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Heliyon Apr 2024Cognitive ability, as an early human capital, has always been an important research object in modern education and labor economics. Despite growing awareness of the...
Cognitive ability, as an early human capital, has always been an important research object in modern education and labor economics. Despite growing awareness of the importance of height in individual growth and development, there are few empirical studies on height and cognitive ability. Using the data from the China Education Panel Survey, this paper examined the impact of height on the cognitive ability of adolescents and explored the reasons behind the Chinese pursuit of height growth and the potential impact mechanism. In this paper, comprehensive analysis ability was taken as the representative of cognitive ability. The empirical results showed that height was positively correlated with cognitive ability. From the perspective of the influence mechanism, the hypothesis that height reflected self-esteem, health, non-cognitive ability, and other influences on cognitive ability was excluded. To correct the errors that endogenous problems may cause, we used the PSM method and "age at first menstruation " and "age at first wet dream" as instrumental variables to correct them. The results showed that height still affected cognitive ability, with taller people having higher cognitive ability.
PubMed: 38590882
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28742 -
Solicited Cough Sound Analysis for Tuberculosis Triage Testing: The CODA TB DREAM Challenge Dataset.MedRxiv : the Preprint Server For... Mar 2024Cough is a common and commonly ignored symptom of lung disease. Cough is often perceived as difficult to quantify, frequently self-limiting, and non-specific. However,...
Cough is a common and commonly ignored symptom of lung disease. Cough is often perceived as difficult to quantify, frequently self-limiting, and non-specific. However, cough has a central role in the clinical detection of many lung diseases including tuberculosis (TB), which remains the leading infectious disease killer worldwide. TB screening currently relies on self-reported cough which fails to meet the World Health Organization (WHO) accuracy targets for a TB triage test. Artificial intelligence (AI) models based on cough sound have been developed for several respiratory conditions, with limited work being done in TB. To support the development of an accurate, point-of-care cough-based triage tool for TB, we have compiled a large multi-country database of cough sounds from individuals being evaluated for TB. The dataset includes more than 700,000 cough sounds from 2,143 individuals with detailed demographic, clinical and microbiologic diagnostic information. We aim to empower researchers in the development of cough sound analysis models to improve TB diagnosis, where innovative approaches are critically needed to end this long-standing pandemic.
PubMed: 38585855
DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.27.24304980 -
Nurse Education Today Jul 2024The Strengths Model, a framework grounded in the belief that everyone has an inherent capability to cope with challenges, is designed to support the hopes and...
BACKGROUND
The Strengths Model, a framework grounded in the belief that everyone has an inherent capability to cope with challenges, is designed to support the hopes and aspirations of people with psychiatric disabilities, guiding them toward their desired self-image. The model originally gained attention in the field of social welfare and has since become popular in the field of community mental health. There is an increasing demand for nurses to understand and implement this model in the support they provide.
OBJECTIVES
To clarify how implementation of the Strengths Model in nurse education impacts students' perceptions of their clients with psychiatric disabilities.
DESIGN
Qualitative descriptive study informed by Grounded Theory.
SETTING
Public university nursing practicum.
PARTICIPANTS
Sixteen fourth-year students undertaking a practicum using the Strengths Model.
METHODS
Semi-structured interviews.
RESULTS
The core concept identified was that people with psychiatric disabilities uncover their own inherent strengths. Students began their engagement by listening to clients' dreams and goals. Then, three processes were identified that led to the outcome of students seeing clients in terms of their limitations, while one process was identified that led to the alternate desirable outcome of students developing a sense of respect for clients.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings indicate that the process leading to students developing a sense of respect for clients with psychiatric disabilities involved three interrelated factors: students listening to clients' dreams and goals, both parties working together to discover the clients' dreams, and clients uncovering their own inherent strengths and then leveraging them. Incorporating the Strengths Model, which takes a person-centric approach to support the agency of people with psychiatric disabilities, into nurse education has the potential to foster healthcare professionals who respect people with psychiatric disabilities, see them on an equal footing, and consider themselves partners in facilitating the recovery journey.
Topics: Humans; Students, Nursing; Qualitative Research; Female; Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; Male; Adult; Mental Disorders; Grounded Theory; Perception; Interviews as Topic; Attitude of Health Personnel
PubMed: 38583345
DOI: 10.1016/j.nedt.2024.106190 -
Cell Reports Apr 2024The relationship between sensory stimuli and perceptions is brain-state dependent: in wakefulness, suprathreshold stimuli evoke perceptions; under anesthesia,...
The relationship between sensory stimuli and perceptions is brain-state dependent: in wakefulness, suprathreshold stimuli evoke perceptions; under anesthesia, perceptions are abolished; and during dreaming and in dissociated states, percepts are internally generated. Here, we exploit this state dependence to identify brain activity associated with internally generated or stimulus-evoked perceptions. In awake mice, visual stimuli phase reset spontaneous cortical waves to elicit 3-6 Hz feedback traveling waves. These stimulus-evoked waves traverse the cortex and entrain visual and parietal neurons. Under anesthesia as well as during ketamine-induced dissociation, visual stimuli do not disrupt spontaneous waves. Uniquely, in the dissociated state, spontaneous waves traverse the cortex caudally and entrain visual and parietal neurons, akin to stimulus-evoked waves in wakefulness. Thus, coordinated neuronal assemblies orchestrated by traveling cortical waves emerge in states in which perception can manifest. The awake state is privileged in that this coordination is reliably elicited by external visual stimuli.
Topics: Animals; Wakefulness; Mice; Neurons; Hallucinations; Male; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Ketamine; Photic Stimulation; Brain Waves; Visual Cortex; Brain
PubMed: 38578827
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114017 -
BMC Women's Health Apr 2024Daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective HIV prevention option for those who are most vulnerable to HIV infection, especially young women (YW)....
BACKGROUND
Daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective HIV prevention option for those who are most vulnerable to HIV infection, especially young women (YW). Objection by or lack of support from male sexual partners has been shown to impact YW's ability to take PrEP consistently. We explored the views of YW, and male partners and male peers of YW in Siaya County, Western Kenya, to illustrate how men influence, and can support, YW in using PrEP.
METHODS
We used Photovoice to capture the views of YW ages 18-24 who were currently or previously enrolled in the DREAMS program and with current or previous experience taking PrEP. We also captured the views of YW's sexual partners and male peers. The YW completed eight photo assignments that focused on identifying factors influencing their PrEP use, and male participants completed four photo assignments focused on identifying ways men support or hinder YW's PrEP use. Photographs were presented and discussed in same- and mixed-gender groups using the SHOWeD method. YW also participated in in-depth interviews. The analysis focused on identifying themes that described men's influence on YW's PrEP adherence and persistence.
RESULTS
Among YW, a restricting male influence on PrEP use emerged in the majority of photo assignments such that YW's photographs and discussions revealed that men were more often viewed as barriers than supporters. YW perceived that they had little autonomy over their sexual lives and choice to use PrEP. YW's PrEP use was perceived to be hindered by stigmatizing community narratives that influenced men's support of PrEP use among women. Male participants suggested that men would support YW's PrEP use if PrEP was better promoted in the community and if men were more knowledgeable about its benefits.
CONCLUSIONS
A lack of support from male partners and peers and stigmatizing community narratives influence YW's PrEP use. Community-based programs should include education about PrEP specifically for male partners and peers of YW to positively influence PrEP use among YW.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; HIV Infections; Anti-HIV Agents; Kenya; Men; Sexual Behavior
PubMed: 38570779
DOI: 10.1186/s12905-024-03044-9 -
Scientific Reports Apr 2024Given the limitation of current routine approaches for pancreatic cancer screening and detection, the mortality rate of pancreatic cancer cases is still critical. The...
Given the limitation of current routine approaches for pancreatic cancer screening and detection, the mortality rate of pancreatic cancer cases is still critical. The development of blood-based molecular biomarkers for pancreatic cancer screening and early detection which provide less-invasive, high-sensitivity, and cost-effective, is urgently needed. The goal of this study is to identify and validate the potential molecular biomarkers in white blood cells (WBCs) of pancreatic cancer patients. Gene expression profiles of pancreatic cancer patients from NCBI GEO database were analyzed by CU-DREAM. Then, mRNA expression levels of three candidate genes were determined by quantitative RT-PCR in WBCs of pancreatic cancer patients (N = 27) and healthy controls (N = 51). ROC analysis was performed to assess the performance of each candidate gene. A total of 29 upregulated genes were identified and three selected genes were performed gene expression analysis. Our results revealed high mRNA expression levels in WBCs of pancreatic cancer patients in all selected genes, including FKBP1A (p < 0.0001), PLD1 (p < 0.0001), and PSMA4 (p = 0.0002). Among candidate genes, FKBP1A mRNA expression level was remarkably increased in the pancreatic cancer samples and also in the early stage (p < 0.0001). Moreover, FKBP1A showed the greatest performance to discriminate patients with pancreatic cancer from healthy individuals than other genes with the 88.9% sensitivity, 84.3% specificity, and 90.1% accuracy. Our findings demonstrated that the alteration of FKBP1A gene in WBCs serves as a novel valuable biomarker for patients with pancreatic cancer. Detection of FKBP1A mRNA expression level in circulating WBCs, providing high-sensitive, less-invasive, and cost-effective, is simple and feasible for routine clinical setting that can be applied for pancreatic cancer screening and early detection.
Topics: Humans; Early Detection of Cancer; Biomarkers; Pancreatic Neoplasms; RNA, Messenger; Leukocytes; Biomarkers, Tumor; Tacrolimus Binding Proteins
PubMed: 38570626
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58324-z -
Consciousness and Cognition Apr 2024Aphantasia is a condition that is often characterized as the impaired ability to create voluntary mental images. Aphantasia is assumed to selectively affect voluntary... (Review)
Review
Aphantasia is a condition that is often characterized as the impaired ability to create voluntary mental images. Aphantasia is assumed to selectively affect voluntary imagery mainly because even though aphantasics report being unable to visualize something at will, many report having visual dreams. We argue that this common characterization of aphantasia is incorrect. Studies on aphantasia are often not clear about whether they are assessing voluntary or involuntary imagery, but some studies show that several forms of involuntary imagery are also affected in aphantasia (including imagery in dreams). We also raise problems for two attempts to show that involuntary images are preserved in aphantasia. In addition, we report the results of a study about afterimages in aphantasia, which suggest that these tend to be less intense in aphantasics than in controls. Involuntary imagery is often treated as a unitary kind that is either present or absent in aphantasia. We suggest that this approach is mistaken and that we should look at different types of involuntary imagery case by case. Doing so reveals no evidence of preserved involuntary imagery in aphantasia. We suggest that a broader characterization of aphantasia, as a deficit in forming mental imagery, whether voluntary or not, is more appropriate. Characterizing aphantasia as a volitional deficit is likely to lead researchers to give incorrect explanations for aphantasia, and to look for the wrong mechanisms underlying it.
Topics: Humans; Imagination; Imagery, Psychotherapy; Volition
PubMed: 38564857
DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103679 -
Scientific Reports Mar 2024Global fibrinolysis assays detect the fibrinolysis time of clot dissolution using tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA). Two such assays, clot-fibrinolysis waveform...
Global fibrinolysis assays detect the fibrinolysis time of clot dissolution using tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA). Two such assays, clot-fibrinolysis waveform analysis (CFWA) and global fibrinolysis capacity (GFC) assay, were recently developed. These were compared with rotational thromboelastography (ROTEM). Healthy donor blood samples were divided into four groups based on tPA-spiked concentrations: 0, 100, 500, and 1000 ng/mL. CFWA and GFC fibrinolysis times, including 4.1 µg/mL and 100 ng/mL tPA in the assays, were determined, denoted as CFWA-Lys and GFC-Lys, respectively. Statistical differences were recognized between tPA concentrations of 0 and 500/1000 ng/mL for CFWA-Lys, and 0 and 100/500/1000 ng/mL for GFC-Lys. The correlation coefficients with lysis onset time (LOT) of extrinsic pathway evaluation and intrinsic pathway evaluation in ROTEM were statistically significant at 0.610 and 0.590 for CFWA-Lys, and 0.939 and 0.928 for GFC-Lys, respectively (p-values < 0.0001 for all correlations). Both assays showed significant correlations with ROTEM; however, the GFC assay proved to have better agreement with ROTEM compared with the CFWA assay. These assays have the potential to reflect a hyperfibrinolysis status with high tPA concentrations.
Topics: Humans; Fibrinolysis; Thrombelastography; Fibrin Clot Lysis Time; Thrombosis; Tissue Plasminogen Activator; Blood Coagulation Disorders
PubMed: 38556522
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58436-6 -
NPJ Microgravity Mar 2024As the International Space Station comes to the end of a transformative era of in-space research, NASA's Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destinations (CLD) Program aims... (Review)
Review
As the International Space Station comes to the end of a transformative era of in-space research, NASA's Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destinations (CLD) Program aims to catalyze a new generation of platforms with co-investment from the private sector, preventing a potential gap in research performed in LEO, while building a robust LEO economy. In this paper, we provide insight into the CLD Program focusing on Orbital Reef, describing its operational and technical characteristics as well as new opportunities it may enable. Achieving about a third of the pressurized volume of the ISS with the launch of a single pressurized module and growing to support hundreds of Middeck Locker Equivalents (MLE) in passive and active payloads internally and externally, Orbital Reef will enable government, academic, and commercial institutions to continue and expand upon research and development (R&D) efforts currently performed on ISS. Additionally, it will enable nascent markets to establish their operations in space, by initiating new lines of research and technology development and the implementation of new ventures and visions. Using Blue Origin's New Glenn heavy launch system, Sierra Space's cargo and crew Dream Chaser® vehicles, and Boeing's Starliner crew vehicle, and expertise from Amazon/Amazon Supply Chain, Arizona State University, Genesis Engineering, and Redwire, Orbital Reef is being designed to address ISS-era transportation logistics challenges. Finally, this manuscript describes some of the expected challenges from the ISS-to-CLD transition, and provides guidance on how researchers in academia and industry can shape the future of commercial destinations and work performed in LEO.
PubMed: 38553503
DOI: 10.1038/s41526-024-00363-x -
Trends in Cognitive Sciences May 2024The vividness of imagery varies between individuals. However, the existence of people in whom conscious, wakeful imagery is markedly reduced, or absent entirely, was... (Review)
Review
The vividness of imagery varies between individuals. However, the existence of people in whom conscious, wakeful imagery is markedly reduced, or absent entirely, was neglected by psychology until the recent coinage of 'aphantasia' to describe this phenomenon. 'Hyperphantasia' denotes the converse - imagery whose vividness rivals perceptual experience. Around 1% and 3% of the population experience extreme aphantasia and hyperphantasia, respectively. Aphantasia runs in families, often affects imagery across several sense modalities, and is variably associated with reduced autobiographical memory, face recognition difficulty, and autism. Visual dreaming is often preserved. Subtypes of extreme imagery appear to be likely but are not yet well defined. Initial results suggest that alterations in connectivity between the frontoparietal and visual networks may provide the neural substrate for visual imagery extremes.
Topics: Humans; Imagination; Memory, Episodic; Dreams
PubMed: 38548492
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.02.007