bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Learning to play a musical instrument in the middle school is associated with superior audiovisual working memory and fluid intelligence: A cross-sectional behavioral study
Authors: Lippolis Mariangela , Müllensiefen Daniel , Frieler Klaus , Matarrelli Benedetta , Vuust Peter , Cassibba Rosalinda , Brattico Elvira
Published: October 2022

Music training, in all its forms, is known to have an impact on behavior both in childhood and even in aging. In the delicate life period of transition from childhood to adulthood, music training might have a special role for behavioral and cognitive maturation. Among the several kinds of music training programs implemented in the educational communities, we focused on instrumental training incorporated in the public middle school curriculum in Italy that includes both individual, group and collective (orchestral) lessons several times a week. At three middle schools, we tested 285 preadolescent children (aged 10–14 years) with a test and questionnaire battery including adaptive tests for visuo-spatial working memory skills (with the Jack and Jill test), fluid intelligence (with a matrix reasoning test) and music-related perceptual and memory abilities (with listening tests). Of these children, 163 belonged to a music curriculum within the school and 122 to a standard curriculum. Significant differences between students of the music and standard curricula were found in both perceptual and cognitive domains, even when controlling for pre-existing individual differences in musical sophistication. The music children attending the third and last grade of middle school had better performance and showed the largest advantage compared to the control group on both audiovisual working memory and fluid intelligence. Furthermore, some gender differences were found for several tests and across groups in favor of females. The present results indicate that learning to play a musical instrument as part of the middle school curriculum represents a resource for preadolescent education. Even though the current evidence is not sufficient to establish the causality of the found effects, it can still guide future research evaluation with longitudinal data.
Baseline global brain structural and functional alterations at the time of symptom onset can predict subsequent cognitive deterioration in drug-naïve first-episode schizophrenia patients: Evidence from a follow-up study
Authors: Zhuo Chuanjun , Chen Guangdong , Chen Jiayue , Yang Lei , Zhang Qiuyu , Li Qianchen , Wang Lina , Ma Xiaoyan , Sun Yun , Jia Feng , Tian Hongjun , Jiang Deguo
Published: October 2022

Alterations in the global brain gray matter volume (gGMV) and global functional connectivity density (gFCD) play a pivotal role in the cognitive impairment and further deterioration in schizophrenia. This study aimed to assess the correlation between alterations in the gGMV and gFCD at baseline (ΔgGMV and ΔgFCD), and the subsequent alterations of cognitive function in schizophrenia patients after 2-year antipsychotic treatment. Global-brain magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired from 877 drug-naïve, first-episode schizophrenia patients at baseline and after two years of antipsychotic treatment with adequate dosage and duration, and 200 healthy controls. According to ΔgGMV at baseline, schizophrenia patients were divided into mild, moderate, and severe alteration groups. The MATRICS consensus cognitive battery and Global Deficit Score (GDS) were used to assess cognitive impairment. We found that ΔgGMV and ΔgFCD at baseline were significantly correlated with the severity of the cognitive deterioration (ΔGDS). The correlation coefficient indicated a significant positive correlation between baseline ΔgFCD and subsequent cognitive deterioration, with a relatively stronger relation in the mild alteration group (r = 0.31). In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between baseline ΔgGMV and subsequent cognitive deterioration, with a stronger relation in the moderate and severe alteration groups (r = 0.303; r = 0.302, respectively). Our results showed that ΔgGMV and ΔgFCD are correlated with the severity of cognitive deterioration after completion of a 2-year antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia patients. These findings suggest that baseline alterations in gGMV and gFCD hold potential for predicting subsequent cognitive decline in schizophrenia.
Thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and acquired capability for suicide among university students of Bangladesh: Scales validation and status assessment
Authors: Arafat S. M. Yasir , Hussain Fahad , Zaman Mir Susmita , Tabassum Tamanna , Islam Md. Khayrul , Shormi Farzana Rabin , Khan Anisur Rahman , Islam Md. Rabiul , Redwan A. S. M. , Giasuddin Noor Ahmed , Mubashir Anila , Khan Md. Abdullah Saeed
Published: October 2022

Background

Identification of prior mental events of suicide attempts has immense importance in suicide prevention. However, it has not been studied in Bangladesh as there was no available psychometrically valid instrument measuring it.

Objectives

We aimed to test the psychometric properties of the interpersonal needs questionnaire (INQ-15) and acquired capability for suicide scale-fearlessness about death (ACSS-FAD) in Bangla along with the determination of the level of thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and acquired capability for suicide.

Materials and methods

We collected data between 29 March and 14 April 2022 from 1,207 students of medical colleges and universities in Bangladesh by Google form. We assessed the psychometric properties of Bangla INQ and ACSS-FAD scales and examined factors associated with thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and acquired capability for suicide.

Results

The mean age of the participants was 22.82 ± 1.68 (range 18–29) years, 51% were females, 84% were graduate students, and 92% were unmarried. Both of the scales revealed acceptable levels of reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure of Bangla INQ after dropping three items from thwarted belongingness domain (item 9, 11, and 12) and a single factor structure for Bangla ACSS-FAD after dropping three items (item 1, 4, and 6). Perceived burdensomeness was significantly higher in females, students with a history of mental illness, family history of suicide, and the history of suicidal attempts. Fearlessness about death was significantly higher among females, non-Muslim participants, and history of suicidal attempts.

Conclusion

The current study revealed psychometric properties of two suicide scales (INQ and ACSS-FAD) in Bangla that can be used in subsequent studies. Prevention strategies targeting to females, persons with psychiatric disorder, history of previous attempt(s) should be prioritized specially among the young age group.
A virtual reality craving study in tobacco addiction: The role of non-pharmacological support in tobacco detox therapy
Authors: Zamboni Lorenzo , Campagnari Simone , Giordano Rosaria , Fusina Francesca , Carli Silvia , Congiu Alessio , Barbon Isabella , Melchiori Silvia , Casari Rebecca , Tedeschi Elisa , Vesentin Roberta , Verlato Giuseppe , Infante Maurizio Valentino , Lugoboni Fabio
Published: October 2022

Nicotine addiction is a widespread, worldwide epidemic, causing six million deaths per year. A large variety of treatments for smoking cessation are currently available, including Cytisine, which is a promising drug due to its low cost and high safety levels. Notwithstanding the important amount of research on tobacco addiction treatments, smoking remains one of the most difficult substance use disorders to treat, probably also due to the fact that pharmacological treatment often overlooks other maintaining factors in this addiction, such as sensory impact and cue reactivity. To address this gap in both treatment protocols and scientific literature, we propose a study protocol in which we will compare the effects of combining Cytisine with Nirdosh, a herbal tobacco substitute, to Cytisine only in two groups of patients (C + N and C) who will also undergo exposure to four different virtual reality settings that will assess the importance of environmental cues. We will further assess mood and craving in the two samples, and include a control group taken from the general population. We expect the C + N group to report a more positive mood and a lower sensitivity to tobacco-related environmental cues.
A new approach for the treatment of subthreshold bipolar disorders: Targeted high dose levothyroxine and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for mitochondrial treatment
Authors: Zamar Andy , Lulsegged Abbi , Kouimtsidis Christos
Published: October 2022

Bipolar spectrum disorder includes Bipolar I, Bipolar II and subthreshold bipolar disorders (BD). The condition is highly prevalent, disabling and associated with high mortality. Failure of diagnosis is high. Subthreshold presentations present as 4 or more changes in polarity, are generally less responsive to standard treatment and as a result, drug combinations are often needed. High Dose Levothyroxine (HDT) has been reported to be safe and effective with this condition. Treatment response has been associated with mutations in thyroid activating enzymes and intra cerebral transporter protein carrier. Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) has been shown to be effective in bipolar depression and has been proved to have neuroplastic effect. Present authors had reported clinical evidence of safe and effective use of a combination treatment protocol. Potential mechanisms of action of the combined treatment protocol and the role of mitochondria function are discussed.
Association between temporomandibular disorders and anxiety: A systematic review
Authors: Santos Erick Alves dos , Peinado Beatriz Rodrigues Risuenho , Frazão Deborah Ribeiro , Né Yago Gecy de Sousa , Fagundes Nathalia Carolina Fernandes , Magno Marcela Baraúna , Maia Lucianne Cople , Lima Rafael Rodrigues , Souza-Rodrigues Renata Duarte de
Published: October 2022

Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMD) is an umbrella term that includes musculoskeletal and neuromuscular conditions affecting the temporomandibular joint. The present systematic review aimed to verify whether there is a specific association between TMD and anxiety. The searches were carried out in electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and LILACS, without restrictions on publication date and language. The acronym PECO was used, whose participants (P) were humans exposed to TMD (E), compared to participants without TMD (C) and the presence of anxiety as an outcome (O). After the search retrieval, the duplicates were removed, and the articles were evaluated by title and abstract, following our inclusion and exclusion criteria; then, the papers were read and thoroughly assessed. After selection, the methodological quality was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for observational studies. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) tool was used to assess the level of evidence. A total of 710 studies were found, and 33 articles were considered eligible and were included for the qualitative synthesis and the level of evidence assessment. The studies confirmed the association between anxiety and DTM, although there was a low certainty of evidence among the selected studies. Most articles showed a low risk of bias. Although the limitations of this systematic review, it suggested a significant association between anxiety and TMD, as well as highlights possible directions for future research.
Improving access to and use of maternal health services during COVID-19: Experience from a health system strengthening project in Guinea
Authors: Kouyate Mariama , Barry Lansana , Sow Abdoulaye , De Maesschalck John , De Put Willem Van , Sidibé Sidikiba , Adrianaivo Norohaingo , Kolié Delphin , Delamou Alexandre
Published: October 2022

The purpose of this study was to document the experience of health providers' capacity strengthening during health crises and the contribution of such to the health system and the population resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in Guinea. We conducted a cross-sectional study using routine data collected from 41 health facilities in the project intervention areas, including associative health centers, community health centers, and district hospitals,. These data covered the period between 2019 and 2021. Results showed that all the community health centers (CMCs) had a clean internal and external environment, compared to health centers (95.2%) and district hospitals (33.3%). Hand washing was systematic among visitors attending CMCs and district hospitals (HPs). However, 28.6% of visitors attending associative health centers (AHCs) did not wash their hands. Temperature taking for visitors was not carried out in all CMCs and in 90.5% of the AHCs; unlike in the HC and HP where the temperature of each patient was taken before entering the consultation room. The obligation to wear masks was higher in the HP and in the HC, compared to the CMC and AHC where the order of non-compliance with the wearing of masks was, respectively 36.4 and 19%. Non-compliance with social distancing in the waiting rooms and between users was observed in all facilities. The project's interventions mainly contributed to improving the utilization of prenatal consultation and institutional delivery services; the beginning of the interventions was marked by an increase of an average of 17 ANC1 per month in CMCs and 116 ANC1 in health centers. Ongoing training on capacity strengthening for providers in infection prevention and control, followed by the offering of delivery kits and materials during epidemics, would contribute to the improvement and utilization of health facilities by the population.
Physical environment research of the family ward for a healthy residential environment
Authors: Zhang Yuqing , Liu Xiao , Meng Qinglin , Li Bin , Caneparo Luca
Published: October 2022

Climate change and population aging are two of the most important global health challenges in this century. A 2020 study by the Environmental Protection Agency showed that average people, particularly older adults, spent 90% of their time at home. This is even more evident during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Home-based care models have become a new trend. The health and comfort of the living environment profoundly impacts the wellbeing of older adults. Therefore, research on the physical environment of the family wards has become an inevitable part of promoting the health of older adults; however, current research is still lacking. Based on the study and analysis of continuous monitoring data related to elements of the physical environment (thermal comfort, acoustic quality, lighting quality, and indoor air quality) of family wards, this paper explores the living behaviors of the participants in this environmental research (open or closed windows, air conditioning, artificial lighting, and television) on the indoor physical environment. (1) While referring to the requirements of international standards for an indoor aging-friendly physical environment, we also discuss and analyze the physical environment parameter values according to Chinese standards. (2) People's life behaviors have different degrees of influence on the elements of indoor physical environments. For example, opening doors and windows can alleviate the adverse effects of indoor environmental quality on the human body better than simply turning on the air conditioner. (3) Owing to the decline in physical function, older adults need special care. Studying the status quo of physical environmental elements and proposing suitable environmental improvement measures for aging are of great significance. (4) This research aims to address global warming and severe aging and to contribute to sustainable environmental development.
Global prevalence and epidemiological trends of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Hu Xiaojie , Chen Yuquan , Shen Yiting , Tian Rui , Sheng Yuqin , Que Huafa
Published: October 2022

Objective

Although Hashimoto's thyroiditis is associated with cardiovascular disease and malignancy, the global status of Hashimoto's thyroiditis is not well characterized across regions. Our objective was to evaluate the prevalence and trends of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in adults in regions with different economic income levels around the world.

Methods

For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, and 48 random-effects representative studies from the inception to June 2022 were included without language restrictions to obtain the overall prevalence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in adults worldwide. In addition, we stratified by time of publication, geographic region, economic level of the region of residence, gender, diagnostic method, etc.

Results

A total of 11,399 studies were retrieved, of which 48 met the research criteria: 20 from Europe, 16 from Asia, five from South America, three from North America, and three from Africa. Furthermore, there are two projects involving 19 countries and 22,680,155 participants. The prevalence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis was 7.5 (95%CI 5.7–9.6%), while in the low-middle-income group the prevalence was 11.4 (95%CI 2.5–25.2%). Similarly, the prevalence was 5.6 (95%Cl 3.9–7.4%) in the upper-middle-income group, and in the high-income group, the prevalence was 8.4 (95%Cl 5.6–11.8). The prevalence of Hashimoto's varied by geographic region: Africa (14.2 [95% CI 2.5–32.9%]), Oceania (11.0% [95% CI 7.8–14.7%]), South America and Europe 8.0, 7.8% (95% Cl 0.0–29.5%) in North America, and 5.8 (95% Cl 2.8–9.9%) in Asia. Although our investigator heterogeneity was high (I2), our results using a sensitivity analysis showed robustness and reliability of the findings. People living in low-middle-income areas are more likely to develop Hashimoto's thyroiditis, while the group in high-income areas are more likely to develop Hashimoto's thyroiditis than people in upper-middle-income areas, and women's risk is about four times higher than men's.

Conclusions

Global Hashimoto's thyroiditis patients are about four times as many as males, and there are discrepancies in the regions with different economic levels. In low-middle-income areas with a higher prevalence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, especially countries in Africa, therefore local health departments should take strategic measures to prevent, detect, and treat Hashimoto's thyroiditis. At the same time, the hidden medical burden other diseases caused by Hashimoto's thyroiditis should also be done well.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier: CRD 42022339839.
Temporal trends in cardiovascular health among Chinese urban children and adolescents, 2004–2019 pre-pandemic COVID-19
Authors: Xiao Pei , Cheng Hong , Yan Yinkun , Hou Dongqing , Dong Hongbo , Zhao Xiaoyuan , Mi Jie
Published: October 2022

Objective

Little is known about pre-pandemic cardiovascular health (CVH) status and its temporal variation in Chinese children. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the secular trends and associated factors of CVH in Chinese urban children from 2004 to 2019.

Methods

We identified 32,586 individuals in Beijing, aged 6 to 18 years, from three independent cross-sectional studies conducted in 2004, 2014, and 2019, respectively. CVH was assessed by 7 metrics according to modified American Heart Association criteria, including smoking, physical activity, diet, body mass index, total cholesterol, blood pressure, and fasting glucose. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the associations between sociodemographic characteristics and the ideal CVH status.

Results

The proportion of ideal CVH decreased from 27.7% (boys 26.6%, girls 28.9%) in 2004 to 4.2% (boys 3.8%, girls 4.8%) in 2014, and then increased to 16.2% (boys 13.5%, girls 18.9%) in 2019. Overall, ideal smoking was the most prevalent CVH component during 2004–2019 (2004, 97.5%; 2014, 92.9%; 2019, 98.0%), while ideal physical activity (2004, 27.6%; 2014, 14.4%; 2019, 28.0%) and dietary intake (2004, 26.0%; 2014, 10.7%; 2019, 23.5%) were the least prevalent components. Notably, the proportion of ideal body mass index (2004, 77.5%; 2019, 59.7%) and blood pressure (2004, 73.6%; 2019, 67.3%) continuously decreased from 2004 to 2019. Girls, parental normal weight status, free of family CVD history, and lower levels in fat mass were associated with higher odds of ideal CVH.

Conclusion

The cardiovascular health in Chinese urban children deteriorated during 2004–2019. Distinct strategies are required to mitigate socioeconomic inequity in the intervention of CVH promotion.
Experiences and Perceptions of Telephone-delivery of the Common Elements Treatment Approach for Mental Health Needs Among Young People in Zambia During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Munthali-Mulemba Saphira , Figge Caleb J. , Metz Kristina , Kane Jeremy C. , Skavenski Stephanie , Mwenge Mwamba , Kohrt Brandon A. , Pedersen Gloria A. , Sikazwe Izukanji , Murray Laura K.
Published: October 2022

Background

Mental and behavioral health needs are immense in low-to-middle income countries (LMIC), particularly for adolescents and young adults (AYA). However, access to mental health services is limited in LMIC due to barriers such as distance to a health care site, low number of providers, and other structural and logistical challenges. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these barriers were significantly exacerbated and, thus, mental health services were severely disrupted. A potential solution to some of these barriers is remote delivery of such services via technology. Exploration of AYA experiences is needed to understand the benefits and challenges when shifting to remotely delivered services.

Methods

Participants included 16 AYA (15–29 years) residing in Lusaka, Zambia who met criteria for a mental or behavioral health concern and received telehealth delivery of the Common Elements Treatment Approach (CETA). AYA participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews to explore feasibility, acceptability, and barriers to telephone-delivered treatment in this context. Thematic coding analysis was conducted to identify key themes.

Findings

Three major response themes emerged: 1) Advantages of telehealth delivery of CETA, Disadvantages or barriers to telehealth delivery of CETA, 3) AYA recommendations for optimizing telehealth (ways to improve telehealth delivery in Zambia. Results indicate that logistical and sociocultural barriers i.e., providing AYA with phones to use for sessions, facilitating one face-to-face meeting with providers) need to be addressed for success of remotely delivered services.

Conclusion

AYA in this sample reported telehealth delivery reduces some access barriers to engaging in mental health care provision in Zambia. Addressing logistical and sociocultural challenges identified in this study will optimize feasibility of telehealth delivery and will support the integration of virtual mental health services in the Zambian health system.
Impacts of climate change and environmental degradation on children in Malaysia
Authors: Sahani Mazrura , Othman Hidayatulfathi , Kwan Soo Chen , Juneng Liew , Ibrahim Mohd Faiz , Hod Rozita , Zaini Zul'Izzat Ikhwan , Mustafa Maizatun , Nnafie Issmail , Ching Lai Che , Dambul Ramzah , Varkkey Helena , Phung Vera Ling Hui , Mamood Siti Nur Hanis , Karim Norhafizah , Abu Bakar Nur Faizah , Wahab Muhammad Ikram A. , Zulfakar Siti Shahara , Rosli Yanti
Published: October 2022

The impacts of climate change and degradation are increasingly felt in Malaysia. While everyone is vulnerable to these impacts, the health and wellbeing of children are disproportionately affected. We carried out a study composed of two major components. The first component is an environmental epidemiology study comprised of three sub-studies: (i) a global climate model (GCM) simulating specific health-sector climate indices; (ii) a time-series study to estimate the risk of childhood respiratory disease attributable to ambient air pollution; and (iii) a case-crossover study to identify the association between haze and under-five mortality in Malaysia. The GCM found that Malaysia has been experiencing increasing rainfall intensity over the years, leading to increased incidences of other weather-related events. The time-series study revealed that air quality has worsened, while air pollution and haze have been linked to an increased risk of hospitalization for respiratory diseases among children. Although no clear association between haze and under-five mortality was found in the case-crossover study, the lag patterns suggested that health effects could be more acute if haze occurred over a longer duration and at a higher intensity. The second component consists of three community surveys on marginalized children conducted (i) among the island community of Pulau Gaya, Sabah; (ii) among the indigenous Temiar tribe in Pos Kuala Mu, Perak; and (iii) among an urban poor community (B40) in PPR Sg. Bonus, Kuala Lumpur. The community surveys are cross-sectional studies employing a socio-ecological approach using a standardized questionnaire. The community surveys revealed how children adapt to climate change and environmental degradation. An integrated model was established that consolidates our overall research processes and demonstrates the crucial interconnections between environmental challenges exacerbated by climate change. It is recommended that Malaysian schools adopt a climate-smart approach to education to instill awareness of the impending climate change and its cascading impact on children's health from early school age.
Development of rural tourism in China: The tragedy of anti-commons
Authors: Wei Xinyi , Hu Qiuguang
Published: October 2022

The development of rural tourism presents the complexity of the industry, environment, governance, and coordination structure. In tourism development, due to the high dispersion and fragmentation of property rights of the resource objects themselves, as well as the involvement of many “atomic” property rights and other stakeholders, coupled with the lack of strong organization and leadership, the full development and utilization of rich tourism resources in rural areas is becoming problematic. It is difficult to realize the “rental value” of tourism resources, which leads to the tragedy of anti-commons. Taking the case of China, this paper explores the occurrence of anti-commons tragedy in the development of rural tourism, identifies the problems caused by the tragic governance of the anti-commons in the current environmental development, and further examines the governance path of the anti-commons tragedy in the tourism sector. The purpose of the study is to optimize the development environment of rural tourism and build a healthy space suitable for industry, residence, and tourism.
Participation in mass dog vaccination campaigns in Tanzania: Benefits of community engagement
Authors: Duamor Christian Tetteh , Lankester Felix , Mpolya Emmanuel , Ferguson Elaine A. , Johnson Paul CD. , Wyke Sally , Cleaveland Sarah , Hampson Katie , Kreppel Katharina
Published: October 2022

Background

Canine rabies causes about 59,000 human deaths each year globally but the disease can be eliminated by sustaining sufficient dog vaccination coverage over several consecutive years. A challenge to achieving high coverage is low participation of dog owners in vaccination campaigns. We explored whether and how previously identified contributory factors to low participation can be addressed through community engagement activities.

Methods

We engaged communities in two wards in Tanzania on dog behavior and handling, safe ways of interacting with dogs, and their perceptions of dog vaccination. We shared and elicited information from them through village meetings, video screenings, posters and leaflets and involved the leadership of one of the wards in planning and implementing a dog vaccination exercise to explore the feasibility of their participation. We assessed the impact of engagement activities with household surveys, meeting reports, observations and focus group discussions. We used a generalized linear mixed-effects model to identify predictors of knowledge and perceptions and compared knowledge amongst respondents before and after engagement activities. Qualitative data was analyzed inductively to explore perceptions of dog handling and vaccination and feasibility, opportunities and barriers to community leadership participation in organizing mass dog vaccination.

Main findings

Knowledge of dog behavior, dog handling, and safe ways of interacting with dogs was positively associated with age (p < 0.0001), dog ownership (p = 0.0203), training (p = 0.0010) and previous experience of a dog bite (p = 0.0002); and was negatively associated with being afraid of dogs (p = 0.0061) and participation in a recent dog vaccination campaign (p = 0.0077). Knowledge was low before and significantly improved after engagement activities. The majority (92%) of respondents believed dog vaccination has no negative effects on dogs. Respondents perceived lack of bonding with their dog as a limitation to the ability to restrain a dog for vaccination. The community performed most roles assigned to them in the dog vaccination exercise, but barriers such as lack of motivation for volunteering exist.

Conclusion

Engaging communities regularly on dog vaccination can improve their knowledge of dog behavior and dog handling techniques, and may help improve owner participation in dog vaccination campaigns.
COVID-19 related information seeking: The impact of media on parental concerns
Authors: Arnaud Yann , Drouin Olivier , Borgès Da Silva Roxane
Published: October 2022

The expansion of information sources and their use has accelerated since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, sometimes provoking significant concern in the daily lives of parents. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between COVID-19 related information sources and the level of concern about COVID-19 among parents of school-aged children. Using factor analysis and hierarchical ascending classification, we constructed groups according to the information sources they used. We performed ANOVA analysis and then binomial logistic regression to compare concern levels among the groups created. Overall, the 3,459 participants were mainly women (79.2%) and 59.5% reported being between 35 and 44 years old. The mean concern score in our sample was 9.5/15 (s.d. = 3.87). The whole sample fell into three groups: (1) Traditional Media (n = 1,610), who mainly used newspapers; (2) Online Social Networks and Entourage (n = 776), who mostly consulted online social media as well as friends and family; and (3) the Unplugged (n = 1,073), who consulted few or no information sources. Compared to the Unplugged, individuals in the other two groups had a higher risk of being concerned (Traditional Media, OR = 2.2; p < 0.001; Social Networks and Entourage, OR = 3.1; p < 0.001). Communication about pandemic risk should be conveyed based on reliable information and at moderate intervals to safeguard the mental health of individuals.
In-person school reopening and the spread of SARS-CoV-2 during the second wave in Spain
Authors: Tormos Raül , Fonseca i Casas Pau , Garcia-Alamino Josep Maria
Published: October 2022

We investigate the effects of school reopening on the evolution of COVID-19 infections during the second wave in Spain studying both regional and age-group variation within an interrupted time-series design. Spain's 17 Autonomous Communities reopened schools at different moments in time during September 2020. We find that in-person school reopening correlates with a burst in infections in almost all those regions. Data from Spanish regions gives a further leverage: in some cases, pre-secondary and secondary education started at different dates. The analysis of those cases does not allow to conclude whether reopening one educational stage had an overall stronger impact than the other. To provide a plausible mechanism connecting school reopening with the burst in contagion, we study the Catalan case in more detail, scrutinizing the interrupted time-series patterns of infections among age-groups and the possible connections between them. The stark and sudden increase in contagion among older children (10–19) just after in-person school reopening appears to drag the evolution of other age-groups according to Granger causality. This might be taken as an indirect indication of household transmission from offspring to parents with important societal implications for the aggregate dynamics of infections.
Factors associated with COVID-19 stigma during the onset of the global pandemic in India: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Adhikari Tulsi , Aggarwal Sumit , Nair Saritha , Joshi Aparna , Diwan Vishal , Stephen A. , Devi K. Rekha , Kumar Mishra Bijaya , Yadav Girijesh Kumar , Bangar Sampada Dipak , Sahu Damodar , Yadav Jeetendra , Ovung Senthanro , Gulati Bal Kishan , Sharma Saurabh , Singh Charan , Duggal Chetna , Sharma Moina , Ujagare Dhammasagar , Padmakar Chinchore Sneha , Rebecca Pricilla B. , Rani S. , Selvaraj Pradeep , Xavier Gladston G. , Peter Vanessa , Watson Basilea , Kannan T. , Asmathulla K. S. Md. , Bhattacharya Debdutta , Turuk Jyotirmayee , Palo Subrata Kumar , Kanungo Srikanta , Kumar Behera Ajit , Pandey Ashok Kumar , Zaman Kamran , Misra Brij Ranjan , Kumar Niraj , Behera Sthita Pragnya , Singh Rajeev , Narain Kanwar , Kant Rajni , Sahay Seema , Tiwari Rajnarayan R. , Thomas Beena Elizabeth , Rao M. Vishnu Vardhana
Published: October 2022

Objective

To assess factors associated with COVID-19 stigmatizing attitudes in the community and stigma experiences of COVID-19 recovered individuals during first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in India.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in 18 districts located in 7 States in India during September 2020 to January 2021 among adults > 18 years of age selected through systematic random sampling. Data on socio demographic and COVID-19 knowledge were collected from 303 COVID-19 recovered and 1,976 non-COVID-19 infected individuals from community using a survey questionnaire. Stigma was assessed using COVID-19 Stigma Scale and Community COVID-19 Stigma Scale developed for the study. Informed consent was sought from the participants. Univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis were conducted.

Results

Half of the participants (51.3%) from the community reported prevalence of severe stigmatizing attitudes toward COVID-19 infected while 38.6% of COVID-19 recovered participants reported experiencing severe stigma. Participants from the community were more likely to report stigmatizing attitudes toward COVID-19 infected if they were residents of high prevalent COVID-19 zone (AOR: 1.5; CI: 1.2–1.9), staying in rural areas (AOR: 1.5; CI:1.1–1.9), belonged to the age group of 18–30 years (AOR: 1.6; CI 1.2–2.0), were male (AOR: 1.6; CI: 1.3–1.9), illiterate (AOR: 2.7; CI: 1.8–4.2), or living in Maharashtra (AOR: 7.4; CI: 4.8–11.3). COVID-19 recovered participants had higher odds of experiencing stigma if they had poor knowledge about COVID-19 transmission (AOR: 2.8; CI: 1.3–6.3), were staying for 6–15 years (AOR: 3.24; CI: 1.1–9.4) in the current place of residence or belonged to Delhi (AOR: 5.3; CI: 1.04–26.7).

Conclusion

Findings indicated presence of stigmatizing attitudes in the community as well as experienced stigma among COVID-19 recovered across selected study sites in India during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. Study recommends timely dissemination of factual information to populations vulnerable to misinformation and psychosocial interventions for individuals affected by stigma.
The relationship between social participation and depressive symptoms among Chinese middle-aged and older adults: A cross-lagged panel analysis
Authors: Ding Yifei , Chen Lanshuang , Zhang Zhen
Published: October 2022

Objectives

This study examined the mutual effects of social participation and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older Chinese adults from offline and online perspectives. Reciprocal relationships between depressive symptoms and the four subtypes of offline participation were also examined.

Methods

Based on China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study data (CHARLS), this study conducted ID matching for three waves of data from 2013, 2015, and 2018. One thousand nine hundred ninety-nine samples for individuals over 50 were obtained. A series of cross-lagged analyses were conducted to examine the mutual influence of social participation and depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the short version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10). The social participation questionnaire included nine items referring to offline participation (eight items) and online participation (one item). Several demographic variables were adjusted when conducting the cross-lagged analyses.

Results

Social and offline participation had significant two-way associations with depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms had greater impacts on social and offline participation than in the opposite direction. Online participation has a significant one-way impact on depressive symptoms. The relationship between specific types of offline participation and depressive symptoms varied in existence and direction.

Discussion

Overall, there was significant bidirectional causality between social participation and depressive symptoms. Social participation, both offline and online, played a positive role in alleviating depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms also affected the level of social participation to some extent among middle-aged and older Chinese adults over time.
Towards the Neuroevolution of Low-level artificial general intelligence
Authors: Pontes-Filho Sidney , Olsen Kristoffer , Yazidi Anis , Riegler Michael A. , Halvorsen Pål , Nichele Stefano
Published: October 2022

In this work, we argue that the search for Artificial General Intelligence should start from a much lower level than human-level intelligence. The circumstances of intelligent behavior in nature resulted from an organism interacting with its surrounding environment, which could change over time and exert pressure on the organism to allow for learning of new behaviors or environment models. Our hypothesis is that learning occurs through interpreting sensory feedback when an agent acts in an environment. For that to happen, a body and a reactive environment are needed. We evaluate a method to evolve a biologically-inspired artificial neural network that learns from environment reactions named Neuroevolution of Artificial General Intelligence, a framework for low-level artificial general intelligence. This method allows the evolutionary complexification of a randomly-initialized spiking neural network with adaptive synapses, which controls agents instantiated in mutable environments. Such a configuration allows us to benchmark the adaptivity and generality of the controllers. The chosen tasks in the mutable environments are food foraging, emulation of logic gates, and cart-pole balancing. The three tasks are successfully solved with rather small network topologies and therefore it opens up the possibility of experimenting with more complex tasks and scenarios where curriculum learning is beneficial.
Expecting, understanding, relating, and interacting-older, middle-aged and younger adults’ perspectives on breakdown situations in human–robot dialogues
Authors: Tewari Maitreyee , Lindgren Helena
Published: October 2022

Purpose:The purpose of this study is to explore how older, middle aged and younger adults perceive breakdown situations caused by lack of or inconsistent knowledge, sudden focus shifts, and conflicting intentions in dialogues between a human and a socially intelligent robot in a home environment, and how they perceive strategies to manage breakdown situations.

Methods:Scenarios embedding dialogues on health-related topics were constructed based on activity-theoretical and argumentation frameworks. Different reasons for breakdown situations and strategies to handle these were embedded. The scenarios were recorded in a Wizard-of-Oz setup, with a human actor and a Nao robot. Twenty participants between 23 and 72 years of age viewed the recordings and participated in semi-structured interviews conducted remotely. Data were analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis.

Results:Four themes relating to breakdown situations emerged:expecting,understanding,relating, andinteracting. The themes span complex human activity at different complementary levels and provide further developed understanding of breakdown situations in human–robot interaction (HRI). Older and middle-aged adults emphasized emphatic behavior and adherence to social norms, while younger adults focused on functional aspects such as gaze, response time, and length of utterances. A hierarchical taxonomy of aspects relating to breakdown situations was formed, and design implications are provided, guiding future research.

Conclusion:We conclude that a socially intelligent robot agent needs strategies to 1) construct and manage its understanding related to emotions of the human, social norms, knowledge, and motive on a higher level of meaningful human activity, 2) act accordingly, for instance, adhering to transparent social roles, and 3) resolve conflicting motives, and identify reasons to prevent and manage breakdown situations at different levels of collaborative activity. Furthermore, the novel methodology to frame the dynamics of human–robot dialogues in complex activities using Activity Theory and argumentation theory was instrumental in this work and will guide the future work on tailoring the robot’s behavior.
Novelty detection in rover-based planetary surface images using autoencoders
Authors: Stefanuk Braden , Skonieczny Krzysztof
Published: October 2022

In the domain of planetary science, novelty detection is gaining attention because of the operational opportunities it offers, including annotated data products and downlink prioritization. Using a variational autoencoder (VAE), this work improves upon state-of-the-art novelty detection performance in the context of Martian exploration by >7% (measured by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC AUC)). Autoencoders, especially VAEs, perform well across all classes of novelties defined for Martian exploration. VAEs are shown to have high recall in the Martian context, making them particularly useful for on-ground processing. Convolutional autoencoders (CAEs), on the other hand, demonstrate high precision making them good candidates for onboard downlink prioritization. In our implementation adversarial autoencoders (AAEs) are also shown to perform on par with state-of-the-art. Dimensionality reduction is a key feature of autoencoders for novelty detection. In this study the impact of dimensionality reduction on detection quality is explored, showing that both VAEs and AAEs achieve comparable ROC AUCs to CAEs despite observably poorer (blurred) image reconstructions; this is observed both in Martian data and in lunar analogue data.
Model-based contact detection and position control of a fabric soft robot in unknown environments
Authors: Qiao Zhi , Nguyen Pham H. , Zhang Wenlong
Published: October 2022

Soft robots have shown great potential to enable safe interactions with unknown environments due to their inherent compliance and variable stiffness. However, without knowledge of potential contacts, a soft robot could exhibit rigid behaviors in a goal-reaching task and collide into obstacles. In this paper, we introduce a Sliding Mode Augmented by Reactive Transitioning (SMART) controller to detect the contact events, adjust the robot’s desired trajectory, and reject estimated disturbances in a goal reaching task. We employ a sliding mode controller to track the desired trajectory with a nonlinear disturbance observer (NDOB) to estimate the lumped disturbance, and a switching algorithm to adjust the desired robot trajectories. The proposed controller is validated on a pneumatic-driven fabric soft robot whose dynamics is described by a new extended rigid-arm model to fit the actuator design. A stability analysis of the proposed controller is also presented. Experimental results show that, despite modeling uncertainties, the robot can detect obstacles, adjust the reference trajectories to maintain compliance, and recover to track the original desired path once the obstacle is removed. Without force sensors, the proposed model-based controller can adjust the robot’s stiffness based on the estimated disturbance to achieve goal reaching and compliant interaction with unknown obstacles.
Theoretical development of discrete-modulated continuous-variable quantum key distribution
Authors: Liu Wen-Bo , Li Chen-Long , Liu Zhi-Ping , Zhou Min-Gang , Yin Hua-Lei , Chen Zeng-Bing
Published: October 2022

Continuous-variable quantum key distribution offers simple, stable and easy-to-implement key distribution systems. The discrete modulation scheme further reduces the technical difficulty. The main regret is that the security of discrete modulation schemes has not been sufficiently demonstrated. Schemes with different signal state distributions use various physical conditions to obtain the key rate formula, resulting in different security levels, computation complexities and implementation difficulties. Therefore, a relatively systematic and logically consistent security proof against most general attacks is worth exploring. On the other hand, extending the discrete modulation scheme and its variants to different applications, such as satellite-to-earth communication, can further activate and advance this field. Here, we briefly review the achievements that have been made in discrete-modulated continuous-variable quantum key distribution, and openly discuss some issues worthy of further research.