12.6 [95%CI: -26.0, -0.9]; VPA: -0.9 [-6.4, 4.6]). Women continued to overestimate their MPA at PP3 and PP12.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared to absolute PAI, perceived PAI was greater for MPA compared to VPA and differences persisted from pregnancy through postpartum. Future research should focus on how perceptions relate to women's actual physiological capacity and whether this mismatch influences the amount of physical activity women engage in during the transition to motherhood.

Perceptions, attitudes, and willingness of healthcare and frontline workers to participate in an Ebola vaccine trial in Uganda

BACKGROUND

Understanding the knowledge, perception and attitudes towards Ebola vaccines is an important factor in ensuring future use of these vaccines. A qualitative methods study embedded in an Ebola vaccine immunogenicity and safety trial (NCT04028349) was conducted to explore the knowledge and perceptions of healthcare (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs), about Ebola vaccines and their willingness to participate or recommend participation in Uganda.

METHOD

We carried out focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews before and after vaccination, with 70 HCWs and FLWs who consented to participate in the trial, and in the qualitative component, from August to September 2019. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis.

RESULTS

Respondents showed good knowledge about Ebola and the vaccines in general, and had wide access to information through several channels, including the study team. On prevention, particular attention was given to effective communication within health facilities. Misconceptions were mainly around route of transmission, animal origin and types of vaccines. Previous fears were based on rumours circulating in the community, mainly about the presence of the virus in the vaccine, side effects and intention to harm (e.g. by "the whites"), ultimately insisting on transparency, trust and involvement of local leaders. Acceptability of participation was motivated by the need to protect self and others, and the willingness to advance research. Majority were willing to recommend participation to their community.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, information sharing leads to a better understanding and acceptance of vaccine trials and a positive vaccination experience can be a deciding factor in the acceptance of others. Particular attention should be paid to involving the community in addressing misconceptions and fears, while ensuring that participants have access to vaccination sites in terms of transport, and that they are properly accommodated at the study site including staying for a reasonable period of time.

The lived experiences of operating room nurses from the surgery on COVID-19 patients: a phenomenological study

BACKGROUND

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some patients who were transported to the operating room for emergency surgery had COVID-19; operating room nurses should be in direct contact with these patients in a small and closed space of the operating room. This can lead to unpleasant experiences for these people. Accordingly, this study was conducted to understand the experience of operating room nurses during the surgery of COVID-19 patients.

METHODS

This qualitative study is a descriptive phenomenological study. Sampling was done purposefully and participants were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data of this study was obtained through semi-structured interviews with 12 participants and analyzed using the Colaizzi method.

RESULTS

Four main themes and 13 sub-themes were presented in this study: (1) feeling heroic (being a savior, self-sacrificing). (2) Exacerbating burnout (emotional exhaustion, feeling of incompetence, physical overtiredness). (3) Psychiatric crisis (destructive anxiety, horror of death, worrying about being a carrier, drastic feeling of pity). (4) Feeling the need for support (need for professional support, need for emotional support, need for social support).

CONCLUSION

The results of this study show that operating room nurses experienced conflicting feelings during surgery on patients with COVID-19. So the feeling of being a hero was a heartwarming experience, but the aggravation of job burnout and mental crisis was unpleasant for them. Also, these people have experienced the need to be supported in various aspects.

Perceptions and attitudes of dental students and dentists in South Korea toward artificial intelligence: a subgroup analysis based on professional seniority

BACKGROUND

This study explored dental students' and dentists' perceptions and attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) and analyzed differences according to professional seniority.

METHODS

In September to November 2022, online surveys using Google Forms were conducted at 2 dental colleges and on 2 dental websites. The questionnaire consisted of general information (8 or 10 items) and participants' perceptions, confidence, predictions, and perceived future prospects regarding AI (17 items). A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed on 4 questions representing perceptions and attitudes toward AI to identify highly influential factors according to position, age, sex, residence, and self-reported knowledge level about AI of respondents. Participants were reclassified into 2 subgroups based on students' years in school and 4 subgroups based on dentists' years of experience. The chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used to determine differences between dental students and dentists and between subgroups for all 17 questions.

RESULTS

The study included 120 dental students and 96 dentists. Participants with high level of AI knowledge were more likely to be interested in AI compared to those with moderate or low level (adjusted OR 24.345, p < 0.001). Most dental students (60.8%) and dentists (67.7%) predicted that dental AI would complement human limitations. Dental students responded that they would actively use AI in almost all cases (40.8%), while dentists responded that they would use AI only when necessary (44.8%). Dentists with 11-20 years of experience were the most likely to disagree that AI could outperform skilled dentists (50.0%), and respondents with longer careers had higher response rates regarding the need for AI education in schools.

CONCLUSIONS

Knowledge level about AI emerged as the factor influencing perceptions and attitudes toward AI, with both dental students and dentists showing similar views on recognizing the potential of AI as an auxiliary tool. However, students' and dentists' willingness to use AI differed. Although dentists differed in their confidence in the abilities of AI, all dentists recognized the need for education on AI. AI adoption is becoming a reality in dentistry, which requires proper awareness, proper use, and comprehensive AI education.

Visual hallucinations originating in the retinofugal pathway under clinical and psychedelic conditions

Psychedelics like LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) and psilocybin are known to modulate perceptual modalities due to the activation of mostly serotonin receptors in specific cortical (e.g., visual cortex) and subcortical (e.g., thalamus) regions of the brain. In the visual domain, these psychedelic modulations often result in peculiar disturbances of viewed objects and light and sometimes even in hallucinations of non-existent environments, objects, and creatures. Although the underlying processes are poorly understood, research conducted over the past twenty years on the subjective experience of psychedelics details theories that attempt to explain these perceptual alterations due to a disruption of communication between cortical and subcortical regions. However, rare medical conditions in the visual system like Charles Bonnet syndrome that cause perceptual distortions may shed new light on the additional importance of the retinofugal pathway in psychedelic subjective experiences. Interneurons in the retina called amacrine cells could be the first site of visual psychedelic modulation and aid in disrupting the hierarchical structure of how humans perceive visual information. This paper presents an understanding of how the retinofugal pathway communicates and modulates visual information in psychedelic and clinical conditions. Therefore, we elucidate a new theory of psychedelic modulation in the retinofugal pathway.

Role of the Cerebellum in the Construction of Functional and Geometrical Spaces

The perceptual and motor systems appear to have a set of movement primitives that exhibit certain geometric and kinematic invariances. Complex patterns and mental representations can be produced by (re)combining some simple motor elements in various ways using basic operations, transformations, and respecting a set of laws referred to as kinematic laws of motion. For example, point-to-point hand movements are characterized by straight hand paths with single-peaked-bell-shaped velocity profiles, whereas hand speed profiles for curved trajectories are often irregular and more variable, with speed valleys and inflections extrema occurring at the peak curvature. Curvature and speed are generically related by the 2/3 power law. Mathematically, such laws can be deduced from a combination of Euclidean, affine, and equi-affine geometries, whose neural correlates have been partially detected in various brain areas including the cerebellum and the basal ganglia. The cerebellum has been found to play an important role in the control of coordination, balance, posture, and timing over the past years. It is also assumed that the cerebellum computes forward internal models in relationship with specific cortical and subcortical brain regions but its motor relationship with the perceptual space is unclear. A renewed interest in the geometrical and spatial role of the cerebellum may enable a better understanding of its specific contribution to the action-perception loop and behavior's adaptation. In this sense, we complete this overview with an innovative theoretical framework that describes a possible implementation and selection by the cerebellum of geometries adhering to different mathematical laws.

The contribution of semantic distance knowledge to size constancy in perception and grasping when visual cues are limited

To achieve a stable perception of object size in spite of variations in viewing distance, our visual system needs to combine retinal image information and distance cues. Previous research has shown that, not only retinal cues, but also extraretinal sensory signals can provide reliable information about depth and that different neural networks (perception versus action) can exhibit preferences in the use of these different sources of information during size-distance computations. Semantic knowledge of distance, a purely cognitive signal, can also provide distance information. Do the perception and action systems show differences in their ability to use this information in calculating object size and distance? To address this question, we presented 'glow-in-the-dark' objects of different physical sizes at different real distances in a completely dark room. Participants viewed the objects monocularly through a 1-mm pinhole. They either estimated the size and distance of the objects or attempted to grasp them. Semantic knowledge was manipulated by providing an auditory cue about the actual distance of the object: "20 cm", "30 cm", and "40 cm". We found that semantic knowledge of distance contributed to some extent to size constancy operations during perceptual estimation and grasping, but size constancy was never fully restored. Importantly, the contribution of knowledge about distance to size constancy was equivalent between perception and action. Overall, our study reveals similarities and differences between the perception and action systems in the use of semantic distance knowledge and suggests that this cognitive signal is useful but not a reliable depth cue for size constancy under restricted viewing conditions.

Event related potentials (ERP) reveal a robust response to visual symmetry in unattended visual regions

Visual symmetry at fixation generates a bilateral Event Related Potential (ERP) called the Sustained Posterior Negativity (SPN). Symmetry presented in the left visual hemifield generates a contralateral SPN over the right hemisphere and vice versa. The current study examined whether the contralateral SPN is modulated by the focus of spatial attention. On each trial there were two dot patterns, one to the left of fixation, and one to the right of fixation. A central arrow cue pointed to one of the patterns and participants discriminated its regularity (symmetry or random). We compared contralateral SPN amplitude generated by symmetry at attended and unattended spatial locations. While the response to attended symmetry was slightly enhanced, the response to unattended symmetry was still substantial. Although visual symmetry detection is a computational challenge, we conclude that the brain processes visual symmetry in unattended parts of the visual field.

The impact of adapted exercises in basketball on the perception of the difficulty and physical enjoyment of students with overweight

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the adapted basketball cycle on the perceived level of difficulty and physical enjoyment in girls and boys with overweight. Sixty-six students with overweight (aged 16-18 years) were randomly assigned to an experimental group (EG, n = 32 including 20 boys and 12 girls) and a control group (CG, n = 34; including 21 boys and 13 girls). Statistical analysis also showed that the levels of perceived difficulty decreased significantly after of seven-week of the adapted basketball cycle in both boys (Δ% = - 0.27; p < 0.001; and girls (Δ% = - 0.36; p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in students who participated in the traditional basketball cycle. A physical activity enjoyment Scale revealed that in girls, the level of enjoyment increased significantly (Δ% = + 0.27; P < 0.001) after an adapted basketball cycle. There was no significant change in physical enjoyment in boys EG (P = 0.808) and participants in the control groups. These results push us to opt more for adapted and motivational learning situations to make the teaching-learning process better, in students with overweight.

Discordance between pain specialists and patients on the perception of dependence on pain medication: A multi-centre cross-sectional study

AIM

Patients with chronic non-cancer pain are referred to pain centres to improve their pain treatment. The discontinuation of pain medications in case of poor efficacy can be difficult to accept for patients, particularly opioid analgesics. Previous research has described that from the patients' perspective, the psychological relief of a negative effect of chronic pain and withdrawal symptoms of prescription opioids represent drivers of persistent use and first stage of opioid use disorder, despite insufficient pain relief. There is no validated tool to investigate this psychological dependence. This study aimed to assess discordance between patients and pain specialists in their perception of dependence on pain medication and investigate associations with characteristics of patients, type of pain and iatrogenic pharmacodependence.

METHODS

Self-administered questionnaires (patients and physicians) were administered in six pain centres in France. A question on perceived dependence on pain medications was addressed to the patient and the physician in a matched pair. Discordance between them was evaluated by the Cohen kappa coefficient. Demographics, pain, anxiety and depression, pain medication withdrawal symptoms, diverted use, and craving represented variables studied in a multivariate model as potentially associated with patient-physician discordance.

RESULTS

According to the 212 pairs of completed questionnaires, a perceived dependence was reported by the majority of patients (65.6%) and physicians (68.4%). However, the concordance was fair (kappa=0.38; CI [95%]: 0.25-0.51). Almost all patients (89.3%) were treated with an opioid analgesic. A higher likelihood of discordance was observed when patients suffered from nociplastic pain (odds ratio [OR]: 2.72, 95% [CI]: 1.29-5.84).

CONCLUSION

Medical shared-decision for changing pain treatment could be improved by taking into account the perception of patient dependence on medications for pain relief and or psychoactive effects, particularly in nociplastic pain for which the treatment is challenging.

Qualitative analysis of mothers' perception related to the delivery of information regarding preterm births

BACKGROUND

Preterm birth is a major health issue due to its potential outcomes and socioeconomic impact. Prenatal counseling is of major importance for parents because it is believed that the risk of preterm birth is associated with a higher parental mental burden. Nowadays in France, the content and delivery of antenatal counseling is based on personal experience since there is a lack of official guidelines. The goal of the study was to evaluate maternal perception of antenatal information delivered in the setting of preterm births.

METHODS

A qualitative study was performed using semi-structured individual interviews of 15 mothers with a child born > 26-34 GW. Data analysis was based on a constant comparative method.

RESULTS

Concerning prenatal counseling content, parents wanted to be informed of their role in the care of their preterm child more so than statistics that were not always considered relevant. Parents' reactions to the announcement of the risk of a preterm birth was dominated by stupefaction, uncertainty and anxiety. When it comes to the setting of prenatal counseling, patients' room was deemed an appropriate setting by parents and ideally the presence of a coparent was appreciated as it increased patients' understanding. The physicians' attitude during the counseling was considered appropriate and described as empathic and optimistic. The importance of support throughout the hospitalization in the form of other parents' experiences, healthcare professionals and the possibility to preemptively visit the NICU was emphasized by participants. Delivery experience was dominated by a sense of uncertainty, and urgency. Some leads for improvement included additional support of information such as virtual NICU visit; participants also insisted on continuity of care and the multidisciplinary aspect of counseling (obstetrician, neonatologist, midwife, nurse, lactation consultant and psychologist).

CONCLUSION

Highlighting parents' expectations about prenatal counseling could lead to the establishment of overall general guidelines. However, some topics like the use of statistics and mentioning the risk of death underline the importance of a personalized information.

Investigating acoustic numerosity illusions in professional musicians

Various studies have reported an association between musical expertise and enhanced visuospatial and mathematical abilities. A recent work tested the susceptibility of musicians and nonmusicians to the Solitaire numerosity illusion finding that also perceptual biases underlying numerical estimation are influenced by long-term music training. However, the potential link between musical expertise and different perceptual mechanisms of quantitative estimation may be either limited to the visual modality or universal (i.e., modality independent). We addressed this question by developing an acoustic version of the Solitaire illusion. Professional musicians and nonmusicians listened to audio file recordings of piano and trombone notes and were required to estimate the number of piano notes. The stimuli were arranged to form test trials, with piano and trombone notes arranged in a way to form the Solitaire pattern, and control trials, with randomly located notes to assess their quantitative abilities in the acoustic modality. In the control trials, musicians were more accurate in numerical estimation than nonmusicians. In the presence of illusory patterns, nonmusicians differed from musicians in the esteem of regularly arranged vs. randomly arranged notes. This suggests that the association between long-term musical training and different perceptual mechanisms underlying numerical estimation may not be confined to the visual modality. However, neither musicians nor nonmusicians seemed to be susceptible to the acoustic version of the Solitaire illusion, suggesting that the emergence of this illusion may be stimulus and task-dependent.

Subjective perceived risk factors of exertional heat exhaustion-related symptoms in female collegiate athletes in Japan

Associations of exertional heat exhaustion (EHE)-related symptoms with lifestyle habits and health factors specific to female athletes, ranked by relative risks from high to low, remain elusive. Addressing this issue would benefit athletes and coaches, ensuring safer practices during summer sports activities. To address this issue, we distributed paper-based questionnaires to seven universities in Japan, and 983 respondents completed our survey. The questionnaires covered various personal characteristics, lifestyle habits, perceived health factors, perceived athletic activity, and EHE-related symptoms. In this retrospective case-control study, we analyzed the relationships of EHE-related symptoms (objective variables) with lifestyle habits, health factors, and athletic activity conditions (explanatory variables) using the partial proportional odds model. The questionnaire responses revealed that perceived dehydration, sickness, loss of appetite, perceived accumulated fatigue, perceived mental stress, lack of ambient wind, and insufficient rest breaks were positively associated with EHE-related symptoms, with relative risks ranging from high to low. Using an air conditioner during sleep and having a sleep duration of ≥ 6 h were associated with a reduced risk of EHE-related symptoms. The study results suggest that female athletes should be allowed to postpone exercise or reduce its intensity and volume based on their perceptions of dehydration, sickness, loss of appetite, accumulated fatigue, and mental stress in summer to prevent heat-related illnesses.

The Relevance of Marketing in Sports Betting Perceptions and Behaviors Across Different age Groups

Sports betting and its associated problems are increasing rapidly. Moreover, it has been widely advertised and marketed, successfully reaching young adult males. This work aims to review recent publications regarding the relationship between marketing and sports betting perceptions and behaviors across different ages. For this purpose, a search in the PubMed database was set for 5 years (November 2014 - November 2019). The search terms included: "Sports betting AND children", "Sports betting AND young adult", "Sports betting AND adult". The search generated 131 articles, including some duplications. Once duplicates were eliminated, the titles and abstract analysis led to 21 references. To this, four more recent references were added to complement the introduction and discussion sections. The total number of references is 25. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (a) human study, (b) quantitative, experimental, clinical study, or review, (c) emphasis on the relationship between marketing and sports betting perceptions and behaviors, (d) specified number of subjects, (e) male or female gender, and (f) written in English (title and abstract). The findings indicated that: (1) marketing plays a significant role in normalizing gambling in sports, (2) policymakers should consider comprehensive approaches to reduce the exposure of sports betting advertising to young individuals, and (3) future studies should explore potential differences in results based on gender and developmental stage. For instance, sports betting is more prevalent among males than females, and younger children tend to be more impulsive than older children.

Investigating perceptions and attitude toward telenursing among undergraduate nursing students for the future of nursing education: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Telenursing is poised to emerge as a novel healthcare delivery system in the digital age. Hence, understanding nursing students' perspectives and readiness is pivotal for its effective implementation. This study investigated nursing students' perceptions regarding, and attitudes toward, telenursing and the factors that influenced their attitudes based on the technology acceptance model.

METHODS

This study used a cross-sectional descriptive approach. The participants consisted of 188 nursing students (first to fourth year) enrolled in the College of Nursing in Korea. Differences in attitudes toward telenursing were analyzed using independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to examine the correlations between the main variables. Factors that influenced attitudes toward telenursing were analyzed using multiple regression.

RESULTS

Of the participants, 65.4% lacked substantial awareness of telenursing and 19.1% had prior telenursing experience. Although prospects on telenursing indicated that 90.4% had an optimistic view, face-to-face nursing was heavily preferred for both satisfactory and favored healthcare delivery. Many cited the Internet as their source of knowledge, and only 18.6% had received telenursing education. Attitude toward telenursing was significantly more positive among those with experience of telenursing, telenursing observation in clinical practice, and telenursing education exposure. The regression model was statistically significant (F = 67.445, p < .000). Factors, such as perceived usefulness, social influence, innovativeness, and self-efficacy, influenced attitudes toward telenursing.

CONCLUSIONS

Nursing students exhibited a lack of substantial awareness of telenursing; however, they simultaneously displayed a positive outlook. This lack of comprehensive understanding could stem from the absence of formal education in telenursing. Understanding and utilizing the potential of telenursing could be significantly aided by nursing students' education and knowledge. Thus, it is necessary to include telenursing education in the nursing curriculum. The skills and knowledge required for telenursing clinical practice can be developed through telenursing education. Such preparedness will affect nurses' attitudes and intentions and the quality of telenursing offered to patients in the future.

'A voice of children: I would like a hospital just for children' - Children's perspectives on hospitalization: A phenomenological study

PURPOSE

This study aimed to explore children's perception of hospital experience and interpretations of hospitalization.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Phenomenological qualitative study design was used. The sample consisted of 18 participants (seven-18 years old) from a general paediatric ward in a university hospital recruited using criterion sampling, a purposive sampling method. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face and were audio recorded. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

The participants talked about the symptoms, limitations and treatments of their diseases, as well as the team communication, lack of activity and physical conditions regarding the hospital. It was seen that the children reported each expression with positive or negative emotions. Finally, they did not neglect to mention their desires regarding the hospital and their daily life. Four main themes emerged "hospital, disease, mood, and desires".

CONCLUSIONS

Health professionals should care about the needs of children during hospitalization and children should be allowed to express themselves.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Knowing and understanding the needs of hospitalized children can guide the planning and implementation of quality nursing care processes.

The environmental impact assessment of China's ecological migration from a social-ecological perspective

When accounting for the social-ecological impact of an ecological restoration program, both objective environmental contexts and people's subjective perceptions are required. While this kind of environmental impact assessment lacks a comprehensive perspective. We use the difference-in-differences model to evaluate the effect of the greenness of the landscape after ecological migration in the Qilian Mountains in China; and analysis of variance and fixed effects models are used to evaluate the effects of such ecological restoration programs on local people's perceptions. The results show that the ecological migration program in the Qilian Mountains has been successful at not only significantly improving remotely sensed greenness at the landscape scale, but also at enhancing immigrants' environmental perceptions. These findings demonstrate the environmental impacts of ecological migration from a social-ecological perspective, and can provide methodological implications for landscape planning to support a better understanding of ecological restoration programs in the drylands.

Attitudes and Beliefs of Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Students Towards Working with Older Adults: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to systematically review physical therapists' and physical therapist students' attitudes towards working with older adults.

METHODS

CINAHL, EMBASE, ERIC, MEDLINE, Scopus, PsycINFO, and SocIndex databases were searched in duplicate (from inception to March 2023). Studies that assessed knowledge on aging, intention to work with older adults or attitudes towards older adults for physical therapist students and/or clinicians, and that were written in English, Finnish, Spanish, or Swedish were included. Grey literature, qualitative studies, or articles of people with a specific diagnosis (eg, dementia) were excluded. All articles were reviewed by 2 authors independently and consensus was required for inclusion. Data extraction was completed using a standardized data extraction sheet.

RESULTS

Of 2755 articles screened, 34 met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-five studies recruited only physical therapist students, 6 recruited only physical therapist clinicians, and 3 involved mixed samples of both. Ten intervention studies were included, all of which recruited physical therapist students. Overall, physical therapist students were observed to have predominantly positive attitudes towards older adults, while clinicians had neutral to weak positive attitudes towards older adults. Both physical therapist students and clinicians were observed to have low knowledge on aging and low intentions to work with older adults. Results from intervention studies suggest that education combined with clinical experience with older adults improves attitudes towards older adults.

CONCLUSIONS

A discrepancy is observed in physical therapists in that although attitudes towards older adults are positive, a lack of knowledge on aging and a disinterest in working with older adults exists. Intervention studies suggest that clinical experience may improve attitudes towards older adults in physical therapist students.

IMPACT

Predominantly positive attitudes towards older adults are reported by physical therapist students, while for clinicians mixed results are observed. Education coupled with clinical experiences appear to be effective interventions to improve attitudes towards older adults, but such research has only been explored in student samples.

Clinical pharmacists' knowledge, attitude, perception, and beliefs about the role of pharmacogenetic testing for genes polymorphisms when prescribing mercaptopurine

Background

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the gene encoding proteins involved in mercaptopurine metabolism can influence drug efficacy and safety. This study aims to assess clinical pharmacists' knowledge about mercaptopurine-related genes and their polymorphisms and investigate their attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs about the need for and importance of pharmacogenetic testing for mercaptopurine.

Methods

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among oncology/hematology clinical pharmacists in Saudi Arabia using an online-questionnaire developed by experts in the field. The questionnaire consists of four-sections exploring clinical pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs about the importance of gene testing and genes polymorphism when prescribing mercaptopurine. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data in the study.

Results

A total of 41 oncology/hematology clinical pharmacists responded to the survey invitation. Almost half of them had more than 10 years of work experience, but only 17 % of them received formal training in pharmacogenetics. The overall level of knowledge about pharmacogenetics among participants was low, with a mean score of 2.8 points (1.7) out of 8 items. However, around 76 % agreed that it is important to perform pharmacogenetic screening prior to prescribing mercaptopurine, and almost 93 % state that it will influence their dosage recommendation. Most of the participants had a good perception (95.1 %) of their role in genetic testing for medication selection, dosing, and monitoring; however, about 10 % of surveyed pharmacists reported not being completely responsible about recommending pharmacogenetic testing. The surveyed pharmacists had a good belief in the importance of pharmacogenetic testing and their overall attitude was positive toward the use of pharmacogenetic testing, with emphasis on the importance of training on the proper assessment and interpretation of pharmacogenetic tests.

Conclusions

Pharmacists demonstrated good perception and positive attitude toward pharmacogenetic testing, despite the low level of knowledge and limited formal training. Thus, more attention to developing national guidelines on pharmacogenetic testing is warranted to ensure successful pharmacogenetic testing implementation.

Cross-modality integration framework with prediction, perception and discrimination for video anomaly detection

Video anomaly detection is an important task for public security in the multimedia field. It aims to distinguish events that deviate from normal patterns. As important semantic representation, the textual information can effectively perceive different contents for anomaly detection. However, most existing methods primarily rely on visual modality, with limited incorporation of textual modality in anomaly detection. In this paper, a cross-modality integration framework (CIForAD) is proposed for anomaly detection, which combines both textual and visual modalities for prediction, perception and discrimination. Firstly, a feature fusion prediction (FUP) module is designed to predict the target regions by fusing the visual features and textual features for prompting, which can amplify the discriminative distance. Then an image-text semantic perception (ISP) module is developed to judge semantic consistency by associating the fine-grained visual features with textual features, where a strategy of local training and global inference is introduced to perceive local details and global semantic correlation. Finally, a self-supervised time attention discrimination (TAD) module is built to explore the inter-frame relation and further distinguish abnormal sequences from normal sequences. Extensive experiments on the three challenging benchmarks indicate that our CIForAD obtains state-of-the-art anomaly detection performance.

Rapid color categorization revealed by frequency-tagging-based EEG

There has been much debate on whether color categories affect how we perceive color. Recent theories have put emphasis on the role of top-down influence on color perception that the original continuous color space in the visual cortex may be transformed into categorical encoding due to top-down modulation. To test the influence of color categories on color perception, we adopted an RSVP paradigm, where color stimuli were presented at a fast speed of 100 ms per stimulus and were forward and backward masked by the preceding and following stimuli. Moreover, no explicit color naming or categorization was required. In theory, backward masking with such a short interval in a passive viewing task should constrain top-down influence from higher-level brain areas. To measure any potentially subtle differences in brain response elicited by different color categories, we embedded a sensitive frequency-tagging-based EEG paradigm within the RSVP stimuli stream where the oddball color stimuli were encoded with a different frequency from the base color stimuli. We showed that EEG responses to cross-category oddball colors at the frequency where the oddball stimuli were presented was significantly larger than the responses to within-category oddball colors. Our study suggested that the visual cortex can automatically and implicitly encode color categories when color stimuli are presented rapidly.

Relationship of computed tomography-based measurements with symptom perception and quality of life in patients with severe asthma

BACKGROUND

Symptom perception and quality of life (QOL) are important domains for properly managing severe asthma. This study aimed to assess the relationship between airway structural and parenchymal variables measured using chest computed tomography (CT) and subjective symptom perception and QOL in patients with severe asthma enrolled in the Korean Severe Asthma Registry.

METHODS

This study used CT-based objective measurements, including airway wall thickness (WT), hydraulic diameter, functional small airway disease (fSAD), and emphysematous lung (Emph), to assess their association with subjective symptom (cough, dyspnea, wheezing, and sputum) perception measured using the visual analog scale, and QOL measured by the Severe Asthma Questionnaire (SAQ).

RESULTS

A total of 94 patients with severe asthma were enrolled in this study. The WT and fSAD% were significantly positively associated with cough and dyspnea, respectively. For QOL, WT and Emph% showed significant negative associations with the SAQ. However, there was no significant association between lung function and symptom perception or between lung function and QOL.

CONCLUSION

Overall, WT, fSAD%, and Emph% measured using chest CT were associated with subjective symptom perception and QOL in patients with severe asthma. This study provides a basis for clarifying the clinical correlates of imaging-derived metrics and for understanding the mechanisms of respiratory symptom perception.

The impact of critical illness on patients' physical function and recovery: An explanatory mixed-methods analysis

OBJECTIVES

To determine how the perception of physical function 6-months following critical illness compares to objectively measured function, and to identify key concerns for patients during recovery from critical illness.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN

A nested convergent parallel mixed methods study assessed physical function during a home visit 6-months following critical illness, with semi-structured interviews conducted at the same time.

SETTING

Participants were recruited from two hospitals at one healthcare network in Melbourne, Australia from September 2017 to October 2018 with follow-up data completed in April 2019.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Physical function was assessed through four objective outcomes: the functional independence measure, six-minute walk test, functional reach test, and grip strength. Semi structured interviews focused on participants function, memories of the intensive care and hospital stay, assistance required on discharge, ongoing limitations, and the recovery process.

FINDINGS

Although many participants (12/20, 60%) stated they had recovered from their critical illness, 14 (70%) had function below expected population norms. Decreased function on returning home was commonly reported, although eleven participants were described as independent and safe for discharge from hospital-based staff. The importance of family and social networks to facilitate discharge was highlighted, however participants often described wanting more support and issues accessing services. The effect of critical illness on the financial well-being of the family network was confirmed, with difficulties accessing financial support identified.

CONCLUSION

Survivors of critical illness perceived a better functional state than measured, but many report new limitations 6-months after critical illness. Family and friends play a crucial role in facilitating transition home and providing financial support.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE

Implementation of specific discharge liaison personnel to provide education, support and assist the transition from hospital-based care to home, particularly in those without stable social supports, may improve the recovery process for survivors of critical illness.

Association between sociodemographic factors and health beliefs related to breast cancer screening behavior among Northern Thai women: a hospital-based study

Early diagnosis of breast cancer is crucial for reducing mortality rates. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of demographics/social determinants of health on beliefs about the practice of self-breast examination, using mammogram and ultrasound in the context of breast cancer screening among Thai women in a hospital-based setting for implying program planning and future research. A cross-sectional study was conducted in two health centers in Chiang Mai Province from August 2021 to December 2021, involving 130 Thai women ages 40 to 70 years. Data were collected by a survey using a questionnaire to gather sociodemographic information, and health beliefs about breast cancer and screening behavior utilizing the modified Thai version of Champion's Health Belief Model Scale (MT-CHBMS). Descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, and linear regression models were employed for examining association between sociodemographic factors and health beliefs about the practice of self-breast examination (BSE), using mammogram (MG) and ultrasound (UTS). Health insurance schemes were associated with Benefit-MG, Barrier-BSE, Barrier-MG and Barrier-UTS subscales. Additionally, monthly income was associated with Barrier-MG and Barrier-UTS subscales. The most common barriers reported were "embarrassment", "worry", and "takes too much time". To enhance breast cancer screening in Thailand, program planning and future research should focus on health insurance schemes, especially women with social security schemes, as they may be the most appropriate target group for intervention.

Barriers and drivers of farmers to provide outdoor access in pig farming systems: a qualitative study

Part of the farmers have chosen to raise pigs with outdoor access. However, providing outdoor access to pigs is not a simple matter, and many farmers are hesitating or feel powerless to engage in this transition. A better understanding of their needs and challenges could facilitate the development of innovations that generate commitment. This survey aimed to identify the French pig farmers' barriers to and drivers for providing outdoor access to pigs. A total of 36 farmers, aged 25-60, who worked in all types of pig farming systems (from full indoor to free-range) participated in a semi-structured interview that lasted 1.25-2.25 h. The topics covered included a historical overview, a description of the farm and practices, as well as opinions about the impact of outdoor access on farmers, animals, production and economic performance, environment, and society. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Most of the participants agreed that rearing pigs indoors is a different job from that of rearing pigs with outdoor access and that it is above all a matter of choice, farmer work conception, and work comfort. Farmers generally agreed that working outdoors is particularly arduous, but this could be compensated by the satisfaction of being in contact with nature and seeing animals in a more complex environment. A large majority of farmers managing a system with outdoor access raised the issue of lack of support, highlighting the need for refinement and diffusion of guides of practices as well as day-to-day support. The impact of outdoor access on the health and welfare of pigs was discussed, especially regarding climatic hazards and the risk of zoonoses, and several outdoor farmers explained how their relationship with the animals changes when pigs are raised outside. Given that zootechnical performance may significantly decrease in farms with outdoor access, various strategies can be employed to maintain profitability, such as feed production, circularity, direct sales, or work diversification. They could be either motivating or demotivating factors depending on the individuals. Concerns about social criticism were prominent among many indoor farmers while farmers providing outdoor access generally felt more serene and proud. Overall, this study can serve as a basis to identify levers that could remove barriers, foster the adherence of more farmers, and facilitate the transition towards more pig farming systems with outdoor access, provided that those systems are viable and beneficial for the welfare and health of the animals and farmers.

An Effective Methodology for Scoring to Assist Emergency Physicians in Identifying Overcrowding in an Academic Emergency Department in Thailand

BACKGROUND

Emergency Department (ED) overcrowding is a global concern, with tools like NEDOCS, READI, and Work Score used as predictors. These tools aid healthcare professionals in identifying overcrowding and preventing negative patient outcomes. However, there's no agreed-upon method to define ED overcrowding. Most studies on this topic are U.S.-based, limiting their applicability in EDs without waiting rooms or ambulance diversion roles. Additionally, the intricate calculations required for these scores, with multiple variables, make them impractical for use in developing nations.

OBJECTIVE

This study sought to examine the relationship between prevalent ED overcrowding scores such as EDWIN, occupancy rate, and Work Score, and a modified version of EDWIN newly introduced by the authors, in comparison to the real-time perspectives of emergency physicians. Additionally, the study explored the links between these overcrowding scores and adverse events related to ED code activations as secondary outcomes.

METHOD

The method described in the provided text is a correlational study. The study aims to examine the relationship between various Emergency Department (ED) overcrowding scores and the real-time perceptions of emergency physicians in every two-hour period. Additionally, it seeks to explore the associations between these scores and adverse events related to ED code activations.

RESULTS

The study analyzed 459 periods, with 5.2% having Likert scores of 5-6. EDOR had the highest correlation coefficient (0.69, p < 0.001) and an AUC of 0.864. Only EDOR significantly correlated with adverse events (p = 0.033).

CONCLUSION

EDOR shows the most robust link with 'emergency physicians' views on overcrowding. Additionally, elevated EDOR scores correlate with a rise in adverse events. Emergency physicians' perceptionof overcrowding could hint at possible adverse events. Notably, all overcrowding scores have high negative predictive values, efficiently negating the likelihood of adverse incidents.

Perception of the operation theater learning environment and related factors among anesthesia students in Ethiopian higher education teaching hospitals: a multicenter cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION

Operation theater learning involves three key elements: clinical work, learning, and the environment. There is little evidence regarding the operating theatre learning environment for anesthesia trainees. Identifying the overall perception of the operation theater learning environment helps to establish an efficient operation theater learning environment and produce competent anesthesia professionals.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to assess the perceptions of the operating theater learning environment and associated factors among undergraduate anesthesia students in Ethiopian higher education teaching hospitals from April to May 2023.

METHODS

A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted on 313 undergraduate anesthesia students who began operation room clinical practice at 13 higher education teaching hospitals. The data were entered into EpiData version 4.6. A generalized ordered logistic regression model was used to analyze and identify factors associated with the operating theater learning environment using STATA software version MP17.

RESULTS

The findings of this study revealed that 45.05%,26.52%), 23% and 5.43% of the participants reported having desirable, moderately desirable, very desirable and undesirable perceptions of the operating theater learning environment, respectively, from highest to lowest. Preoperative discussion (AOR = 4.98 CI = 1.3-18.8), lack of teaching facilities (AOR = 0.16 CI = 0.03-0.75), noise from played music (AOR = 0.22 CI = 0.07-0.63), absence of tutors (AOR = 0.03 CI = 0.01-0.22), respect for students (AOR = 3.44 CI = 1.6-7.2), roll modeling for students (AOR = 3.23 CI = 1.5-6.8) and strict supervision of students (AOR = 0.24 CI = 0.07-0.88) were significantly associated with perceptions of the operation theater learning environment, with 95% CIs.

CONCLUSION

No study participant agreed that the operation theater learning environment in operation theatres was very undesirable. A lack of teaching facilities at the OR, a lack of tutors from the OR, noise from played music in the OR, a tutor respecting their student, a tutor role model for their student, a preoperative discussion with a tutor and strict supervision of the student are strongly associated with the operation theatre learning environment.

Medical students' perceptions of integrating social media into a narrative medicine programme for 5th-year clerkship in Taiwan: a descriptive qualitative study

BACKGROUND

The growing demands in integrating digital pedagogies in learning (e.g., social media) contribute to disrupting many fields, including the medical humanities education. However, the strengths and barriers behind social media and medical humanities context are blurred and contradictive. We examined the perceptions of integrating social media - Facebook - into a narrative medicine (NM) programme for 5th -year clerkship in Taiwan.

METHODS

We used purposive sampling to recruit participants. Sixteen medical students (Female/Male: 7/9) participated in four group interviews. Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted to explore students' perceptions and experiences of the social media integrated into the NM programme. We analysed the data using a descriptive thematic analysis with a team-based approach. Data were managed and coded using ATLAS.ti version 9.0.

RESULTS

We identified six main themes: (1) Positive experiences of social media integration; (2) Negative experiences of social media integration; (3) Barriers on writing and sharing NM stories in social media; (4) Barriers on reading NM stories in social media; (5) Barriers on reacting contents in social media; (6) Suggestions for future improvement.

CONCLUSIONS

The study revealed the strengths and barriers from medical students' perceptions, when integrating social media into a NM programme. It is important to match students' experiences, barriers, and perceptions towards learning. Understanding participants' suggestions for future improvement are also crucial. With this knowledge, we might better develop the social media integration systems that achieve our desired outcomes based on the medical humanities education curricula.

The Society of Information and the European Citizens' Perception of Climate Change: Natural or Anthropological Causes

The scientific community has reached a consensus on humans' important role as causative agents of climate change; however, branches of society are still sceptical about this. Climate change is a key issue for humanity and only the commitment to change human attitudes and lifestyles, at the global level, can be effective in its mitigation. With this purpose, it is important to convey the right message and prevent misinformation to manipulate people's minds. The present study aims to understand the factors shaping European citizens' thoughts on the causes of climate change. Using data from the European Social Survey 10 collected in 2022, we fitted statistical models using the people's thoughts on causes of climate change (natural, anthropogenic or both) as dependent variables. As independent variables, we used the impact of the media through time spent on news and time spent on the internet, level of education, level of trust in scientists, awareness of online or mobile misinformation and gender. We concluded that the typical European citizen who believes in anthropogenic causes of climate change is a female, is more literate, trusts more in scientists, is younger, spends more time reading the news and has more awareness of misinformation presence in online and mobile communications.

Cross-cultural perception of strength, attractiveness, aggressiveness and helpfulness of Maasai male faces calibrated to handgrip strength

Previous research has demonstrated that Maasai and Europeans tend to align in their ratings of the physical strength and aggressiveness of Maasai male faces, calibrated to hand grip strength (HGS). However, perceptions of attractiveness of these faces differed among populations. In this study, three morphs of young Maasai men created by means of geometric morphometrics, and depicting the average sample and two extrema (± 4 SD of HGS), were assessed by men and women from Tanzania, Czech Republic, Russia, Pakistan, China, and Mexico (total sample = 1540). The aim of this study was to test cross-cultural differences in the perception of young Maasai men's composites calibrated to HGS, focusing on four traits: physical strength, attractiveness, aggressiveness, and helpfulness. Individuals from all six cultures were able to distinguish between low, medium, and high HGS portraits. Across all study populations, portrait of Maasai men with lower HGS was perceived as less attractive, more aggressive, and less helpful. This suggests that people from diverse populations share similar perceptions of physical strength based on facial shape, as well as attribute similar social qualities like aggressiveness and helpfulness to these facial images. Participants from all samples rated the composite image of weak Maasai men as the least attractive.

Iterative learning experiments can help elucidate music's origins

Anglada-Tort et al. Current Biology, 33, 1472-1486.e12, (2023) conducted a large-scale iterative learning study with cross-cultural human participants to understand how musical structure emerges. Together with archaeological, developmental, historical cross-cultural music data, and cross-species studies we can begin to elucidate the origins of music.

Development of a novel tool to investigate human laughter behaviour and experience

We present a questionnaire exploring everyday laughter experience. We developed a 30-item questionnaire in English and collected data on an English-speaking sample (N = 823). Based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA), we identified four dimensions which accounted for variations in people's experiences of laughter: laughter frequency ('Frequency'), social usage of laughter ('Usage'), understanding of other people's laughter ('Understanding'), and feelings towards laughter ('Liking'). Reliability and validity of the LPPQ were assessed. To explore potential similarities and differences based on culture and language, we collected data with Mandarin Chinese-speaking population (N = 574). A PCA suggested the extraction of the same four dimensions, with some item differences between English and Chinese versions. The Laughter Production and Perception Questionnaire (LPPQ) will advance research into the experience of human laughter, which has a potentially crucial role in everyday life.

Unveiling the development of human voice perception: Neurobiological mechanisms and pathophysiology

The human voice is a critical stimulus for the auditory system that promotes social connection, informs the listener about identity and emotion, and acts as the carrier for spoken language. Research on voice processing in adults has informed our understanding of the unique status of the human voice in the mature auditory cortex and provided potential explanations for mechanisms that underly voice selectivity and identity processing. There is evidence that voice perception undergoes developmental change starting in infancy and extending through early adolescence. While even young infants recognize the voice of their mother, there is an apparent protracted course of development to reach adult-like selectivity for human voice over other sound categories and recognition of other talkers by voice. Gaps in the literature do not allow for an exact mapping of this trajectory or an adequate description of how voice processing and its neural underpinnings abilities evolve. This review provides a comprehensive account of developmental voice processing research published to date and discusses how this evidence fits with and contributes to current theoretical models proposed in the adult literature. We discuss how factors such as cognitive development, neural plasticity, perceptual narrowing, and language acquisition may contribute to the development of voice processing and its investigation in children. We also review evidence of voice processing abilities in premature birth, autism spectrum disorder, and phonagnosia to examine where and how deviations from the typical trajectory of development may manifest.

Attractive combinations of female gingival displays, buccal corridor sizes, and facial heights according to orthodontists, dentists, and laypeople of different ages and sexes: a psychometric study

INTRODUCTION

Esthetics plays a crucial role in orthodontics and many other dental and medical fields. To date, no study has assessed the combined effects of the 3 facial features 'facial height, gingival display (GD), and buccal corridor size (BC)' on facial/smile beauty. Therefore, this study was conducted for the first time.

METHODS

In this psychometric diagnostic study, beauty of 27 randomized perceptometric images of a female model with variations in facial heights (short, normal, long), gingival displays (0, 2, 4, 6 mm), and buccal corridor sizes (2%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%) were evaluated by 108 judges (36 orthodontists, 36 dentists, 36 laypeople) using a 5-scale Likert scale (1 to 5). Combined effects of facial heights, GDs, BCs, judges' sexes, ages, and jobs, and their 2-way interactions were tested using a mixed-model multiple linear regression and a Bonferroni test. Zones of ideal features were determined for all judges and also for each group using repeated-measures ANOVAs and the Bonferroni test (α=0.05).

RESULTS

Judges' sex but not their age or expertise might affect their perception of female beauty: men gave higher scores. The normal face was perceived as more beautiful than the long face (the short face being the least attractive). Zero GD was the most attractive followed by 4 mm; 6 mm was the least appealing. BCs of 15% followed by 10% were the most attractive ones, while 25% BC was the worst. The zone of ideal anatomy was: long face + 0mm GD + 15% BC; normal face + 2mm GD + 15% BC; long face + 2mm GD + 15% BC; normal face + 0mm GD + 15% BC.

CONCLUSIONS

Normal faces, zero GDs, and 15% BCs may be the most appealing. Facial heights affect the perception of beauty towards GDs but not BCs.

Relationships between perception of black triangles appearance, personality factors and level of education

This analytical cross-sectional study evaluated the perception of black triangles (BT) and examined the relationships between the perception of BT, personality factors, different educational backgrounds and demographic factors. 435 participants were included and divided into four groups: dentists, clinical (4th and 5th year) dental students, pre-clinical (3rd year) dental students, and laypeople. Participants' perception of the attractiveness of smile profiles of maxillary and mandibular anterior dentition with BT was rated using a ten-point VAS scale with 0 being the least, and 10 being the most attractive smile profile. The personality was assessed using the NEO-FFI personality questionnaire. The smile profile with multiple large BT was rated the least attractive for the maxillary (mean = 3.6) and mandibular (mean = 3.9) tested profiles. The smile profile without BT was rated the most attractive for the maxillary (mean = 9.1) and mandibular (mean = 8.8) tested profiles. The dental professionals perceived the maxillary smile profile with multiple large BT as less attractive than the non-dental participants (t = - 2.715, P = 0.007). Being a male, having dental education, having lower Neuroticism scores, as well as having higher Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion scores predicted and contributed more towards perceiving various tested smile profiles as more attractive. These findings show that black triangles negatively impacts the perception of smile attractiveness, and that personality traits and having dental education impact the perception of smile attractiveness for smiles with black triangles.

Allied health professionals' experiences and views towards improving musculoskeletal services in the UK for patients with musculoskeletal and co-existing mental health conditions: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Interplay between physical and mental health (MH) is widely recognised amongst patients with Musculoskeletal and co-existing MH conditions. Evidence suggests that psychological interventions improve outcomes and satisfaction in patients with physical conditions, however current healthcare models continue to separate physical and mental health care, as health services are fragmented. If the delivery of MH support could be facilitated by Allied Health Professionals (AHPs), such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists (OTs), this could be an effective, low-cost way to achieve routine integration. This study aimed to explore the experiences of UK physiotherapists and OTs working with patients with MSK and co-existing MH conditions and to understand views on improving MSK services.

METHODS

This was an exploratory-descriptive qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. Participants were recruited via social media and professional organisations using convenience sampling. Participants included registered UK physiotherapists or OTs within MSK settings who managed patients with MH conditions. Inductive thematic analysis was used, where single and double-level coding, single counting and inclusion of divergent cases were conducted to enhance methodological rigour.

RESULTS

Three overarching themes were identified. Overarching theme one referred to openness to provide MH support, with scope of practice and lack of confidence as themes. Overarching theme two described challenges, incorporating mental health stigma, the clinical environment, and limited experience. The overarching theme referring to training, identified the need for further training and strategies to implement as themes.

CONCLUSION

Many challenges to achieving optimal integration of physical and mental health care exist within MSK services. These challenges go beyond the need for additional training and knowledge acquisition and include departmental readiness such as funding, diary management, and supervision by senior colleagues/or psychologists. These need consideration in parallel to match the evolving needs of the MSK population.

Effects of arm-support exoskeletons on pointing accuracy and movement

Exoskeletons are wearable devices that support or augment users' physical abilities. Previous studies indicate that they reduce the physical demands of repetitive tasks such as those involving heavy material handling, work performed with arms elevated, and the use of heavy tools. However, there have been concerns about exoskeletons hindering movement and reducing its precision. To this end, the current study investigated how proprioception enables people to point to targets in a blindfolded, repetitive pointing task, and their ability to recalibrate their pointing movement based on visual feedback during an intervening calibration phase, both with and without an arm-support exoskeleton. On each trial, participants were instructed to follow a 40 BPM metronome to point six times alternating between two target points placed either on a vertical or horizontal line. Within a trial, each pointing movement alternated between flexion and extension. Results indicate that participants' average pointing error increased by 4% when they wore an exoskeleton, compared to when they did not. The average pointing error was 12% lower when the target points were aligned vertically as compared to horizontally. It was also observed that the average pointing error was 14% lower during flexion as compared to extension movement. Surprisingly, accuracy did not improve in the post-test as compared to the pre-test phase, likely due to accuracy being high from the beginning. Participants' movement dynamics were analyzed using Recurrence Quantification Analysis. It was found that movements were less deterministic (1% reduction in percentage of determinism) and less stable (13.6% reduction in average diagonal line length on the recurrence plot) when they wore the exoskeleton as compared to when they did not. These results have implications on the design of arm-support exoskeletons and for facilitating their integration into the natural motor synergies in humans.

Perception and expectation of Moroccan pharmacy students regarding e-learning in the context of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown

PURPOSE

Online learning, or e-learning, has grown exponentially in recent years, not least because the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many educational establishments to adopt distance learning modalities. In the field of pharmacy, where the acquisition of theoretical and practical knowledge is essential, the adoption of e-learning has attracted particular interest. The aim of this study is to analyze the feedback received by pharmacy students from different faculties in the country following the introduction of new learning methods during the Covid pandemic.

METHODS

The study was carried out using a "Google forms" questionnaire, which was sent to students at the country's faculties of pharmacy. The questionnaire included various points, such as a description of the population, preferred mode of distance learning of lectures among students and satisfaction with e-learning.

RESULTS

The study involved 176 respondents, 65.9% of whom were women. Around 50% of respondents use e-learning tools more than 6 times a week for educational purposes. Seventy per cent of respondents are satisfied with their e-learning experience, but only 43.2 believe that e-learning has a positive effect on their academic results. Forty-seven per cent of respondents considered the quality of teaching to be the major shortcoming of e-learning, followed by distraction (32%) and the questionable credibility of the diploma (20%).

CONCLUSION

E-learning has significant potential to transform teaching and learning in pharmacy, and its thoughtful integration can bring lasting benefits to students.

Experienced and Inexperienced Listeners' Perception of Vocal Strain

OBJECTIVE

The ability to perceive strain or tension in a voice is critical for both speech-language pathologists and singing teachers. Research on voice quality has focused primarily on the perception of breathiness or roughness. The perception of vocal strain has not been extensively researched and is poorly understood.

METHODS/DESIGN

This study employs a group and a within-subject design. Synthetic female sung stimuli were created that varied in source slope and vocal tract transfer function. Two groups of listeners, inexperienced listeners and experienced vocal pedagogues, listened to the stimuli and rated the perceived strain using a visual analog scale Synthetic female stimuli were constructed on the vowel /ɑ/ at 2 pitches, A3 and F5, using glottal source slopes that drop in amplitude at constant rates varying from - 6 dB/octave to - 18 dB/octave. All stimuli were filtered using three vocal tract transfer functions, one derived from a lyric/coloratura soprano, one derived from a mezzo-soprano, and a third that has resonance frequencies mid-way between the two. Listeners heard the stimuli over headphones and rated them on a scale from "no strain" to "very strained" using a visual-analog scale.

RESULTS

Spectral source slope was strongly related to the perception of strain in both groups of listeners. Experienced listeners' perception of strain was also related to formant pattern, while inexperienced listeners' perception of strain was also related to pitch.

CONCLUSION

This study has shown that spectral source slope can be a powerful cue to the perception of strain. However, inexperienced and experienced listeners also differ from each other in how strain is perceived across speaking and singing pitches. These differences may be based on both experience and the goals of the listener.

Knowledge and perception regarding molar incisor hypomineralisation among dental students and dental hygienist students in Spain: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH) has a high prevalence in the Spanish pediatric population and is a precursor of carious lesions in teeth in which it is present. Although this pathology is included in the curricula of the Degree in Dentistry and the Training Cycle in Oral Hygiene in our country, the contents currently taught seem to be insufficient in relation to the level of knowledge that we have today about this condition.

METHODS

A digital questionnaire of 18 questions was sent to a sample of 448 students attending the 4th and 5th year of the Degree in Dentistry and 2nd year of the Training Cycle in Oral Hygiene from different universities and vocational training centers in the Valencian Community. Descriptive and multivariate statistical analysis of the data was subsequently performed.

RESULTS

Of the 290 questionnaires that were obtained, 53.8% were from students attending the 2nd year of a training course in oral hygiene and 46.2% were from students pursuing a degree in dentistry. Most of the respondents had heard about MIH (75.2%), mainly through master classes. However, most students had difficulties distinguishing MIH lesions from other lesions (58.3%). The degree of knowledge about MIH was greater among dental students in all the aspects evaluated: prevalence, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. Of all the students, 83.8% were interested in increasing their training on MIH, especially in the areas of diagnosis and treatment.

CONCLUSION

The results of the present study justify the need to expand the content on MIH, both theoretical and practical, in the educational curricula of the Degree in Dentistry and Integrated Vocational Training Centers in Spain.