Concern about the risk of aerosol contamination from ultrasonic scaler: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Many instruments used in dentistry are rotary, such as handpieces, water syringes, and ultrasonic scalers that produce aerosols. The spray created by these instruments can carry, in addition to water, droplets of saliva, blood, and microorganisms, which can pose a risk of infections for healthcare professionals and patients. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this gained attention. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to carry out a systematic review of the evidence of the scope of the aerosol produced by ultrasonic scaler in environmental contamination and the influence of the use of intraoral suction reduction devices. DESIGN: Scientific literature was searched until June 19, 2021 in 6 databases: Pubmed, EMBASE, Web of science, Scopus, Virtual Health Library and Cochrane Library, without restrictions on language or publication date. Studies that evaluated the range of the aerosol produced by ultrasonic scaler during scaling/prophylaxis and the control of environmental contamination generated by it with the use of low (LVE) and high (HVE) volume evacuation systems were included. RESULTS: Of the 1893 potentially relevant articles, 5 of which were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The meta-analysis of 3 RCTs showed that, even at different distances from the patient's oral cavity, there was a significant increase in airborne bacteria in the dental environment with the use of ultrasonic scaler. In contrast, when meta-analysis compared the use of HVE with LVE, there was no significant difference (P = 0.40/CI -0.71[-2.37, 0.95]) for aerosol produced in the environment. CONCLUSIONS: There is an increase in the concentration of bioaerosol in the dental environment during the use of ultrasonic scaler in scaling/prophylaxis, reaching up to 2 m away from the patient's mouth and the use of LVE, HVE or a combination of different devices, can be effective in reducing air contamination in the dental environment, with no important difference between different types of suction devices.

Intentions to Call a Helpline Among Targets of Intimate Partner Violence: The Role of the Theory of Planned Behavior and Gender Role Conflict.

This research first aimed to test the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a model to understand the intentions to call a helpline of victimized males and females. A sample of 99 participants (53 males; 46 females) who were suffering violence at the time of participation were considered for analysis. Our results indicate that males and females' attitudes and subjective norms significantly predicted intentions. Second, this study aimed to measure Gender Role Conflict (GRC) in victimized men and test its association with TPB constructs. GRC occurs when rigid, sexist, or restrictive gender roles result in the restriction, devaluation, or violation of others or the self. Our results indicate that GRC was only negatively associated with perceived behavioral control. Additionally, in our sample of men who filled the GRC measure (n = 245), victimized men reported significantly higher GRC than non-victimized men. Overall, our findings indicate gender specificities in the intentions to call a helpline and suggest that GRC plays an important role in seeking help for men.

Gender differences in aggression: The role of displaying facial emotional cues in a competitive situation.

Prior studies have shown that facial emotion displays communicate emotional states and interpersonal intentions. This study addressed gender differences in aggression based on the facial emotional cues expressed from a fictional opponent. A modified version of the competitive reaction time task (CRTT) was used to measure aggression. Participants (N = 251), between 18 and 35 years of age, were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions of the fictional opponents' facial emotional cue displayed during the CRTT: anger, sadness, neutral, or the absence of facial expression. After each trial, participants were asked to report their own feelings and to choose a level of noise to administer to their opponent. Finally, motives for aggression were assessed. Results showed that women were less aggressive than men when receiving emotional cues of sadness and anger from the sender. In contrast, no gender differences occurred when a neutral expression was displayed or in the absence of any expression. In addition, men displayed similar levels of aggression across the four conditions, whereas women were more aggressive in both neutral and no feedback conditions than in the sad and anger conditions. Instrumental motives contributed to explaining the overall gender differences in aggression. These results suggest important moderator and mediator factors of gender differences in aggressive behavior.

Psychometric Assessment of the Child Surgery Worries Questionnaire Among Portuguese Children.

Worries are common in surgical patients, especially in children. The present study analyzed the factor structure and the psychometric properties of a Portuguese version of the Child Surgery Worries Questionnaire (CSWQ-P) in a Portuguese sample of 490 children. Exploratory factor analysis, conducted via principal axis factoring with oblimin rotation, provided evidence for a four-factor structure of the 21 item questionnaire. A confirmatory factor analysis was also conducted, showing the good fit of this solution. The CSWQ-P proved to have one more subscale than the original Spanish version CSWQ. Correlations with the children's trait anxiety provided evidence of convergent validity for the CSWQ-P. Females also scored higher on worries than males on all subscales. Psychometric properties of this revised version of the CSWQ provided support for use with young children, and indicate the CSWQ-P has value for use in healthcare practice and in clinical research.

Using an Educational Multimedia Application to Prepare Children for Outpatient Surgeries.

Surgery is a highly stressful event for children and caregivers. Extensive effort has been made to improve preoperative care in order to alleviate worry about the surgical procedure itself. This study tested the impact of an educational multimedia intervention on the cognitive, emotional, and physiological responses of children undergoing surgery, as well as on parental state anxiety. Children (n = 90) were assigned to three different groups: an educational multimedia intervention (experimental group), an entertainment video game intervention (comparison group), and a control group (no intervention). Children who received the educational multimedia intervention reported lower level of worries about hospitalization, medical procedures, illness, and negative consequences than those in the control and in the comparison groups. Parental state anxiety was also lower in the both the educational and the entertainment video game interventions compared to the control group. These findings suggest that providing information to children regarding medical procedures and hospital rules and routines is important to reduce their preoperative worries, and also relevant for parental anxiety.

Men Who Suffered Intimate Partner Violence: Impressions About Existing Public Campaigns and Recommendations for New Ones.

Over the last decades, the negative effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) directed at men in abusive different-sex and same-sex relationships have been increasingly investigated. Men who are the targets of IPV face many barriers to help-seeking, and to overcome them, public awareness campaigns have been developed. Women who experienced IPV have found campaigns targeting them to be harmful and misleading, and previous research suggests that following the principles of formative evaluation research may improve campaigns' effectiveness and reduce unwanted negative effects. This article documents the theory-based formative evaluation research conducted with 14 men abused in different-sex and same-sex relationships for the creation of targeted campaigns. Through semi-structured interviews, men were asked about their overall knowledge of campaigns, their thoughts about specific pictorial IPV campaigns, and their suggestions for the development of new campaigns. Thematic analysis and a theoretically grounded coding scheme were used to analyze the content of the interviews with high interrater reliability. Overall, our results indicate that most men were not aware of campaigns in Portugal, and their impressions about the ones they recalled were mixed. Most men praised clear messages informing forms of violence, while some responded negatively to the inclusion of words such as "shame" and "victim" and the depiction of bruises. They also considered that future campaigns targeting men should portray "real people" like them and provide information on self-efficacy, the efficacy of recommended responses, and threat susceptibility. Our findings are consistent with previous evidence with women who experienced IPV but also provide theoretically grounded novel contributions and highlight the importance of considering the population of interest's insights when developing and testing new campaigns.

Truancy: The relevance of resilience-related internal assets, student engagement and perception of school success in youth living with parents and in residential care.

BACKGROUND: School absenteeism is associated with multiple negative short and long-term impacts, such as school grade retention and mental health difficulties. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to understand the role of resilience-related internal assets, student engagement, and perception of school success as protective factors for truancy. Additionally, we investigated whether there were differences in these variables between students living in residential care and students living with their parents. METHODS: This study included 118 participants aged 11 to 23 years old (M = 17.16, SE = 0.26). The majority were female (n = 61, 51.7 %) and Portuguese (n = 98, 83.1 %), with half living in residential care. In this cross-sectional study, participants responded to self-report questionnaires. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to understand the factors associated with truancy. RESULTS: There were no group differences in resilience-related internal assets and their perception of school success. On the contrary, participants in residential care reported more unexcused school absences, more grade retentions, higher levels of depression, and lower levels of student engagement. Moreover, hierarchical linear regression controlling for key variables (i.e., living in residential care or with parents, school grade retention, and depression) showed that perception of school success and resilience-related internal assets significantly contributed to truancy. CONCLUSIONS: Results are discussed in the context of universal and selective interventions. These interventions can foster individual strengths and provide opportunities for every student to experience success. Consequently, they promote engagement and reduce the likelihood of school absences, especially for those in more vulnerable situations such as youth in residential care.

COVID-19 vaccine skeptics are persuaded by pro-vaccine expert consensus messaging.

To further understand how to combat COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy, we examined the effects of pro-vaccine expert consensus messaging on lay attitudes about vaccine safety and intention to get a COVID-19 vaccine. We surveyed 729 unvaccinated individuals from four countries in the early stages of the pandemic and 472 unvaccinated individuals from two countries after 2 years of the pandemic. We found belief of vaccine safety strongly correlated with intention to vaccinate in the first sample and less strongly in the second. We also found that consensus messaging improved attitudes toward vaccination even for participants who did not believe the vaccine is safe nor intended to get it. The persuasiveness of expert consensus was unaffected by exposing participants' lack of knowledge about vaccines. We conclude that highlighting expert consensus may be a way to increase support toward COVID-19 vaccination in those hesitant or skeptical. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Temporal profile of intranasal oxytocin in the human autonomic nervous system at rest: An electrocardiography and pupillometry study.

BACKGROUND: Human social behavior is modulated by oxytocin (OT). Intranasal administration of OT (IN-OT) is a noninvasive route shown to elicit changes in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity; however, IN-OT's effect on the temporal profile of ANS activity at rest is yet to be described. AIMS: We aimed to describe the temporal profile of IN-OT at six 10-min time windows from 15- to 100-min post-administration in 20 male participants at rest while continuously recording their pupillary in an eyes-open condition and cardiac activity in eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions. METHODS: We used a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects design study where we extracted two proxies of parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity: high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) and pupillary unrest index (PUI); and a proxy of sympathetic nervous system activity: sample entropy of the pupillary unrest. RESULTS: In the eyes-open condition, we found an effect of IN-OT on the proxies of PNS activity: decreased PUI in the three-time windows post-administration spanning 65-100 min, and as an exploratory finding, an increased HF-HRV in the 80-85 min time window. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest there is a role of OT in PNS regulation that may be consistent with OT's currently theorized role in the facilitation of alertness and approach behavior.

Ethics 4.0: Ethical Dilemmas in Healthcare Mediated by Social Robots.

This study examined people's moral judgments and trait perception toward a healthcare agent's response to a patient who refuses to take medication. A sample of 524 participants was randomly assigned to one of eight vignettes in which the type of healthcare agent (human vs. robot), the use of a health message framing (emphasizing health-losses for not taking vs. health-gains in taking the medication), and the ethical decision (respect the autonomy vs. beneficence/nonmaleficence) were manipulated to investigate their effects on moral judgments (acceptance and responsibility) and traits perception (warmth, competence, trustworthiness). The results indicated that moral acceptance was higher when the agents respected the patient's autonomy than when the agents prioritized beneficence/nonmaleficence. Moral responsibility and perceived warmth were higher for the human agent than for the robot, and the agent who respected the patient's autonomy was perceived as warmer, but less competent and trustworthy than the agent who decided for the patient's beneficence/nonmaleficence. Agents who prioritized beneficence/nonmaleficence and framed the health gains were also perceived as more trustworthy. Our findings contribute to the understanding of moral judgments in the healthcare domain mediated by both healthcare humans and artificial agents.

Raising the value of research studies in psychological science by increasing the credibility of research reports: the transparent Psi project.

The low reproducibility rate in social sciences has produced hesitation among researchers in accepting published findings at their face value. Despite the advent of initiatives to increase transparency in research reporting, the field is still lacking tools to verify the credibility of research reports. In the present paper, we describe methodologies that let researchers craft highly credible research and allow their peers to verify this credibility. We demonstrate the application of these methods in a multi-laboratory replication of Bem's Experiment 1 (Bem 2011 J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 100, 407-425. (doi:10.1037/a0021524)) on extrasensory perception (ESP), which was co-designed by a consensus panel including both proponents and opponents of Bem's original hypothesis. In the study we applied direct data deposition in combination with born-open data and real-time research reports to extend transparency to protocol delivery and data collection. We also used piloting, checklists, laboratory logs and video-documented trial sessions to ascertain as-intended protocol delivery, and external research auditors to monitor research integrity. We found 49.89% successful guesses, while Bem reported 53.07% success rate, with the chance level being 50%. Thus, Bem's findings were not replicated in our study. In the paper, we discuss the implementation, feasibility and perceived usefulness of the credibility-enhancing methodologies used throughout the project.

Correction to: 'Raising the value of research studies in psychological science by increasing the credibility of research reports: The Transparent Psi Project' (2023) by Kekecs et al.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191375.][This corrects the article DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2500.].

The Psychological Science Accelerator's COVID-19 rapid-response dataset.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Psychological Science Accelerator coordinated three large-scale psychological studies to examine the effects of loss-gain framing, cognitive reappraisals, and autonomy framing manipulations on behavioral intentions and affective measures. The data collected (April to October 2020) included specific measures for each experimental study, a general questionnaire examining health prevention behaviors and COVID-19 experience, geographical and cultural context characterization, and demographic information for each participant. Each participant started the study with the same general questions and then was randomized to complete either one longer experiment or two shorter experiments. Data were provided by 73,223 participants with varying completion rates. Participants completed the survey from 111 geopolitical regions in 44 unique languages/dialects. The anonymized dataset described here is provided in both raw and processed formats to facilitate re-use and further analyses. The dataset offers secondary analytic opportunities to explore coping, framing, and self-determination across a diverse, global sample obtained at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be merged with other time-sampled or geographic data.

Teaching open and reproducible scholarship: a critical review of the evidence base for current pedagogical methods and their outcomes.

In recent years, the scientific community has called for improvements in the credibility, robustness and reproducibility of research, characterized by increased interest and promotion of open and transparent research practices. While progress has been positive, there is a lack of consideration about how this approach can be embedded into undergraduate and postgraduate research training. Specifically, a critical overview of the literature which investigates how integrating open and reproducible science may influence student outcomes is needed. In this paper, we provide the first critical review of literature surrounding the integration of open and reproducible scholarship into teaching and learning and its associated outcomes in students. Our review highlighted how embedding open and reproducible scholarship appears to be associated with (i) students' scientific literacies (i.e. students' understanding of open research, consumption of science and the development of transferable skills); (ii) student engagement (i.e. motivation and engagement with learning, collaboration and engagement in open research) and (iii) students' attitudes towards science (i.e. trust in science and confidence in research findings). However, our review also identified a need for more robust and rigorous methods within pedagogical research, including more interventional and experimental evaluations of teaching practice. We discuss implications for teaching and learning scholarship.

Genetic polymorphisms in MMP 2, 9 and 3 genes modify lung cancer risk and survival.

BACKGROUND: Matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) are proteolytic enzymes that contribute to all stages of tumour progression, including the later stages of invasion and metastasis. Genetic variants in the MMP genes may influence the biological function of these enzymes and change their role in carcinogenesis and progression. We have investigated the association between the -735 C/T, the -1171 5A/6A, and the -1562 C/T polymorphisms in the MMP2, MMP3 and MMP9 genes, respectively, and the risk and survival of lung cancer. METHODS: The case-control study includes 879 lung cancer patients and 803 controls from a Caucasian population in Spain (CAPUA study). Genotypes were determined by PCR-RFLP. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using unconditional logistic regression. The Kaplan-Meier method, long-rank test and Cox's were used for the survival analysis. RESULTS: The MMP9 -1562 T/T genotype was associated with a statistically significant decreased risk of developing lung cancer (OR = 0.23; 95% CI: 0.06-0.85), whereas no association was found for the MMP2 -735 C/T and MMP3 -1171 5A/6A polymorphisms. The MMP2 -735 T/T genotype was statistically significantly associated with a decreased survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, identified as an independent prognosis factor of survival (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.79; 95% CI: 1.00-3.20). In contrast, no association was found between the MMP3 -1171 5A/6A and the MMP9 -1562 C/T polymorphisms and survival. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the hypothesis that the MMP9 -1562 C/T polymorphism is associated with a protective effect against the development of lung cancer and suggest that the MMP2 -735 C/T polymorphism modify the length of survival in NSCLC patients.

Predictors of Health-Protective and Helping Behaviors during the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Role of Social Support and Resilience.

The COVID -19 pandemic dramatically affected people's lives. In this study, we explored the role of social and personal factors underlying individuals' adaptive responses during the critical onset period of the outbreak. In particular, we tested two models on the mediating role of health-protective behaviors in the relationship between social support, resilience, and helping behavior. A sample of 1085 participants from Portugal and Brazil took part in an online survey during the first wave of the pandemic. First, through an Exploratory Factor Analysis of the health-protective behaviors to prevent contagion by the coronavirus, we identified two distinct dimensions, one aggregating active protective behaviors and the other as avoidant behaviors. Secondly, we found that resilience and active protective behavior sequentially mediated the relationship between social support and willingness to help. In addition, a multigroup analysis showed that this mediational process was similar in both countries. Given the wide range of social and individual factors that may predict prosocial behaviors, we highlight the role of social support on the intention to help through resilience and active protective behaviors.

Contextual factors predicting compliance behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic: A machine learning analysis on survey data from 16 countries.

Voluntary isolation is one of the most effective methods for individuals to help prevent the transmission of diseases such as COVID-19. Understanding why people leave their homes when advised not to do so and identifying what contextual factors predict this non-compliant behavior is essential for policymakers and public health officials. To provide insight on these factors, we collected data from 42,169 individuals across 16 countries. Participants responded to items inquiring about their socio-cultural environment, such as the adherence of fellow citizens, as well as their mental states, such as their level of loneliness and boredom. We trained random forest models to predict whether someone had left their home during a one week period during which they were asked to voluntarily isolate themselves. The analyses indicated that overall, an increase in the feeling of being caged leads to an increased probability of leaving home. In addition, an increased feeling of responsibility and an increased fear of getting infected decreased the probability of leaving home. The models predicted compliance behavior with between 54% and 91% accuracy within each country's sample. In addition, we modeled factors leading to risky behavior in the pandemic context. We observed an increased probability of visiting risky places as both the anticipated number of people and the importance of the activity increased. Conversely, the probability of visiting risky places increased as the perceived putative effectiveness of social distancing decreased. The variance explained in our models predicting risk ranged from < .01 to .54 by country. Together, our findings can inform behavioral interventions to increase adherence to lockdown recommendations in pandemic conditions.

Situational factors shape moral judgements in the trolley dilemma in Eastern, Southern and Western countries in a culturally diverse sample.

The study of moral judgements often centres on moral dilemmas in which options consistent with deontological perspectives (that is, emphasizing rules, individual rights and duties) are in conflict with options consistent with utilitarian judgements (that is, following the greater good based on consequences). Greene et al. (2009) showed that psychological and situational factors (for example, the intent of the agent or the presence of physical contact between the agent and the victim) can play an important role in moral dilemma judgements (for example, the trolley problem). Our knowledge is limited concerning both the universality of these effects outside the United States and the impact of culture on the situational and psychological factors affecting moral judgements. Thus, we empirically tested the universality of the effects of intent and personal force on moral dilemma judgements by replicating the experiments of Greene et al. in 45 countries from all inhabited continents. We found that personal force and its interaction with intention exert influence on moral judgements in the US and Western cultural clusters, replicating and expanding the original findings. Moreover, the personal force effect was present in all cultural clusters, suggesting it is culturally universal. The evidence for the cultural universality of the interaction effect was inconclusive in the Eastern and Southern cultural clusters (depending on exclusion criteria). We found no strong association between collectivism/individualism and moral dilemma judgements.

Germ-line mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are rare but may contribute to oncogenesis: a novel germ-line mutation in EGFR detected in a patient with lung adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: A subset of lung cancer patients harbour EGFR somatic mutations in their tumours and are candidates for treatment with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. In a few cases EGFR mutations have also been found in the germ line, suggesting a role in lung carcinogenesis. Objetives of this study were: 1) To analyze the EGFR gene mutations in a population diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma from Northern Spain. 2) To determine the frequency of a new germ-line mutation found in our laboratory as well as the frequency in our population of three other EGFR germ-line mutations detected by other authors. 3) To determine whether the novel mutation detected may have a functional effect on the EGFR protein. METHODS: Tumour DNA samples were obtained from frozen or paraffin embedded tumour tissues. Samples of DNA from peripheral blood cells were obtained from 912 individuals with lung cancer recruited from the CAPUA study 12, 477 unrelated healthy donor individuals and 32 individuals with other types of cancer. EGFR gene exons 18 to 21 were studied by direct standard dideoxy sequencing. Specific mutations were determined either by direct sequencing or by specific RFLP analysis. Cell lines were transfected with EGFR-mutant plasmids and analysed by western blot with antibodies specific for total or phosphorylated-EGFR. RESULTS: We found EGFR mutation in 12 of the 71 tumour samples (17%). One tumour contained two mutations. One mutation (p.R776G) was present as a germ line. Using an RFLP analysis, this mutation was not found in 954 alleles from healthy individuals studied, concluding that it is not a polymorphism. The mutation was not found either in genomic DNA from 912 lung cancer patients. Three additional EGFR germ-line mutations that were already described were not found in any of the studied samples. These observations show that EGFR mutated alleles are rare in the population. In vitro studies revealed that tyrosine autophosphorylation is enhanced in p.R776G-mutant EGFR when compared with wild-type EGFR. This enhanced autophosphorylation in the absence of ligand may be associated with a proliferative advantage. CONCLUSIONS: Germ-line mutations in EGFR are rare but may contribute to oncogenesis.

Catching the audience in a job interview: Effects of emotion regulation strategies on subjective, physiological, and behavioural responses.

In the emotion regulation process more than one strategy is often used, though studies continue to rely on the manipulation of one strategy alone. This study compares the effects of Combined Cognitive Reappraisal (CCR: acceptance and reappraise via perspective-taking) and suppression using the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). One hundred participants were randomly assigned to one of the two groups and subjective, physiological, and behavioural data were recorded. Continuous electrocardiography was recorded to measure heart rate variability (HRV) and stress levels. Affective ratings were provided before and after the TSST. Behavioural expressions were videotaped and analysed independently. Trait social anxiety/fear, age and gender entered as covariates. Although no group differences were found on affective ratings, the CCR group presented less physiological stress, higher HRV, their speech was better perceived, displayed more affiliative smile and hand gestures. Results suggested that CCR is more appropriate than suppression for managing social stress situations.