-
Journal of Eating Disorders Jun 2024Health professionals from different specialties in medical and psychological areas play an important role in diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders (EDs). This...
BACKGROUND
Health professionals from different specialties in medical and psychological areas play an important role in diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders (EDs). This study aimed to identify gaps in knowledge about the diagnosis, etiology, and management of EDs and to assess health professionals' attitudes towards these illnesses.
METHODS
A new questionnaire was developed and validated. Residents and consultants working in disciplines involved in the management of EDs (namely, internal medicine, general practitioners, psychiatric area, psychological area, and surgical area) completed the questionnaire. Knowledge and attitudes were compared among the study groups through one-way ANCOVA and chi-square tests.
RESULTS
The final version of the questionnaire consisted of 54 items assessing the following areas: stigma, treatment, physical complications, diagnosis, and aetiopathogenesis of EDs. For all health professionals the area of most deficiency was the aetiopathogenesis, while the best one was the management of physical complications. All medical professionals showed less knowledge than psychiatrists in terms of etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of EDs. A lack of knowledge about evidence-based psychotherapies, general psychopathology, and family members' role in the management of EDs emerged among all health professionals. Stigma was found among non-mental health professionals who considered these patients to be different from others and responsible for their abnormal eating behaviors.
CONCLUSIONS
Clarifying the health professionals' specific gaps occurring in the knowledge of EDs and in the attitudes towards these individuals may inform educational programs to improve early detection and management of EDs.
PubMed: 38943186
DOI: 10.1186/s40337-024-01053-5 -
BMC Medical Informatics and Decision... Jun 2024This paper outlines the design, implementation, and usability study results of the patient empowerment process for chronic disease management, using Patient Reported...
INTRODUCTION
This paper outlines the design, implementation, and usability study results of the patient empowerment process for chronic disease management, using Patient Reported Outcome Measurements and Shared Decision-Making Processes.
BACKGROUND
The ADLIFE project aims to develop innovative, digital health solutions to support personalized, integrated care for patients with severe long-term conditions such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and/or Chronic Heart Failure. Successful long-term management of patients with chronic conditions requires active patient self-management and a proactive involvement of patients in their healthcare and treatment. This calls for a patient-provider partnership within an integrated system of collaborative care, supporting self-management, shared-decision making, collection of patient reported outcome measures, education, and follow-up.
METHODS
ADLIFE follows an outcome-based and patient-centered approach where PROMs represent an especially valuable tool to evaluate the outcomes of the care delivered. We have selected 11 standardized PROMs for evaluating the most recent patients' clinical context, enabling the decision-making process, and personalized care planning. The ADLIFE project implements the "SHARE approach' for enabling shared decision-making via two digital platforms for healthcare professionals and patients. We have successfully integrated PROMs and shared decision-making processes into our digital toolbox, based on an international interoperability standard, namely HL7 FHIR. A usability study was conducted with 3 clinical sites with 20 users in total to gather feedback and to subsequently prioritize updates to the ADLIFE toolbox.
RESULTS
User satisfaction is measured in the QUIS7 questionnaire on a 9-point scale in the following aspects: overall reaction, screen, terminology and tool feedback, learning, multimedia, training material and system capabilities. With all the average scores above 6 in all categories, most respondents have a positive reaction to the ADLIFE PEP platform and find it easy to use. We have identified shortcomings and have prioritized updates to the platform before clinical pilot studies are initiated.
CONCLUSIONS
Having finalized design, implementation, and pre-deployment usability studies, and updated the tool based on further feedback, our patient empowerment mechanisms enabled via PROMs and shared decision-making processes are ready to be piloted in clinal settings. Clinical studies will be conducted based at six healthcare settings across Spain, UK, Germany, Denmark, and Israel.
Topics: Humans; Decision Making, Shared; Patient Reported Outcome Measures; Patient Participation; Chronic Disease; Empowerment
PubMed: 38943152
DOI: 10.1186/s12911-024-02588-y -
BMC Public Health Jun 2024Many people struggle with the choice in a series of processes, from prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis to treatment. We investigated the degree of regret after the prostate...
BACKGROUND
Many people struggle with the choice in a series of processes, from prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis to treatment. We investigated the degree of regret after the prostate biopsy (PBx) and relevant factors in patients recommended for biopsy for suspected PCa.
METHODS
From 06/2020 to 05/2022, 198 people who performed PBx at three institutions were enrolled and analyzed through a questionnaire before and after biopsy. Before the biopsy, a questionnaire was conducted to evaluate the sociodemographic information, anxiety scale, and health literacy, and after PBx, another questionnaire was conducted to evaluate the decision regret scale. For patients diagnosed as PCa after biopsy, a questionnaire was conducted when additional tests were performed at PCa staging work-up.
RESULTS
190 patients answered the questionnaire before and after PBx. The mean age was 66.2 ± 7.8 years. Overall, 5.5% of men regretted biopsy, but there was no significant difference between groups according to the PCa presence. Multivariate analysis, to identify predictors for regret, revealed that the case when physicians did not properly explain what the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test was like and what PSA elevation means (OR 20.57, [95% CI 2.45-172.70], p = 0.005), low media literacy (OR 10.01, [95% CI 1.09-92.29], p = 0.042), and when nobody to rely on (OR 8.49, [95% CI 1.66-43.34], p = 0.010) were significantly related.
CONCLUSIONS
Overall regret related to PBx was low. Decision regret was more significantly related to media literacy rather than to educational level. For patients with relatively low media literacy and fewer people to rely on in case of serious diseases, more careful attention and counseling on PBx, including a well-informed explanation on PSA test, is helpful.
Topics: Humans; Male; Prostatic Neoplasms; Aged; Republic of Korea; Middle Aged; Emotions; Biopsy; Surveys and Questionnaires; Decision Making; Cohort Studies; Prostate
PubMed: 38943112
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-19179-1 -
Scientific Reports Jun 2024Humans can use prior information to optimize their haptic exploratory behavior. Here, we investigated the usage of visual priors, which mechanisms enable their usage,...
Humans can use prior information to optimize their haptic exploratory behavior. Here, we investigated the usage of visual priors, which mechanisms enable their usage, and how the usage is affected by information quality. Participants explored different grating textures and discriminated their spatial frequency. Visual priors on texture orientation were given each trial, with qualities randomly varying from high to no informational value. Adjustments of initial exploratory movement direction orthogonal to the textures' orientation served as an indicator of prior usage. Participants indeed used visual priors; the more so the higher the priors' quality (Experiment 1). Higher task demands did not increase the direct usage of visual priors (Experiment 2), but possibly fostered the establishment of adjustment behavior. In Experiment 3, we decreased the proportion of high-quality priors presented during the session, hereby reducing the contingency between high-quality priors and haptic information. In consequence, even priors of high quality ceased to evoke movement adjustments. We conclude that the establishment of adjustment behavior results from a rather implicit contingency learning. Overall, it became evident that humans can autonomously learn to use rather abstract visual priors to optimize haptic exploration, with the learning process and direct usage substantially depending on the priors' quality.
Topics: Humans; Exploratory Behavior; Male; Female; Adult; Young Adult; Visual Perception; Touch Perception; Learning
PubMed: 38942980
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-65958-6 -
Scientific Reports Jun 2024Sporting experience plays a pivotal role in shaping exercise habits, with a mutually reinforcing relationship that enhances cognitive performance. The acknowledged...
Sporting experience plays a pivotal role in shaping exercise habits, with a mutually reinforcing relationship that enhances cognitive performance. The acknowledged plasticity of cognition driven by sports necessitates a comprehensive examination. Hence, this study delves into the dynamic intricacies of the prefrontal cortex, exploring the impact of orienteering experience on cognitive performance. Our findings contribute empirical evidence regarding the functional activation of specific brain regions bridging the nexus between experiential factors and cognitive capabilities. In this cross-sectional study, a cohort of forty-nine athletes was enrolled to meticulously examine behavioral variances and prefrontal cortex dynamics among orienteering athletes of varying experience levels across diverse non-specialized scenarios. These investigations involved the utilization of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to detect alterations in oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2). The high-experience expert group exhibited neurological efficiency, demonstrating significantly diminished brain activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal, left ventral lateral prefrontal, and right orbitofrontal regions compared to the low-experience group. Within the low-experience novice group, superior performance in the spatial memory task was observed compared to the mental rotation task, with consistently lower reaction times across all conditions compared to the high-experience group. Notably, cerebral blood oxygenation activation exhibited a significant reduction in the high-experience expert group compared to the low-experience novice group, irrespective of task type. The dorsolateral prefrontal lobe exhibited activation upon task onset, irrespective of experience level. Correct rates in the spatial memory task were consistently higher than those in the mental rotation task, while brain region activation was significantly greater during the mental rotation task than the spatial memory task." This study elucidates disparities in prefrontal cortex dynamics between highly seasoned experts and neophyte novices, showcasing a cognitive edge within the highly experienced cohort and a spatial memory advantage in the inexperienced group. Our findings contribute to the comprehension of the neural mechanisms that underlie the observed cognitive advantage and provide insights into the forebrain resources mobilized by orienteering experience during spatial cognitive tasks."
Topics: Humans; Prefrontal Cortex; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; Cognition; Male; Female; Cross-Sectional Studies; Adult; Young Adult; Athletes; Brain Mapping; Oxyhemoglobins
PubMed: 38942820
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-65747-1 -
Scientific Reports Jun 2024Metacognitive biases have been repeatedly associated with transdiagnostic psychiatric dimensions of 'anxious-depression' and 'compulsivity and intrusive thought',...
Metacognitive biases have been repeatedly associated with transdiagnostic psychiatric dimensions of 'anxious-depression' and 'compulsivity and intrusive thought', cross-sectionally. To progress our understanding of the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms, new methods are required to measure metacognition remotely, within individuals over time. We developed a gamified smartphone task designed to measure visuo-perceptual metacognitive (confidence) bias and investigated its psychometric properties across two studies (N = 3410 unpaid citizen scientists, N = 52 paid participants). We assessed convergent validity, split-half and test-retest reliability, and identified the minimum number of trials required to capture its clinical correlates. Convergent validity of metacognitive bias was moderate (r(50) = 0.64, p < 0.001) and it demonstrated excellent split-half reliability (r(50) = 0.91, p < 0.001). Anxious-depression was associated with decreased confidence (β = - 0.23, SE = 0.02, p < 0.001), while compulsivity and intrusive thought was associated with greater confidence (β = 0.07, SE = 0.02, p < 0.001). The associations between metacognitive biases and transdiagnostic psychiatry dimensions are evident in as few as 40 trials. Metacognitive biases in decision-making are stable within and across sessions, exhibiting very high test-retest reliability for the 100-trial (ICC = 0.86, N = 110) and 40-trial (ICC = 0.86, N = 120) versions of Meta Mind. Hybrid 'self-report cognition' tasks may be one way to bridge the recently discussed reliability gap in computational psychiatry.
Topics: Humans; Metacognition; Female; Male; Adult; Psychometrics; Reproducibility of Results; Middle Aged; Young Adult; Depression; Bias; Anxiety; Smartphone; Cross-Sectional Studies
PubMed: 38942811
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64900-0 -
Scientific Reports Jun 2024Improved and contemporary agriculture relies heavily on pesticides, yet some can be quite persistent and have a stable chemical composition, posing a significant threat...
Improved and contemporary agriculture relies heavily on pesticides, yet some can be quite persistent and have a stable chemical composition, posing a significant threat to the ecology. Removing harmful effects is upon their degradability. Biodegradation must be emphasized to lower pesticide degradation costs, especially in the soil. Here, a decision-making system was used to determine the best microbial strain for the biodegradation of the pyrethroid-contaminated soil. In this system, the criteria chosen as: pH (C), Temp (C), RPM (C), Conc. (C), Degradation (%) (C) and Time required for degradation(hrs) (C); and five alternatives were Bacillus (A), Acinetobacter (A), Escherichia (A), Pseudomonas (A), and Fusarium (A). The best alternative was selected by applying the TOPSIS (technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution) method, which evaluates based on their closeness to the ideal solution and how well they meet specific requirements. Among all the specified criteria, Acinetobacter (A) was the best and optimal based on the relative closeness value (( ) = 0.740 (A) > 0.544 (A) > 0.480 (A) > 0.403 (A) > 0.296 (A)). However, the ranking of the other alternatives is also obtained in the order Fusarium (A), Bacillus (A), Pseudomonas (A), Escherichia (A). Hence this study suggests Acinetobacter is the best microbial strain for biodegradation of pyrethroids; while least preference should be given to Escherichia. Acinetobacter, versatile metabolic nature with various xenobiotic compounds' degradation ability, is gram-negative, aerobic, coccobacilli, nonmotile, and nonspore forming bacteria. Due to less study about Acinetobacter it is not in that much frame as the other microorganisms. Hence, considering the Acinetobacter strain for the biodegradation study will give more optimal results than the other microbial strains. Novelty of this study, the TOPSIS method is applied first time in selecting the best microbial strain for the biodegradation of pyrethroid-contaminated soil, considering this selection process as multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem.
Topics: Biodegradation, Environmental; Pyrethrins; Soil Pollutants; Soil Microbiology; Bacteria; Bacillus; Fusarium; Decision Making; Pseudomonas; Acinetobacter
PubMed: 38942772
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-59223-z -
Nature Communications Jun 2024While human vision spans 220°, traditional functional MRI setups display images only up to central 10-15°. Thus, it remains unknown how the brain represents a scene...
While human vision spans 220°, traditional functional MRI setups display images only up to central 10-15°. Thus, it remains unknown how the brain represents a scene perceived across the full visual field. Here, we introduce a method for ultra-wide angle display and probe signatures of immersive scene representation. An unobstructed view of 175° is achieved by bouncing the projected image off angled-mirrors onto a custom-built curved screen. To avoid perceptual distortion, scenes are created with wide field-of-view from custom virtual environments. We find that immersive scene representation drives medial cortex with far-peripheral preferences, but shows minimal modulation in classic scene regions. Further, scene and face-selective regions maintain their content preferences even with extreme far-periphery stimulation, highlighting that not all far-peripheral information is automatically integrated into scene regions computations. This work provides clarifying evidence on content vs. peripheral preferences in scene representation and opens new avenues to research immersive vision.
Topics: Humans; Visual Cortex; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Adult; Female; Young Adult; Visual Perception; Photic Stimulation; Brain Mapping; Neuroimaging; Visual Fields; Pattern Recognition, Visual
PubMed: 38942766
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49669-0 -
Scientific Reports Jun 2024Older adults (OAs) are typically slower and/or less accurate in forming perceptual choices relative to younger adults. Despite perceptual deficits, OAs gain from...
Older adults (OAs) are typically slower and/or less accurate in forming perceptual choices relative to younger adults. Despite perceptual deficits, OAs gain from integrating information across senses, yielding multisensory benefits. However, the cognitive processes underlying these seemingly discrepant ageing effects remain unclear. To address this knowledge gap, 212 participants (18-90 years old) performed an online object categorisation paradigm, whereby age-related differences in Reaction Times (RTs) and choice accuracy between audiovisual (AV), visual (V), and auditory (A) conditions could be assessed. Whereas OAs were slower and less accurate across sensory conditions, they exhibited greater RT decreases between AV and V conditions, showing a larger multisensory benefit towards decisional speed. Hierarchical Drift Diffusion Modelling (HDDM) was fitted to participants' behaviour to probe age-related impacts on the latent multisensory decision formation processes. For OAs, HDDM demonstrated slower evidence accumulation rates across sensory conditions coupled with increased response caution for AV trials of higher difficulty. Notably, for trials of lower difficulty we found multisensory benefits in evidence accumulation that increased with age, but not for trials of higher difficulty, in which increased response caution was instead evident. Together, our findings reconcile age-related impacts on multisensory decision-making, indicating greater multisensory evidence accumulation benefits with age underlying enhanced decisional speed.
Topics: Humans; Aged; Adult; Middle Aged; Female; Male; Aged, 80 and over; Decision Making; Adolescent; Reaction Time; Young Adult; Auditory Perception; Aging; Visual Perception; Photic Stimulation; Acoustic Stimulation
PubMed: 38942761
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-65549-5 -
Nature Communications Jun 2024Desert locust plagues threaten the food security of millions. Central to their formation is crowding-induced plasticity, with social phenotypes changing from cryptic...
Desert locust plagues threaten the food security of millions. Central to their formation is crowding-induced plasticity, with social phenotypes changing from cryptic (solitarious) to swarming (gregarious). Here, we elucidate the implications of this transition on foraging decisions and corresponding neural circuits. We use behavioral experiments and Bayesian modeling to decompose the multi-modal facets of foraging, revealing olfactory social cues as critical. To this end, we investigate how corresponding odors are encoded in the locust olfactory system using in-vivo calcium imaging. We discover crowding-dependent synergistic interactions between food-related and social odors distributed across stable combinatorial response maps. The observed synergy was specific to the gregarious phase and manifested in distinct odor response motifs. Our results suggest a crowding-induced modulation of the locust olfactory system that enhances food detection in swarms. Overall, we demonstrate how linking sensory adaptations to behaviorally relevant tasks can improve our understanding of social modulation in non-model organisms.
Topics: Animals; Grasshoppers; Odorants; Bayes Theorem; Social Behavior; Smell; Behavior, Animal; Crowding; Feeding Behavior; Olfactory Perception; Male; Female; Cues
PubMed: 38942759
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49719-7