Yoxas/statistical_literacy huggingface dataset:
People have a unique ability to represent other people's internal thoughts and feelings-their mental states. Mental state knowledge has a rich conceptual structure, organized along key dimensions, such as valence. People use this conceptual structure to guide social interactions. How do people acquire their understanding of this structure? Here we investigate an underexplored contributor to this process: observation of mental state dynamics. Mental states-including both emotions and cognitive states-are not static. Rather, the transitions from one state to another are systematic and predictable. Drawing on prior cognitive science, we hypothesize that these transition dynamics may shape the conceptual structure that people learn to apply to mental states. Across nine behavioral experiments (N = 1,439), we tested whether the transition probabilities between mental states causally shape people's conceptual judgments of those states. In each study, we found that observing frequent transitions between mental states caused people to judge them to be conceptually similar. Computational modeling indicated that people translated mental state dynamics into concepts by embedding the states as points within a geometric space. The closer two states are within this space, the greater the likelihood of transitions between them. In three neural network experiments, we trained artificial neural networks to predict real human mental state dynamics. The networks spontaneously learned the same conceptual dimensions that people use to understand mental states. Together these results indicate that mental state dynamics-and the goal of predicting them-shape the structure of mental state concepts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
People have strong intuitions about the influence objects exert upon one another when they collide. Because people's judgments appear to deviate from Newtonian mechanics, psychologists have suggested that people depend on a variety of task-specific heuristics. This leaves open the question of how these heuristics could be chosen, and how to integrate them into a unified model that can explain human judgments across a wide range of physical reasoning tasks. We propose an alternative framework, in which people's judgments are based on optimal statistical inference over a Newtonian physical model that incorporates sensory noise and intrinsic uncertainty about the physical properties of the objects being viewed. This noisy Newton framework can be applied to a multitude of judgments, with people's answers determined by the uncertainty they have for physical variables and the constraints of Newtonian mechanics. We investigate a range of effects in mass judgments that have been taken as strong evidence for heuristic use and show that they are well explained by the interplay between Newtonian constraints and sensory uncertainty. We also consider an extended model that handles causality judgments, and obtain good quantitative agreement with human judgments across tasks that involve different judgment types with a single consistent set of parameters.
People in Connecticut are now more likely to die of a drug-related overdose than a traffic accident. While Connecticut has had some success in slowing the rise in overdose death rates, substantial additional progress is necessary. We developed, verified, and calibrated a mechanistic simulation of alternative overdose prevention policy options, including scaling up naloxone (NLX) distribution in the community and medications for opioid use disorder (OUD) among people who are incarcerated (MOUD-INC) and in the community (MOUD-COM) in a simulated cohort of people with OUD in Connecticut. We estimated how maximally scaling up each option individually and in combinations would impact 5-year overdose deaths, life-years, and quality-adjusted life-years. All costs were assessed in 2021 USD, employing a health sector perspective in base-case analyses and a societal perspective in sensitivity analyses, using a 3% discount rate and 5-year and lifetime time horizons. Maximally scaling NLX alone reduces overdose deaths 20% in the next 5 years at a favorable incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER); if injectable rather than intranasal NLX was distributed, 240 additional overdose deaths could be prevented. Maximally scaling MOUD-COM and MOUD-INC alone reduce overdose deaths by 14% and 6% respectively at favorable ICERS. Considering all permutations of scaling up policies, scaling NLX and MOUD-COM together is the cost-effective choice, reducing overdose deaths 32% at ICER $19,000/QALY. In sensitivity analyses using a societal perspective, all policy options were cost saving and overdose deaths reduced 33% over 5 years while saving society $338,000 per capita over the simulated cohort lifetime. Maximally scaling access to naloxone and MOUD in the community can reduce 5-year overdose deaths by 32% among people with OUD in Connecticut under realistic budget scenarios. If societal cost savings due to increased productivity and reduced crime costs are considered, one-third of overdose deaths can be reduced by maximally scaling all three policy options, while saving money.
People living in less urban areas in the UK may have reduced access to mental healthcare compared with people in urban areas. Although this was not reported in the 2000 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) data, subsequent changes to mental health provision and economic recession may have impacted care inequalities. We re-examined this, hypothesising that those living in less urban areas of England received less antidepressant medication and psychological interventions, compared with those living in urban areas, after adjusting for covariates including common mental disorders (CMDs) and socioeconomic status. National cross-sectional study. Households in England. We analysed data from 7455 participants aged 16 and above from the 2014 English APMS. Residence in an urban or less urban area. Current receipt of any antidepressant medication or any psychological intervention. Participants living in less urban areas were half as likely to be in receipt of any psychological intervention relative to those living in urban areas (adjusted OR (aOR) 0.49; 95% CI 0.30 to 0.79; p=0.004). There was no association between urbanisation and antidepressant receipt (aOR 1.01; 95% CI 0.81 to 1.25; p=0.944). People living in less urban areas have a lower likelihood of being in receipt of psychological treatment for CMDs, which may indicate barriers to care access. Our findings differ from the results of a study using a comparable sample conducted 14 years previously. While Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services have increased therapy access nationwide, this may have had more impact in urban areas, potentially widening urban/rural inequalities. Further research is needed to understand how to address such geographical inequalities in access to mental healthcare.
People living with HIV (PLWH) are more susceptible to acquiring and having serious consequences from COVID-19. The objective of this study was to examine the correlation between COVID-19 infection and other risk factors in these patients. This is a descriptive-analytical study recruiting 160 PLWH referred to the Behavioral Disease Counselling Centre of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran in 2021. The patients were selected through convenient sampling. A checklist was used to collect the necessary data. Descriptive statistical tests, such as mean and standard deviation, were employed alongside inferential statistics, including chi-square, Fisher, independent t-tests, and logistic regression, all evaluated at a significance level of p<0.05 using the R software. The patients' average age was 43.15 ± 11.23. Forty-four women and 116 men were present. A notable association was observed between the incidence of COVID-19 and variables such as hepatitis C and the duration of time since HIV diagnosis (p<0.001). Moreover, a strong correlation was found between the amount of COVID-19 vaccination doses given to patients and their probability of acquiring the disease. The first vaccination dose was linked to a 5.45 percent increase in COVID-19 incidence in patients, whereas the second and third doses (t=2.95, t=7.57) reduced the risk of getting COVID-19. Furthermore, no discernible link (p>0.05) was found between the use of various antiretroviral medications and COVID-19 infection. This study finds that vaccine type doesn't impact COVID-19 outcomes in HIV-positive patients, but receiving more doses decreases the probability of occurrence of COVID-19, advocating for multiple vaccinations. However, PLWH, especially those non-compliant with antiretrovirals, need strict adherence to health protocols due to heightened vulnerability to viral illnesses.
People living with HIV (PLWH) with multidrug-resistant (MDR) viruses have limited therapeutic options and present challenges regarding clinical management. Recent studies have shown that passive transfer of combination broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) against HIV and anti-domain 1 CD4 antibody UB-421 can sustain virologic suppression in PLWH in the absence of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Yet studies addressing the therapeutic potential of these antibodies and/or detailed characterization of immunologic and virologic parameters in PLWH with MDR HIV are lacking. We examined levels of immune activation and exhaustion markers on CD8+ T cells and the intact HIV proviral DNA burden in 11 PLWH with MDR viruses. For comparison purposes, we included a control group consisting of 27 ART-naïve viremic PLWH. In addition, we determined the sensitivity of infectious viral isolates obtained from the participants against eight bNAbs (3BNC117, 10-1074, VRC01, VRC07, N6, 10E8, PGDM1400, and PGT121) and two anti-CD4 antibodies (ibalizumab and UB-421) using a TZM-bl-based neutralization/suppression assay. The level of intact HIV proviral DNA was comparable between the two groups (P = 0.29). The levels of activation and exhaustion markers PD-1 (P = 0.0019), TIGIT (P = 0.0222), 2B4 (P = 0.0015), CD160 (P = 0.0015), and CD38+/HLA-DR+ (P = 0.0138) were significantly lower in the MDR group. The infectious viral isolates from each study participant with MDR HIV were resistant to at least 2 bNAbs; however, they were sensitive to at least one of the CD4-binding and non-CD4-binding site antibodies. The majority of participants had ibalizumab-sensitive viruses although the isolates from some participants showed reduced sensitivity to ibalizumab. Notably, none of the 93 viral isolates obtained from the participants were resistant to UB-421. Our data suggest that combination therapy with HIV-specific bNAbs and/or UB-421 in the presence of optimized background therapy could potentially provide sustained virologic suppression in PLWH with MDR HIV. However, this therapeutic strategy needs to be evaluated in human clinical trials. Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health.
People living with serious illness and their care partners rely on team-based specialty hospice and palliative care (HPC) in order to achieve high quality end of life outcomes. In HPC, physician and nurse practitioner (NP) scope of practice has significant overlap so training together may offer benefits to clinicians and patients. Assessment of clinical competencies in a post-graduate training program consisting of NPs and physicians training and learning side-by-side. A crosswalk assured NP and physician HPC clinical competencies were captured in evaluation questions used by interprofessional program faculty to observe and assess trainees. Six clinical competencies were calculated based on aggregated evaluations for each physician and NP HPC post-graduate trainee at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months annually for 3 years. For NPs and physicians, the mean slopes of the best fit lines, the final numeric score, and the mean net change between 12 and three month competencies were compared. Learner experience was captured qualitatively. There was no statistical difference in the change of competency scores, the final competency scores, or the trajectory of improvement in the six competencies between physician to NP trainees. Adding NP trainees was considered by post-graduate trainees as a strength of the program, and did not detract from physician competence achievement. Assessing an IPE post-graduate training program in HPC was possible using a shared clinical competency framework, and revealed similar clinical gains for NPs and physicians enrolled in the program.
People living with type 1 diabetes (PWT1D) are at increased risk for impairments in brain function, which may impact on daily life. Cognitive impairments in PWT1D might contribute to increasing eating disorders, reducing self-management skills, and deteriorating glycemic control. Glycemic variability may be a key determinant of disordered eating behaviors, as well as of cognitive impairments. The main objective of this study is to better understand the impact of glycemic variability in disordered eating behaviors and cognitive impairment, and its consequences on self-management skills in PWT1D. We aim to recruit 150 PWT1D with 50% of men and women in this cross-sectional study. Participants will record their glycemic variability over a 10-day period using a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) and track their dietary intakes using image-assisted food tracking mobile application (2 days). Over four online visits, eating behaviors, diabetes self-management's skills, anxiety disorders, depression disorder, diabetes literacy and numeracy skills, cognitive flexibility, attention deficit, level of interoception, and impulsivity behaviors will be assessed using self-reported questionnaires. Cognitive functions (i.e., attention, executive functions, impulsivity, inhibition and temporal discounting), will be measured. Finally, medical, biological and sociodemographic data will be collected. To further our understanding of the PWT1D experience and factors impacting glycemic self-management, 50 PWT1D will also participate in the qualitative phase of the protocol which consist of individual in-depth face-to-face (virtual) interviews, led by a trained investigator using a semi-structured interview. This study will contribute to highlighting the consequences of blood sugar fluctuations (i.e., "sugar swings"), in daily life, especially how they disrupt eating behaviors and brain functioning. A better understanding of the mechanisms involved could eventually allow for early detection and management of these problems. Our study will also seek to understand the patients' point of view, which will allow the design of appropriate and meaningful recommendations. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05487534. Registered 4 August 2022.
People need more support learning to evaluate the credibility of online information. This article reviews recent research on interventions designed to teach lateral reading, the strategy of leaving an unfamiliar website to search for information about a source's credibility via additional sources. Interventions that use diverse designs to teach lateral reading and target participants in elementary school through adulthood have shown evidence of improving participants' digital evaluations. These interventions suggest that targeted and explicit instruction in lateral reading can help people both assess credible information and identify misinformation. Still, much more work is needed in a wider range of contexts to probe the design elements, duration, and teacher education needed to support successful interventions.
People often learn of new scientific findings from brief news reports, and may discount or ignore prior research, potentially contributing to misunderstanding of findings. In this preregistered study, we investigated how people interpret a brief news report on a new drug for weight loss. Participants read an article that either highlighted the importance of prior research when judging the drug's effectiveness, or made no mention of this issue. For articles describing no prior research, mean confidence in the drug was 62%. For articles that noted prior research was conducted, confidence increased as the proportion of studies with positive findings increased. When prior research was highlighted, confidence decreased by a small amount, even when it should have increased (i.e., even when most of the evidence supported the drug's effectiveness). Thus, people's judgements were more sceptical, but not necessarily more accurate. Judgements were not affected by education level, statistics experience, or personal relevance of the research topic.
People often rely on scientific findings to help them make decisions-however, failing to report effect magnitudes might lead to a potential bias in assuming findings are practically significant. Across two online studies (Prolific; N = 800), we measured U.S. adults' endorsements of expensive interventions described in media reports that led to effects that were small, large, or of unreported magnitude between groups. Participants who viewed interventions with unreported effect magnitudes were more likely to endorse interventions compared with those who viewed interventions with small effects and were just as likely to endorse interventions as those who viewed interventions with large effects, suggesting a practical significance bias. When effect magnitudes were reported, participants on average adjusted their evaluations accordingly. However, some individuals, such as those with low numeracy skills, were more likely than others to act on small effects, even when explicitly prompted to first consider the meaningfulness of the effect.
People who are incarcerated are at heightened risk of overdose upon community reentry. Virtual reality (VR) may provide an innovative tool for overdose prevention intervention in corrections facilities. This mixed methods study sought to understand incarcerated individuals' perspectives on VR for overdose prevention and explore physiological arousal associated with use of VR equipment. Study participants were 20 individuals, stratified by gender, with an opioid use disorder at a county jail. Qualitative interviews assessed acceptability and perceived utility of VR in the jail setting. Thematic analysis indicated high levels of acceptability and potential utility in the following areas: (a) mental health and substance use interventions, (b) community reentry skills training, and (c) communication and conflict resolution skills. Heart rate variability (HRV) data were collected continuously during the interview and during VR exposure to explore whether exposure to the VR environment provoked arousal. Physiological data analyses showed a significant decrease in heart rate (HR) [b = -3.14, t(18) = -3.85, p < .01] and no arousal as measured by root mean square of successive RR interval differences (RMSSD) [b = -0.06, t(18) = -1.06, p = .30] and high frequency-HRV (HF-HRV) [b = -0.21, t(18) = -1.71, p = .10]. This study demonstrated high acceptability and decreased HR response of VR among incarcerated people who use drugs.
People who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and other sexual/gender minorities (LGBTQ+) may experience discrimination when seeking healthcare. Medical students should be trained in inclusive and affirming care for LGBTQ+ patients. This narrative literature review explores the landscape of interventions and evaluations related to LGBTQ+ health content taught in medical schools in the USA and suggests strategies for further curriculum development. PubMed, ERIC, and Education Research Complete databases were systematically searched for peer-reviewed articles on LGBTQ+ health in medical student education in the USA published between 1 January 2011-6 February 2023. Articles were screened for eligibility and data was abstracted from all eligible articles. Data abstraction included the type of intervention or evaluation, sample population and size, and key outcomes. One hundred thirty-four articles met inclusion criteria and were reviewed. This includes 6 (4.5%) that evaluate existing curriculum, 77 (57.5%) study the impact of curriculum components and interventions, 36 (26.9%) evaluate student knowledge and learning experiences, and 15 (11.2%) describe the development of broad learning objectives and curriculum. Eight studies identified student knowledge gaps related to gender identity and affirming care and these topics were covered in 34 curriculum interventions. Medical student education is important to address health disparities faced by the LGBTQ+ community, and has been an increasingly studied topic in the USA. A variety of curriculum interventions at single institutions show promise in enhancing student knowledge and training in LGBTQ+ health. Despite this, multiple studies indicate that students report inadequate education on certain topics with limitations in their knowledge and preparedness to care for LGBTQ+ patients, particularly transgender and gender diverse patients. Additional integration of LGBTQ+ curriculum content in areas of perceived deficits could help better prepare future physicians to care for LGBTQ+ patients and populations.
People with disabilities (PWD) commonly experience difficulties in accessing their environments, which can lead to restricted participation in outdoor leisure-time physical activity. Participating in outdoor leisure-time physical activity (OLTPA) provides health and social benefits to PWD and benefits to the communities in which they live. The aim of the study was to identify features existing in digital platforms that facilitate access to OLTPA for PWD. A scoping review was conducted in four library databases and in Google advance search to identify relevant scientific and grey literature, and websites. Each step of the review was independently conducted by two co-authors who confirmed consensus of results. Descriptive data analyses were performed. Seven scientific studies and ten websites were included in the scoping review. Seven presented mobile apps, nine presented a website and one presented an online database. Sources reported five main obstacles to using digital platforms that support access to physical activities (e.g., lack of digital literacy, technical issues, unintuitive design), and 10 facilitators (e.g., possibility to personalize your online space, accessibility features of the navigation). Among these sources, a trend emerged in the most important factors and features to consider for the visuals and navigation of the platforms. The features of digital platforms that facilitate access to OLTPA include intuitive design compliant with accessibility guidelines and supported by navigation tools, personalization of the online space, and features for social interactions.