A comparison of vibrotactile patterns in an early warning system for obstacle detection using a haptic vest.

Technical devices can enhance safety by warning people of unrecognized obstacles, particularly in traffic, wilderness, and industrial settings. This study aims to identify the most effective vibrotactile stimuli for localization tasks by developing and evaluating various types of vibrotactile alerts presented through a tactile vest with visual patterns. The study design involved comparing the time and consistency of interpreting visual stimuli and subsequent tactile stimuli. The tactile stimuli included: a 'point' vibration on the left or right side of the back, a 'column' pattern of five vibrations on one side of the back, and a 'wave' pattern of vibrations running along the back from left to right or vice versa. The results indicated that reaction times to visual stimuli were significantly shorter than to vibration stimuli, suggesting that visual stimuli are suitable for alert systems with low cognitive load. The 'point' and 'column' patterns were recognized significantly faster and more clearly than the'wave' pattern. Consequently, the haptic vest was classified as a potentially effective low cognitive load device in localization performance. The findings could inform the design of early warning systems for obstacle detection in real traffic situations.

The impact of war situation on endometriosis patients: Evaluating physical and mental health outcomes.

To investigate the impact of war situation on physical functioning, mental health status, and disease manifestations among endometriosis patients. Questionnaire-based study analyzing physical and psychosocial well-being. The study includes 50 endometriosis patients at Sheba Medical Center who completed a detailed questionnaire before and after the onset of the October 7, 2023, War in Israel. Significant deterioration in physical and mental health after the onset of war (pain score 6 vs 7; p < 0.001). Although having a first-degree relative affected by the war was associated with health deterioration (OR, 5.44; p = 0.02), similar pattern of health status aggregation was observed also in a subgroup of 19 women without family involvement, suggesting the general war situation as a likely cause. Starting new anti-anxiety or antidepressant medications and psychological therapy had a protective effect (OR, 0.21; p = 0.05). War situation exacerbates endometriosis symptoms, highlighting the importance of early psychological interventions to mitigate negative impacts.

Exploring the protective capabilities developed by hospital nurses to deflect workplace violence: a qualitative study in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Workplace violence is a serious safety hazard in the healthcare sector and has attracted much attention worldwide, especially for nursing staff. Equipping nursing personnel with protective capabilities for workplace violence can reduce the risk they face in work settings. This study explored scenarios of common violent patient-nurse conflicts in the workplace of hospital nursing staff and their capabilities for de-escalating such conflicts. METHODS: We used a qualitative content analysis for this study. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 21 nurses in two teaching hospitals in New Taipei City, Taiwan, until data saturation was reached. The data were transcribed, encoded, and analyzed and similar concepts were grouped under the same category. RESULTS: Four categories of workplace violence scenarios common to hospital nursing staff were identified: unreasonable requests, caring for high-risk patients, long waiting times for medical consultation, and close contact when caring for patients. Two protective capabilities were recognized: communication and interpersonal capabilities and problem-solving skills. Each scenario may require a different combination of abilities. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that a violence-prevention training program could be designed for various workplace violence scenarios to enhance nurses' abilities to de-escalate workplace violence in hospitals.

Evaluation of statistical process control charts for infant mortality monitoring in Brazilian cities with different population sizes.

OBJECTIVES: The control chart is a classic statistical technique in epidemiology for identifying trends, patterns, or alerts. One meaningful use is monitoring and tracking Infant Mortality Rates, which is a priority both domestically and for the World Health Organization, as it reflects the effectiveness of public policies and the progress of nations. This study aims to evaluate the applicability and performance of this technique in Brazilian cities with different population sizes using infant mortality data. RESULTS: In this article, we evaluate the effectiveness of the statistical process control chart in the context of Brazilian cities. We present three categories of city groups, divided based on population size and classified according to the quality of the analyses when subjected to the control method: consistent, interpretable, and inconsistent. In cities with a large population, the data in these contexts show a lower noise level and reliable results. However, in intermediate and small-sized cities, the technique becomes limited in detecting deviations from expected behaviors, resulting in reduced reliability of the generated patterns and alerts.

[Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on inpatient dermatosurgery in Germany : Retrospective evaluation of the surgical cases from nine dermatology clinics]. / Auswirkungen der COVID-19-Pandemie auf die stationäre Dermatochirurgie in Deutschland : Retrospektive Auswertung der operativen Fälle aus neun Hautkliniken.

INTRODUCTION: Currently, only little data is available on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on inpatient dermatosurgical care in German dermatological clinics. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of all dermatosurgical cases that were treated in inpatient setting in nine German dermatological clinics in four federal states in 2019, 2020 and 2021 was performed. The diagnoses were recorded using the ICD-10 codes. In addition, demographic data such as age, gender and the length of inpatient stay were analysed. RESULTS: In 2019, 2020 and 2021, a total of 10,739, 9185 and 9828 dermatosurgical inpatients were treated respectively. Thus, the reduction of inpatient dermatosurgical cases was 14.5% in 2020 and 8.5% in 2021 compared to 2019. Inpatient surgical treatment of melanoma decreased by 10.1% of cases in 2020. This decrease was only 1.4% in 2021 compared to 2019. The number of inpatient surgeries performed for benign lesions such as melanocytic nevi or viral warts reduced sharply in both pandemic years. CONCLUSION: Our data show for the first time how inpatient care for the entire spectrum of dermatosurgical diseases developed during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. After the initial marked decline in inpatient dermatosurgical cases in 2020, there was less difference in 2021 compared to 2019. This trend can be interpreted as an indication that there is still a strong need for inpatient dermatosurgical care that cannot yet be met on an outpatient basis.

Antimicrobial stewardship situation analysis in selected hospitals in Zambia: findings and implications from a national survey.

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs are critical in combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In Zambia, there is little information regarding the capacity of hospitals to establish and implement AMS programs. The objective of this study was to conduct a baseline assessment of WHO core elements for an AMS program implementation in eight hospitals in Zambia. Materials and methods: We conducted an exploratory cross-sectional study from September 2023 to December 2023 using a self-scoring Periodic National and Healthcare Facility Assessment Tool from the World Health Organization (WHO) policy guidance on integrated AMS activities in human health. Eight public hospitals were surveyed across the five provinces of Zambia. Data was analyzed using the WHO self-scoring tool and thematic analysis. Results: Overall, 62.5% (6/8) of the facilities scored low (below 60%) in implementing AMS programs. Most facilities had challenges with reporting AMS feedback within the hospital (average score = 46%), Drugs and Therapeutics Committee (DTC) functionality (average score = 49%), AMS actions (average score = 50%), education and training (average score = 54%), and leadership commitment to AMS activities (average score = 56%). The overall score for all AMS core elements was average (56%). All the hospitals (100%) did not have an allocated budget for AMS programs. Finally, there were neither antibiograms to guide antimicrobial utilization nor AMS-trained staff in more than 50% of the hospitals surveyed. Conclusion: This study found low AMS implementation in these public hospitals, especially where DTCs were non-functional. The identified challenges and gaps require urgent attention for sustainable multidisciplinary AMS programs.

Epidemiological survey of calf diarrhea related viruses in several areas of Guangdong Province.

Introduction: Bovine torovirus (BToV), Bovine enterovirus (BEV), Bovine norovirus (BNoV), Bovine coronavirus (BCoV), Bovine rotavirus (BRV), and Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) are significant pathogens causing diarrhea in calves, characterized by their high prevalence and challenging prevention and control measures. Methods: We analyzed 295 calf diarrhea samples, amplifying the M gene from BToV-positive samples, the 5'UTR gene from BEV-positive samples, the RdRp gene from BNoV-positive samples, the VP7 gene from BRV-positive samples, the S gene from BCoV-positive samples, and the 5'UTR gene from BVDV-positive samples. Subsequent homology analysis and phylogenetic tree construction were performed. Results: The overall viral positive rate in Guangdong Province was 21.36%. Specific detection rates were as follows: Foshan City at 50.00% (18/36), Guangzhou City at 43.90% (36/82), Huizhou City at 21.21% (7/33), Yangjiang City at 2.08% (1/48), Meizhou City at 1.39% (1/72), and Heyuan City at 0.00% (0/24). The detection rates for BToV, BEV, BNoV, BCoV, BRV, and BVDV were 0.34% (1/295), 6.10% (18/295), 0.68% (2/295), 1.36% (4/295), 10.85% (32/295), and 2.03% (6/295), respectively. Notably, the highest overall virus detection rate was observed in the Guangzhou-Foshan region, with BRV and BEV showing the highest detection rates among the six viruses. This study marks the first report of BToV and BNoV in Guangdong Province. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the BToV strain belonged to type II, sharing genetic similarities with epidemic strains from various provinces in China. The BEV strains were categorized into E and F types, with the F type being the predominant strain in Guangdong Province and exhibiting the closest genetic relationship to strains from Heilongjiang and Guangxi. The BNoV strains, along with Hebei strains, were identified as GIII.2 subgenotype. BCoV strains showed the highest genetic similarity to strains from Sichuan. All BRV strains were classified under the G6 subtype and had the closest genetic relationship with human rotavirus strains. BVDV strains were identified as subtype 1b, closely related to the Beijing strain. In conclusion, this study investigated the prevalence and evolutionary characteristics of diarrhea-associated viruses in calves in specific areas of Guangdong Province, providing a valuable reference for establishing effective prevention and control measures in cattle farms.

Analysis and Evaluation of Situation-Specific Theories: Proposed Modifications in Existing Criteria for Analysis and Evaluation of Theories.

Although many situation-specific theories have been developed during the past several years, few of them have been analyzed and evaluated using criteria that are relevant for this type of theory. The purpose of this paper is to propose modifications in Fawcett's analysis and evaluation criteria of theories for application to situation-specific theories. The position taken is that important but minor adjustments are required to make these criteria suitable for the analysis and evaluation of situation-specific theories, taking the similarities and differences between middle-range theories and situation-specific theories into account.

Mary Main: portrait and tribute.

Brett Kahr has referred to the death of Mary Main as the loss of "the queen of attachment research." However, how well is Main's work actually known? In this portrait and tribute, I argue that Main's transformative contributions have become a taken-for-granted part of the basic environment of attachment research, but that readers have faced obstacles in understanding and responding to their strengths and limitations. Drawing from interviews with Main, in this paper I describe some of her early life experiences and mental and physical health challenges, which she felt had influenced what was possible for her in her research. I then highlight less well-known aspects of her ideas regarding the role of attention within attachment strategies, the nature of disorganised attachment, the implications of alarming caregiving behaviours, and what is ultimately measured by the Adult Attachment Interview. My goal throughout is to help reader see both how much Main's rich and exciting works still have to teach, and identify their many loose threads still to follow.

A 12-year comparison of patients with Alzheimer's dementia with their informants in eight Asian countries.

BACKGROUND: The number of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) has increased dramatically in Asia. OBJECTIVE: To update the demographic characteristics of patients with AD and their informants in eight Asian countries and compare them from 12 years prior. METHODS: The A1-A3 components of the Uniform Dataset (UDS), version 3.0, were administered in Taiwan, Beijing, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia. Data were compared with patients with AD in the first registration using the UDS version 1.0 from 2010-2014 in the same regions. RESULTS: A total of 1885 patients with AD and their informants were recruited from 2022 to 2024 and were compared with 2042 patients recruited a decade prior. Each country had its own unique characteristics that changed between both eras. The mean age of the patients and informants was 79.8±8.2 years and 56.5±12.1 years, respectively. Compared with the first registration, the patients were older (79.8 vs 79.0, p=0.002) and had worse global function (mean CDR-SB scores 6.1 vs 5.8, p<0.001); more informants were children (56 % vs. 48 %, p<0.001), and their frequency of in-person visits increased significantly if not living together. A total of 11 %, 4.5 %, 11 %, and 0.4 % of the patients had a reported history of cognitive impairment in their mothers, fathers, siblings, and children, respectively; all percentages, except children, increased significantly over the past decade. CONCLUSION: The present study reports the heterogeneous characteristics of patients with AD and their informants in Asian countries, and the distinct changes in the past decade. The differences in dementia evaluation and care between developing and developed countries warrant further investigation.

[Supporting care teams as a lever for improving practices]. / L'accompagnement des équipes de soins comme levier à l'amélioration des pratiques.

Thanks to their guidance and coaching skills, advanced practice nurses (APNs) support teams on a daily basis in improving their practices and developing their reflexivity. Their leadership enables caregivers to question themselves, exchange ideas and think about care from a different angle. Situational analysis sessions provide a space for them to step back, debate and innovate. This meaningful support enabled a newly-qualified IPA to find her place among the teams. Here's a testimonial.

From willpower to strategies: Existing insights and outstanding issues in self-control strategy use in daily life.

This paper focuses on recent advances in research on strategies that support self-control in everyday life. No one strategy or set of strategies appears to be effective at all times and in all situations. To understand effective self-control, we must expand our understanding of how strategies fit the situation and the person. To this end, we propose researching unexplored aspects of situations, how self-control strategies develop in the first place, and the role of emotion regulation in self-control strategy effectiveness. We also highlight methodological blind spots and offer ways to correct them and introduce new methodological approaches to best capture self-control strategies in everyday life.

[Development situation and trends of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma industry in China].

Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma is a unique traditional Chinese herbal medicine in China, with a long medicinal history, unique healthcare effects, and a profound cultural value. The development of the Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma industry has practical and symbolic significance for the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) industry. Under the new situation, China's Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma industry has faced new development opportunities and also internal and external challenges. It is urgent to deeply analyze the practical problems and explore the solutions. This article systematically reviews the current situation of China's Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma industry from the industrial chain and analyzes the current problems and development trends of this industry, aiming to provide reference and a decision-making basis for the high-quality development of this industry.

Role of Parenting Status in the Relationship Between Maternal Depression and Infant-Mother Attachment: A Longitudinal Cohort Study in China.

This study in China aimed to explore the impact of maternal depression on infant-mother attachment and whether parenting status moderated this relationship. Women underwent depression assessments at seven perinatal time points: ≤12, 17, 21, 31, and 37 weeks of pregnancy, as well as 1 and 6 weeks postpartum. Those completing at least three times assessments, along with their infants, were invited for infant-mother attachment assessment at 12-18 months postpartum. Among 233 infant-mother pairs completing the infant-mother attachment assessment, 62 and 80 mothers had postnatal depression and perinatal major depression, respectively; 75 (32.2%) of infants exhibited insecure attachment. While infants whose mothers had maternal depression showed a slightly elevated rate of insecure attachment, this difference did not achieve statistical significance. Additionally, parenting status did not influence the relationship between maternal depression and infant-mother attachment. Nevertheless, the study hinted that more physical contact between mother and infant might reduce insecure attachment likelihood. Future research should expand sample sizes and assessment points for better understanding. In addition, encouraging close interaction and physical touch between mother and infant may be beneficial.

[Current Situation and Influencing Factors of Kindergarten Teachers' Participation in Training for Preschool Sex Education].

Objective To understand the current situation and influencing factors of kindergarten teachers' participation in training for preschool sex education in Luzhou city,and provide a basis for improving the sex education literacy of kindergarten teachers in the future. Methods A multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method was adopted,and a questionnaire survey was conducted from December 2021 to January 2022 on the knowledge,attitude,and practice of preschool sex education among all the teachers in 24 kindergartens in Luzhou city. Results Among the 461 teachers,43.0% had participated in lectures/courses/training activities related to preschool sex education;99.1% hoped to participate in lectures/courses/training activities related to preschool sex education;82.6% learned about child sexual knowledge through school education;75.5% expressed the hope to learn about child sexual knowledge through expert training.The results of multivariate Logistic regression showed that except private kindergartens as an inhibiting factor (OR=0.57,95%CI=0.37-0.87,P=0.008),high monthly income (OR=3.52,95%CI=1.13-9.30,P=0.011),more ways to know about sex education knowledge (OR=2.87,95%CI=1.76-4.70,P<0.001),and social support (OR=1.58,95%CI=1.04-2.38, P=0.030) were promoting factors for teachers to participate in the training for preschool sex education. Conclusion The kindergarten teachers presented a participation rate but a high demand for the training for preschool sex education.They mainly obtain the sex education knowledge from school education.The nature of kindergarten,monthly income of teachers,social support situation,and ways of understanding sex education knowledge are the key factors influencing the teachers' participation in the training for preschool sex education.

Status quo and influencing factors of readiness for hospital discharge in patients with brain tumours after surgery.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the status quo of readiness for hospital discharge in patients with brain tumours after surgery and to analyse its influencing factors. Method: A total of 300 patients with brain tumours who were admitted to the neurosurgery ward of our hospital between September 2020 and December 2022 were selected as the study participants using the convenient sampling method. The readiness for hospital discharge in patients with brain tumours after surgery was investigated using a general information questionnaire, the Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale (RHDS), the Quality of Discharge Teaching Scale (QDTS), the University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire (UW-QOL), and the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), and its influencing factors were analysed. Results: The total RHDS score of patients with brain tumours was (155.02 ± 14.67), which was at a medium level. There was a positive correlation between readiness for hospital discharge in patients with brain tumours after surgery and the UW-QOL score (r = 0.459, p = 0.001), SSRS score (r = 0.322, p = 0.000), and QDTS score (r = 0.407, p = 0.001). The influencing factors of readiness for hospital discharge in patients with brain tumours included the content actually obtained by patients (health guidance) before discharge (p = 0.001), discharge teaching skills (p = 0.001), age (p = 0.006), swallowing status (p = 0.021), education level (p = 0.016), and objective support (p = 0.022). Conclusion: The readiness for hospital discharge in patients with brain tumours is at a medium level. Medical staff should give inpatients more targeted knowledge and implement personalised health education according to the patient's age, education level, swallowing status, and objective support to improve the patient's readiness for hospital discharge.

Automating COVID-19 epidemiological situation reports based on multiple data sources, the Netherlands, 2020 to 2023.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands developed a pipeline of scripts to automate and streamline the production of epidemiological situation reports (epi­sitrep). The pipeline was developed for the Automation of Data Import, Summarization, and Communication (hereafter called the A-DISC pipeline). OBJECTIVE: This paper describes the A-DISC pipeline and provides a customizable scripts template that may be useful for other countries wanting to automate their infectious disease surveillance processes. METHODS: The A-DISC pipeline was developed using the open-source statistical software R. It is organized in four modules: Prepare, Process data, Produce report, and Communicate. The Prepare scripts set the working environment (e.g., load packages). The (data-specific) Process data scripts import, validate, verify, transform, save, analyze, and summarize data as tables and figures and store these data summaries. The Produce report scripts gather summaries from multiple data sources and integrate them into a RMarkdown document - the epi­sitrep. The Communicate scripts send e-mails to stakeholders with the epi­sitrep. RESULTS: As of March 2023, up to ten data sources were automatically summarized into tables and figures by A-DISC. These data summaries were featured in routine extensive COVID-19 epi­sitreps, shared as open data, plotted on RIVM's website, sent to stakeholders and submitted to European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control via the European Surveillance System -TESSy [38]. DISCUSSION: In the face of an unprecedented high number of cases being reported during the COVID-19 pandemic, the A-DISC pipeline was essential to produce frequent and comprehensive epi­sitreps. A-DISC's modular and intuitive structure allowed for the integration of data sources of varying complexities, encouraged collaboration among people with various R-scripting capabilities, and improved data lineage. The A-DISC pipeline remains under active development and is currently being used in modified form for the automatization and professionalization of various other disease surveillance processes at the RIVM, with high acceptance from the participant epidemiologists. CONCLUSION: The A-DISC pipeline is an open-source, robust, and customizable tool for automating epi­sitreps based on multiple data sources.

Survey-based qualitative exploration of user perspectives on the philips visual patient avatar in clinical situation management.

Philips Visual Patient Avatar is an innovative approach to patient monitoring. Computer-based simulation studies have shown that it can improve diagnostic accuracy and confidence while reducing perceived workload. Following its integration into clinical practice, we conducted a single-centre qualitative study at the University Hospital Zurich to explore the views of anaesthesia, post-anaesthesia and intensive care providers on their experience with the technology. We used an online survey to assess its contributions in different clinical situations. We analysed the data thematically to identify key themes. Of the 510 healthcare providers contacted, 131 (25.7%) completed the survey and 154 comments were collected. Key themes included the detection of specific vital sign changes, focusing on temperature and oxygen saturation (41.9%, 34/81 comments in the operating room; 38.6%, 17/44 comments in the intensive care unit; 10.3%, 3/29 comments in the post-anaesthesia care unit). Additionally, the technology was perceived to support daily routines and situational awareness (28.4%, 23/81 comments in the OR; 9.1%, 4/44 comments in the ICU; 10.3%, 3/29 comments in the PACU). The study provides early, but strong evidence that the Philips Visual Patient Avatar assists healthcare providers in specific clinical situations in the perioperative and critical care settings.

[(LV)EF is a poor predictor of sudden cardiac death : Pro/Contra]. / Die (LV)EF ist ein schlechter Prädiktor für den plötzlichen Herztod : Pro/Contra.

For more than two decades the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) has been utilized with practically uncritical absolutism for the risk stratification of patients with ischemic and, historically, also nonischemic cardiomyopathy, in order to identify patients who could be threatened by sudden cardiac death. Based on historical data and in the absence of other better predictive parameters, the LVEF continues to appear in the guidelines unchanged, with cut-off values that lie in the region of the measurement accuracy of LVEF as determined by echocardiography. The basic identification of high-risk patients who then really benefit from an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) must be re-evaluated under the aspect of a meaningfully altered interventional and pharmaceutical treatment of heart failure.

Self-regulatory flexibility.

Robust associations of self-control with successful goal pursuit have been amply demonstrated. Much less is known about the psychological processes that occur when people grapple with self-control conflicts and that may contribute to successful goal pursuit. Influenced by the neighboring fields of emotion regulation and coping, self-regulatory flexibility has been identified as one of such potential processes. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of selected models of regulatory flexibility, empirical evidence on associations with self-regulatory success, and to identify avenues for future research.