Search

As immigration is one of the dominant issues in contemporary public discourse, it is important to explain the mechanism of prejudice against immigrants from a cultural psychology perspective. Several studies in the literature have confirmed a significant relationship between perceptions of the estimated size of the immigrant population and negative attitudes towards them. This study aims to investigate whether this relationship is moderated by symbolic universes, i.e., affect-laden generalized worldviews. The study involves a representative sample of 3020 Italians who participated in a computer-assisted web survey and completed a questionnaire containing items measuring their estimates of the size of the migrant population in Italy, political orientation, cultural worldviews (symbolic universes), and the perceived threat posed by migrants. The results confirm that the relationship between the estimated size of the migrant population and the perceived threat is moderated by symbolic universes, being stronger for participants who hold both pessimistic and idealizing symbolic universes. The results are interpreted within the framework of semiotic cultural psychology theory.

Introduction Outpatient centers offer specialized care to users with severe psychiatric disorders. The usual group activities of outpatient centers have been shown to be effective in the child and adolescent population. There are significant access limitations to these services and one way to expand coverage is through digital care. However, there are no studies on digital outpatient care services in Chile. The present study is part of the preparatory phase of a future randomized clinical trial to investigate the effectiveness of digital adaptation of outpatient centers interventions. Objectives To explore the experience and subjective perception of the pilot intervention participants by identifying central themes, and to evaluate the participant's satisfaction regarding the intervention. Methods Of the 13 users of the digital group activities, 10 participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews and satisfaction surveys were conducted between August 2020 and January 2021. The interviews were evaluated using content analysis and the surveys were conducted using descriptive statistics. Conclusions Results Participants were particularly appreciative of positive social interactions (with peers and therapists). There is a general perception of having improved socioemotional skills and mood. The digital implementation was satisfactory for most participants, who suggested adding activities that promote deeper interactions with their peers. The core elements of this intervention would be the perception of social support (a possible therapeutic mechanism), along with the feeling of improved social skills and mood (possible main outcome).

BackgroundAlthough speech-language therapy (SLT) is proven to be beneficial to recovery of post-stroke aphasia, delivering sufficiently high amounts of dosage remains a problem in real-world clinical practice. Self-managed SLT was introduced to solve the problem. Previous research showed in a 10-week period, increased dosage frequency could lead to better performance, however, it is uncertain if dosage still affects performance over a longer period of practice time and whether gains can be seen following practice over several months.ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate data from a health app (Constant Therapy) to investigate the relationship between dosage amount and improvements following a 30-week treatment period. Two cohorts of users were analyzed. One was comprised of patients with a consistent average weekly dosage amount and the other cohort was comprised of users whose practice had higher variability.MethodsWe conducted two analyses with two cohorts of post-stroke patients who used Constant Therapy. The first cohort contains 537 “consistent” users, while the second cohort contains 2,159. The 30-week practice period was split into three consecutive 10-week practice windows to calculate average dosage amount. In each 10-week practice period, patients were grouped by their average dosage into low (0–15 min/week), medium (15–40 min/week) and moderate dosage (greater than 40 min/week) groups. Linear mixed-effects models were employed to evaluate if dosage amount was a significant factor affecting performance. Pairwise comparison was also applied to evaluate the slope difference between groups.ResultsFor the consistent cohort, medium (β = .002, t17,700 = 7.64, P

IntroductionThe myoelectric control strategy, based on surface electromyographic signals, has long been used for controlling a prosthetic system with multiple degrees of freedom. Several methods classify gestures and force levels but the simultaneous real-time control of hand/wrist gestures and force levels did not yet reach a satisfactory level of effectiveness.MethodsIn this work, the hierarchical classification approach, already validated on 31 healthy subjects, was adapted for the real-time control of a multi-DoFs prosthetic system on 15 trans-radial amputees. The effectiveness of the hierarchical classification approach was assessed by evaluating both offline and real-time performance using three algorithms: Logistic Regression (LR), Non-linear Logistic Regression (NLR), and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA).ResultsThe results of this study showed the offline performance of amputees was promising and comparable to healthy subjects, with mean F1 scores of over 90% for the “Hand/wrist gestures classifier” and 95% for the force classifiers, implemented with the three algorithms with features extraction (FE). Another significant finding of this study was the feasibility of using the hierarchical classification strategy for real-time applications, due to its ability to provide a response time of 100 ms while maintaining an average online accuracy of above 90%.DiscussionA possible solution for real-time control of both hand/wrist gestures and force levels is the combined use of the LR algorithm with FE for the "Hand/wrist gestures classifier", and the NLR with FE for the Spherical and Tip force classifiers.

Purpose: This study investigated treatment-induced performance gains in memory function following therapy through the Intensive Cognitive Communication Rehabilitation (ICCR) program for young adults with acquired brain injury (ABI). We aimed to determine the utility of a novel approach to measuring memory performance improvement across semesters of therapy using (a) systematic treatment tasks called Individualized Quantitative Protocols (IQPs) as compared to (b) standardized measures of memory function. Method: Retrospective IQP data spanning five consecutive ICCR semesters were collected from patients (N = 13) with ABI. Raw task-accuracy data were scaled to account for task difficulty gradation. Linear mixed-effects models (LMMs) were used to evaluate the degree of memory improvement—measured by scaled IQP scores—as a function of therapy duration, age, time postinjury, and aphasia; pre- to posttreatment effect sizes were also calculated. For comparison, similar LMMs were run using standardized metrics of memory abilities as the outcome measure. Results: Results showed significant treatment-induced improvements, with gains at the session level (β = 2.76; t = 2.23; p = .047), when improvement was measured using IQP scaled scores. Standardized metrics did not show significant improvement as a function of therapy. Effect size analysis mirrored LMM results, with a large (d = 0.92, 95% confidence interval [0.35, 1.49]) pre- to posttreatment effect when change was measured using IQP scaled scores and a small effect for standardized measures. Conclusions: This preliminary study demonstrates the utility of a granular, individualized metric to index significant impairment-based performance gains following ICCR treatment. These results introduce promise for future analysis of complex treatment data. Additionally, they provide another lens with which to assess treatment progress and its significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We systematically investigated the application of embodied hyperscanning methodologies in social neuroscience research. Hyperscanning enables the simultaneous recording of neurophysiological and physiological signals from multiple participants. We highlight the trend toward integrating Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (MoBI) within the 4E research framework, which emphasizes the interconnectedness of brain, body, and environment. Our analysis revealed a geographic concentration of studies in the Global North, calling for global collaboration and transcultural research to balance the field. The predominant use of Magneto/Electroencephalogram (M/EEG) in these studies suggests a traditional brain-centric perspective in social neuroscience. Future research directions should focus on integrating diverse techniques to capture the dynamic interplay between brain and body functions in real-world contexts. Our review also finds a preference for tasks involving natural settings. Nevertheless, the analysis in hyperscanning studies is often limited to physiological signal synchrony between participants. This suggests a need for more holistic and complex approaches that combine inter-corporeal synchrony with intra-individual measures. We believe that the future of the neuroscience of relationships lies in embracing the complexity of cognition, integrating diverse methods and theories to enrich our grasp of human social behavior in its natural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a comprehensive umbrella review including all published meta-analyses and systematic reviews on suicide-related outcomes among adults in custody. Eligible studies were searched for in major scientific databases following the PRISMA method up to February 2023. The quality of each study was assessed using the AMSTAR-2 protocol. Twenty studies were included, consisting of 11 meta-analyses and nine systematic reviews. Factors associated with suicide outcomes among individuals in custody were categorized into five domains: clinical status, historical, custodial, criminological, and prevention. However, all systematic studies reported considerable heterogeneity (I2 > 50%–85%). Most systematic literature reviews and/or meta-analyses showed moderate quality based on AMSTAR-2. This umbrella review highlights individual factors (in the clinical status and historical domain), contextual factors (in the custodial and criminological domains), and protective factors (in the prevention domain) to provide a clearer understanding of the prison-related domains involved in the development and maintenance of suicide-related outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study published in the journal Hematological Oncology analyzed the outcomes of 263 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who were treated with hypomethylating agents (HMAs) and venetoclax. The study aimed to identify simple baseline predictors of overall survival (OS) in this patient population. The results showed that secondary AML and early infection were independent predictors of poor survival. The study proposed a predictive OS score based on these two parameters, which could help stratify patients and personalize their care. However, further research is needed to validate these findings. [Extracted from the article]

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a multisystem and multifactorial disorder and, therefore, the application of modern genetic techniques may assist in unraveling its complex pathophysiology. We conducted a clinical–demographic evaluation of 126 patients with PD, all of whom were Caucasian and of Sicilian ancestry. DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood for each patient, followed by sequencing using a Next-Generation Sequencing system. This system was based on a custom gene panel comprising 162 genes. The sample underwent further filtering, taking into account the allele frequencies of genetic variants, their presence in the Human Gene Mutation Database, and their association in the literature with PD or other movement/neurodegenerative disorders. The largest number of variants was identified in the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene. However, variants in other genes, such as acid beta-glucosidase (GBA), DNA polymerase gamma catalytic subunit (POLG), and parkin RBR E3 ubiquitin protein ligase (PRKN), were also discovered. Interestingly, some of these variants had not been previously associated with PD. Enhancing our understanding of the genetic basis of PD and identifying new variants possibly linked to the disease will contribute to improved diagnostic accuracy, therapeutic developments, and prognostic insights for affected individuals.

We present an innovative X-ray spectroscopy system to address the complex study of the X-ray emissions arising from laser–target interactions, where the emissions occur within extremely brief intervals from femtoseconds to nanoseconds. Our system combines a Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detector with a silicon-based Timepix3 (TPX3) detector. These detectors work in tandem, allowing for a spectroscopic radiation analysis along the same line of sight. With an active area of 10 × 10 cm2, the GEM detector allows for 1D measurements for X-ray energies (2–50 keV) by utilizing the full 10 cm gas depth. The high-energy part of the radiation beam exits through a downstream side window of the GEM without being absorbed in the gas volume. Positioned side-on at the GEM detector’s exit, the TPX3 detector, equipped with a pixelated sensor (55 µm × 55 µm; active area 14 mm × 14 mm), uses its full 14 mm silicon sensor to detect hard X-rays (50–500 keV) and gamma rays (0.5–10 MeV). We demonstrate the correct operation of the entire detection system and provide a detailed description of the Timepix3 detector’s calibration procedure, highlighting the suitability of the combined system to work in laser plasma facilities.

Prosthetic hand systems aim at restoring lost functionality in amputees. Manipulation and grasping are the main functions of the human hand, which are provided by skin sensitivity capable of protecting the hand from damage and perceiving the external environment. The present study aims at proposing a novel control strategy which improves the ability of the prosthetic hand to interact with the external environment by fostering the interaction of tactile (forces and slipping) and thermoceptive sensory information and by using them to guarantee grasp stability and improve user safety. The control strategy is based on force control with an internal position loop and slip detection, which is able to manage temperature information thanks to the interaction with objects at different temperatures. This architecture has been tested on a prosthetic hand, i.e., the IH2 Azzurra developed by Prensilia s.r.l, in different temperature and slippage conditions. The prosthetic system successfully performed the grasping tasks by managing the tactile and thermal information simultaneously. In particular, the system is able to guarantee a stable grasp during the execution of the tasks. Additionally, in the presence of an external stimulus (thermal or slippage), the prosthetic hand is able to react and always reacts to the stimulus instantaneously (reaction times ≤ 0.04 s, comparable to the one of the human being), regardless of its nature and in accordance with the control strategy. In this way, the prosthetic device is protected from damaging temperatures, the user is alerted of a dangerous situation and the stability of the grasp is restored in the event of a slip.

Purpose: Despite having distinct etiologies, acquired apraxia of speech (AOS) and childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) share the same central diagnostic challenge (i.e., isolating markers specific to an impairment in speech motor planning/programming). The purpose of this review was to evaluate and compare the state of the evidence on approaches to differential diagnosis for AOS and CAS and to identify gaps in each literature that could provide directions for future research aimed to improve clinical diagnosis of these disorders. Method: We conducted a scoping review of literature published between 1997 and 2019, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. For both AOS and CAS, literature was charted and summarized around four main methodological approaches to diagnosis: speech symptoms, quantitative speech measures, impaired linguistic--motor processes, and neuroimaging. Results: Results showed that similar methodological approaches have been used to study differential diagnosis of apraxia of speech in adults and children; however, the specific measures that have received the most research attention differ between AOS and CAS. Several promising candidate markers for AOS and CAS have been identified; however, few studies report metrics that can be used to assess their diagnostic accuracy. Conclusions: Over the past two decades, there has been a proliferation of research identifying potential diagnostic markers of AOS and CAS. In order to improve clinical diagnosis of AOS and CAS, there is a need for studies testing the diagnostic accuracy of multiple candidate markers, better control over language impairment comorbidity, more inclusion of speech-disordered control groups, and an increased focus on translational work moving toward clinical implementation of promising measures.

Abstract Background In the field of myoelectric control systems, pattern recognition (PR) algorithms have become always more interesting for predicting complex electromyography patterns involving movements with more than 2 Degrees of Freedom (DoFs). The majority of classification strategies, used for the prosthetic control, are based on single, hierarchical and parallel linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classifiers able to discriminate up to 19 wrist/hand gestures (in the 3-DoFs case), considering both combined and discrete motions. However, these strategies were introduced to simultaneously classify only 2 DoFs and their use is limited by the lack of online performance measures. This study introduces a novel classification strategy based on the Logistic Regression (LR) algorithm with regularization parameter to provide simultaneous classification of 3 DoFs motion classes. Methods The parallel PR-based strategy was tested on 15 healthy subjects, by using only six surface EMG sensors. Twenty-seven discrete and complex elbow, hand and wrist motions were classified by keeping the number of electromyographic (EMG) electrodes to a bare minimum and the classification error rate under 10 %. To this purpose, the parallel classification strategy was implemented by using three classifiers one for each DoF: the “Elbow classifier”, the “Wrist classifier”, and the “Hand classifier” provided the simultaneous control of the elbow, hand, and wrist joints, respectively. Results Both the offline and real-time performance metrics were evaluated and compared with the LDA parallel classification results. The real-time recognition results were statistically better with the LR classifier with respect to the LDA classifier, for all motion classes (elbow, hand and wrist). Conclusions In this paper, a novel parallel PR-based strategy was proposed for classifying up to 3 DoFs: three joint classifiers were employed simultaneously for classifying 27 motion classes related to the elbow, wrist, and hand and promising results were obtained.

Abstract is missing (Short communication)

The state of the world urgently calls for a transition toward production and consumption partners that can support a carbon-neutral, circular and sustainable economy. Green and sustainable chemicals, especially, biodegradable and bio-based plastics, are key components of this transition. However, significant financial investments are required for the implementation of green and sustainable chemistry principles and the broader promotion of sustainability. In this regard, the financial sector needs sound approaches to assess the sustainability of investments. With this paper, we show an approach to assess the environmental performance of investments through key performance indicators calculated based on life cycle assessment. The approach is applied for the assessment of a fictitious investment aimed at financing bio-based and biodegradable plastic mulch films. The performance is assessed by comparing changes induced by the investment, compared with what would have happened without the investment (i.e., using fossil-based plastic mulch films). The application of the approach shows that the investment could be in general favourable from an environmental point of view, in particular for the promotion of a more circular and low-carbon economy. The approach could be easily adapted to reflect the specificities of a wide range of investments. However, it should be noted that other environmental, economic, and social aspects may need to be integrated to depict the sustainability performance of investments in a more comprehensive manner.

Introduction Maternal sensitivity and mentalization are fundamental for children’s mental health development. These skills have been negatively associated with maternal postpartum depressive symptomatology. Moreover, its prevalence increases in low socioeconomic and psychosocial risk contexts, where the access to treatment is scarce. Even though Attachment Based Interventios, such as Video-Feedback has been internationally recognized as an effective intervention. Its cost, as well as the need for language translation and cultural adaptation makes it difficult to implement in Latinamerican countries. Aim The present study aims to assess the feasibility and acceptability of an online Video-Feedback intervention informed n mentalization aimed at mother-infant dyads with depressive symptomatology who attend Chilean public health centers. Method This is a pilot randomized clinical trial with two groups of 60 mother-infant dyads between 4 and 12 months of age. Participants will be randomly assigned to control and experimental groups in a 1:1 ratio. Even though both groups will receive usual treatment, the experimental group will also receive the present video-intervention. At the end of the study, feasibility will be assessed based on focus groups aimed at interveners and quantitative outcomes such as recruitment rate, questionnaire completion rate and intervention completeness. Acceptability will be assessed from in-depth interviews with participants. In addition, effect sizes of primary and secondary outcomes will be calculated. Expected results Results are expected to generate parameters to design a larger-scale clinical trial and to preliminary assess the effect of the reported mentalization-informed intervention on maternal sensitivity. Additionally, it seeks to contribute with a mental health intervention for low-income mother-infant dyads, which can be implemented remotely, at a low cost, and that would be suitable for implementation at a mental health care system policy. The protocol of this trial’s design was registered at Clinical Trials (NCT04748731).

The lack of sensory feedback represents one of the main drawbacks of commercial upper limb prosthesis. Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Stimulation (tFUS) seems to be a valid non-invasive technique for restoring sensory feedback allowing to deliver acoustic energy to cortical sensory areas with high spatial resolution and depth penetration. This paper aims at studying in simulation the use of tFUS on cortical sensory areas to evaluate its effects in terms of latency ad firing rate of the cells response, for understanding if these parameters influence the safety and the efficacy of the stimulation. In this paper, in order to study the propagation of the ultrasound wave from the transducer to the cortical cells, a multiscale approach was implemented by building a macroscopic model, which estimates the pressure profile in a simplified 2D human head geometry, and coupling it with the SONIC microscale model, that describes the electrical behaviour of a cortical neuron. The influence of the stimulation parameters and of the skull thickness on the latency and the firing rate are evaluated and the obtained behaviour is linked to the sensory response obtained on human subjects. Results have shown that slight changes in the transducer position should not affect the efficacy of the stimulation; however, high skull thickness leads to lower cells activation. These results will be useful for evaluating safety and effectiveness of tFUS for sensory feedback in closed-loop prosthetic systems.

Abstract Studies have shown that a ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) bundle significantly decreases VAP rates. In this study, we evaluated existing knowledge, practices, and adherence of nurses and infection control preventionists (ICP) to the VAP bundles of care in the intensive care unit (ICU) by using qualitative and quantitative tools. Of 60 participants (56 nurses and 4 ICPs), mean knowledge score regarding specific evidence-based VAP guidelines was 5 (range 3–8) out of 10 points. Self-reported adherence to the VAP bundle ranged from 38.5 to 100%, with perfect compliance to head of bed elevation, and poorest compliance with readiness to extubate. Overall VAP median bundle compliance was 84.6%. Knowledge regarding specific components of VAP prevention is lacking. Formal training and interactive educational sessions should be performed regularly to assess the competency of key personnel regarding the VAP bundle, especially in the context of rapid nurse turnover. Incentives for retention of nurses should also be considered, so that knowledge of hospital specific initiatives such as the VAP bundles of care can be cultivated over time.