Speculum-free portable preterm imaging system.

Significance: Preterm birth is defined as a birth before 37 weeks of gestation and is one of the leading contributors to infant mortality rates globally. Premature birth can lead to life-long developmental impairment for the child. Unfortunately, there is a significant lack of tools to diagnose preterm birth risk, which limits patient care and the development of new therapies. Aim: To develop a speculum-free, portable preterm imaging system (PPRIM) for cervical imaging; testing of the PPRIM system to resolve polarization properties of birefringent samples; and testing of the PPRIM under an IRB on healthy, non-pregnant volunteers for visualization and polarization analysis of cervical images. Approach: The PPRIM can perform 4×3 Mueller-matrix imaging to characterize the remodeling of the uterine cervix during pregnancy. The PPRIM is built with a polarized imaging probe and a flexible insertable sheath made with a compatible flexible rubber-like material to maximize comfort and ease of use. Results: The PPRIM device is developed to meet specific design specifications as a speculum-free, portable, and comfortable imaging system with polarized imaging capabilities. This system comprises a main imaging component and a flexible silicone inserter. The inserter is designed to maximize comfort and usability for the patient. The PPRIM shows high-resolution imaging capabilities at the 20 mm working distance and 25 mm circular field of view. The PPRIM demonstrates the ability to resolve birefringent sample orientation and full field capture of a healthy, non-pregnant cervix. Conclusion: The development of the PPRIM aims to improve access to the standard of care for women's reproductive health using polarized Mueller-matrix imaging of the cervix and reduce infant and maternal mortality rates and better quality of life.

Integrating artificial intelligence to assess emotions in learning environments: a systematic literature review.

Introduction: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming multiple sectors within our society, including education. In this context, emotions play a fundamental role in the teaching-learning process given that they influence academic performance, motivation, information retention, and student well-being. Thus, the integration of AI in emotional assessment within educational environments offers several advantages that can transform how we understand and address the socio-emotional development of students. However, there remains a lack of comprehensive approach that systematizes advancements, challenges, and opportunities in this field. Aim: This systematic literature review aims to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) is used to evaluate emotions within educational settings. We provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of research, focusing on advancements, challenges, and opportunities in the domain of AI-driven emotional assessment within educational settings. Method: The review involved a search across the following academic databases: Pubmed, Web of Science, PsycINFO and Scopus. Forty-one articles were selected that meet the established inclusion criteria. These articles were analyzed to extract key insights related to the integration of AI and emotional assessment within educational environments. Results: The findings reveal a variety of AI-driven approaches that were developed to capture and analyze students' emotional states during learning activities. The findings are summarized in four fundamental topics: (1) emotion recognition in education, (2) technology integration and learning outcomes, (3) special education and assistive technology, (4) affective computing. Among the key AI techniques employed are machine learning and facial recognition, which are used to assess emotions. These approaches demonstrate promising potential in enhancing pedagogical strategies and creating adaptive learning environments that cater to individual emotional needs. The review identified emerging factors that, while important, require further investigation to understand their relationships and implications fully. These elements could significantly enhance the use of AI in assessing emotions within educational settings. Specifically, we are referring to: (1) federated learning, (2) convolutional neural network (CNN), (3) recurrent neural network (RNN), (4) facial expression databases, and (5) ethics in the development of intelligent systems. Conclusion: This systematic literature review showcases the significance of AI in revolutionizing educational practices through emotion assessment. While advancements are evident, challenges related to accuracy, privacy, and cross-cultural validity were also identified. The synthesis of existing research highlights the need for further research into refining AI models for emotion recognition and emphasizes the importance of ethical considerations in implementing AI technologies within educational contexts.

Social movements and collective behavior: an integration of meta-analysis and systematic review of social psychology studies.

Background: The impact of social movements (SMs) and collective behavior (CB) supports the relevance of approaching this phenomenon from social psychology. Several systematic reviews (10) and meta-analyses (6) have been carried out in the 21st century, but there is a lack of integration. Aim: This study seeks to review the patterns of CB and corroborate the psychosocial factors that explain participation in CB and SMs, as well as the long-term psychological effects of participating in them. Method: A systematic search was carried out in the databases Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, Willey Online Library, EBSCO, and JSTOR for articles dated between 1969 and 2022. We searched for meta-analyses and systematic reviews that empirically evaluated social movements and collective behavior. Of the 494 initial records, after scanning and eligibility phases, 16 meta-analyses and systematic reviews were analyzed in the present work. Results: The evidence reviewed shows that participation in collective gatherings and CB are common. A cross-cultural survey suggests that collective gatherings are mostly of a leisure type, to a lesser extent religious and sporting, and to an even lesser extent, demonstrations and large religious rites. World Value surveys found that one to three persons out of 10 participate in protests or CB related to SMs and four out of 10 movements achieved some kind of success. Studies challenged that CBs were characterized by unanimity of beliefs, identification and behavior, generalized excitement, as well as mass panic and riot after catastrophes. Only two out of 10 CB are violent. Meta-analysis and systematic reviews confirm that participation in CB and SMs was associated with (a) intergroup conflict and realistic threat (r = 0.30); (b) positive attitudes, expectations, or agreement with goals or collective motive (r = 0.44); (c) cognitive fraternal relative deprivation (r = 0.25); (d) collective efficacy (r = 0.36); (e) collective identity (r = 0.34); (f) emotions and affective relative deprivation (r = 0.35); (g) moral conviction and threat to moral (r = 0.29); and (h) disagreement with system justification belief (r = -0.26). Participation in successful CB and SMs provokes positive changes in emotions, social identity and social relationships, values and beliefs, and empowerment, as well as negative effects such as depression, stress, burnout, and disempowerment related to the failures of SMs. Conclusion: Studies confirm the importance of explanatory factors for SMs, with data from various cultural regions. There is a lack of systematic studies of CB as well as meta-analyses and more culturally diverse studies of the effects of participation in them.

COVID-19 in School Teachers: Job Satisfaction and Burnout through the Job Demands Control Model.

The recent pandemic has influenced teachers' mental health and well-being. The present work follows the Job-Demands-Control model, analyzing changes in the demands, control, and social support during COVID-19, and how they influence job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment among school teachers. The sample comprised 172 school teachers. The instruments applied were The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), The Job Satisfaction Teacher Index (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2014), and The Demand Control Support Questionnaire (DCSQ). Job satisfaction was predicted exclusively by social support, revealing the importance of social interactions at work. Emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were predicted by job demands, showing that an increase in job demands (i.e., COVID) affects individuals' feelings of burnout. The results show that it would be interesting to design strategies that guarantee job control in the teaching context. This would open multiple pathways to implement healthier methodological processes for teachers and the consequent research to support these processes.

Cervical Imaging in the Low Resource Setting: A Review.

Cervical cancer is one of the most significant global health inequities of our time and is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, disproportionally affecting developing countries where the disease burden is 84%. Sometimes referred to as preventable cancer, it progresses slowly, providing a window of time for routine screening in which pre-cancerous lesions can be identified and treated. The high mortality rate can be attributed to many reasons, including the high cost of cytology-based screening, lack of human resources to conduct screening, and inadequate preventive medicine services and systems. Due to its slow progression, early intervention is feasible with appropriate screening. However, the standard screening procedures require access to lab-based tests and physician expertise. Several imaging devices have been introduced in the literature to aid cervical screening in low-resource settings. This review details the instrumentation and clinical testing of devices currently deployed in low-resource locations worldwide. The devices' imaging, portability, illumination, and power requirements (among other metrics) are documented with specifics of human pilot studies conducted with these tools.

Emptiness in the study of emotions in the teaching-learning process of reading-writing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The teaching-learning process of reading and writing has great relevance in the psycho-emotional and socio-psychological development of school-age children. This is an exercise in which they develop imagination, attention and memory capacity and through this process the management of emotions and sensitivity and capacity of apprehension of reality. The crisis derived from the COVID-19 pandemic transformed reality in an unprecedented way in the recent history of humanity and the educational context was shaken by all these changes. With confinement, the teaching-learning process of reading and writing, which is designed to take place in person, had to be developed in a hybrid or online way, which was a major challenge for teachers and families and, of course, also for children who were in the process of learning. One of the aspects that was blurred in this context was the role of the teacher, which in this case is one of the most important elements, to achieve adequate learning of reading and writing. On one hand, the teacher is in charge of helping to manage the emotions derived from the learning process itself and, on the other hand, he is a key figure so that this is not only technical learning but also contributes to the child's socio-emotional development. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of the socio-psychological changes that have occurred in the educational context since the COVID-19 pandemic on the emotions linked to the teaching process, learning of reading and writing through a systematic review of the studies carried out on the subject, in order to provide recommendations for face-to-face learning in the post-COVID-19 era. A systematic review strategy was devised and the literature search was conducted. The search was conducted using ERIC, Dialnet, Scopus, WoS, EBSCO, and Google Scholar databases. This systematic review took place during the month of May 2022. The results show that given the scarce presence of empirical studies on the subject, the objective has only been partially met. However, a systematic review of the studies carried out on the subject. For the identification of recommendations in the development of face-to-face learning in the post-covid era, it has been possible to identify some ideas of interest for future curricular designs in primary school students who are immersed in learning to read and write.

Skin optical properties in the obese and their relation to body mass index: a review.

SIGNIFICANCE: Obesity is a worldwide epidemic contributing directly to several cardiovascular risk factors including hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Wearable devices are becoming better at quantifying biomarkers relevant for the management of health and fitness. Unfortunately, both anecdotal evidence and recent studies indicate that some wearables have higher levels of error when utilized by populations with darker skin tones and high body mass index (BMI). There is an urgent need for a better evaluation of the limits of wearable health technologies when used by obese individuals. AIMS: (1) To review the current know-how on changes due to obesity in the skin epidermis, dermis, and subcutis that could affect the skin optical properties; (2) for the green wavelength range, to evaluate the difference in absorption and scattering coefficients from the abdominal skin between individuals with and without elevated BMI. The changes include alterations in layer thickness and cell size, as well as significant differences in chromophores and scatterer content, e.g., water, hemoglobin, collagen, and lipids. APPROACH: We have summarized literature pertaining to changes in skin and its components in obesity and report the results of our search using articles published between years 1971 and 2020. A linear model was used to demonstrate the absorption and reduced scattering coefficient of the abdominal skin of individuals with and without elevated BMI in the green wavelength range (530 to 550 nm) that is typically found in most wearables. RESULTS: The general trends indicate a decrease in absorption for both dermis and subcutis and an increase in reduced scattering for both epidermis and dermis. At 544-nm wavelength, a typical wavelength used for photoplethysmography (PPG), the absorption coefficient's relative percentage difference between high and low BMI skin, was 49% in the subcutis, 19% in the dermis, and negligible in the epidermis, whereas the reduced scattering coefficient relative difference was 21%, 29%, and 165% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that there could be significant errors in the output of optical devices used for monitoring health and fitness if changes due to obesity are not accounted for in their design.

Effect of a 6-Week Physical Education Intervention on Motor Competence in Pre-School Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder.

The objective of this research was to analyze the impact of an intervention program performed by a specialist in physical education (PE) to contribute to the development of motor competence (MC) in pre-school children with motor development problems. The sample consisted of 28 children (12 from the intervention group and 16 from the control group) aged between 4.1 and 5.9 years (mean = 4.71 ± 0.54) who were in the fifth and sixth grades of pre-school education in two schools from Lugo, Spain. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2) was used for data collection. The data revealed that, in the pre- and post-test intervention groups, there are statistically significant differences in manual dexterity (p < 0.001; d = 2.63), aiming and catching (p < 0.002; d = 1.13), balance (p < 0.001; d = 1.68), total test score (p < 0.001; d = 3.30) and total percentile score (p < 0.001; d = 1.88). Between the control and intervention post-test groups, significant differences were found in manual dexterity (p = 0.015; η2 = 0.22), aiming and catching (p = 0.003; η2 = 0.32), balance (p = 0.050; η2 = 0.15), total test score (p < 0.001; η2 = 0.47) and total percentile score (p < 0.001; η2 = 0.48). Based on the results obtained, a specific MC program implemented by a PE specialist contributed to the improvement of manual dexterity, aiming and catching and balance, as well as a better percentile in the general MC of pre-school children diagnosed with motor skill problems.

Is Quarter of Birth a Risk Factor for Developmental Coordinator Disorder in Preschool Children?

The purpose of this study was to determine the probability that preschool children have severe motor difficulties or are at risk of motor difficulties, according to quarter of birth and gender. Five hundred and eighty-eight preschool-age children were evaluated, of which 318 (54.08%) were boys and 270 (45.92%) were girls, with a mean age of 4.66 years (SD = 0.53). The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2) was used to collect the data. The results obtained were the following: Regarding students with severe motor difficulties: 6.7% born in quarter 1 (Q1); 13.3% born in the second quarter (Q2); 20.0% born in the third quarter (Q3); and 60.0% born in the fourth quarter (Q4). The probabilities found (OR) were: Q1 vs. Q2 (OR = 3.15; p < 0.05); Q1 vs. Q3 (OR = 4.68; p < 0.005); Q1 vs. Q4 (OR = 12.40; p < 0.001); Q2 vs. Q4 (OR = 4.04; p < 0.001); and Q3 vs. Q4 (OR = 2.65; p < 0.005). The adjusted ORs, with respect to the probabilities of having severe motor difficulties, were the following: Being born in Q4 is 13.03 times more likely than being born in Q1 (p < 0.001); those born in Q3 are 4.85 times more likely than those born in Q1 (p < 0.05); and those born in Q2 4.14 times more than those born in Q1 (p < 0.05). The conclusion is that children born in Q4 are more likely to be classified as children with severe difficulties compared to children born in the other quarters of the same year.

Instruments to Assess Physical Activity in Primary Education Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review.

The scientific evidence supports that physical inactivity in childhood is a reality throughout the world which generates important consequences in the global development of children. Young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), due to the characteristics of the disorder they suffer, constitute a group at risk. Therefore, assessing the levels of physical activity (PA) in this group is fundamental for subsequent decision making and implementation of PA promotion programmes. Consequently, the aim of this systematic review was to identify, summarise and analyse the main instruments used to assess the levels of PA (in terms of time and/or intensity) in primary school children diagnosed with ASD. Scientific articles in English and Spanish published in five databases were reviewed: PsycINFO, WOS, SPORTDiscus, Scopus and PubMed, following the guidelines of the PRISMA statement. Out of the 605 articles identified, 12 met the previously established inclusion criteria. The instruments used by the studies analysed were divided into two main groups: accelerometers and questionnaires. Both showed different strengths and limitations but agreed on the low levels registered of PA in children with ASD. For this reason, it is considered necessary that further research be carried out in this field, as well as the development and implementation of sports programmes adjusted and adapted to the needs and characteristics of the ASD group.

Perceptions of the Body and Body Dissatisfaction in Primary Education Children According to Gender and Age. A Cross-Sectional Study.

Body image (BI) is a trending topic of study since health problems derived from a negative perception of the body are increasing and affecting people of all ages, with an increasing incidence among children from the age of eight. The objective of this study was to evaluate the current perception of the body against the desired body and the degree of body satisfaction of Galician primary education students. A total of 355 students (167 boys (47%)) between 9 and 12 years old participated (mean = 10.53; SD = 0.84). Sociodemographic data (sex, age, height, and weight) were collected, and the Figure Rating Scale was used. There are statistically significant differences between boys and girls in the current perceived figure (p = 0.003) and in the desired figure (p < 0.001). Depending on age, the differences were in current (p = 0.010) and desired (p = 0.021) body perception. In conclusion, boys perceive themselves as having a larger figure than girls do, but this perception is far from reality according to the body mass index. For the desired figure, both boys and girls want to be slimmer, but girls want a slimmer figure. Regarding age, the current perceived figure size increases with age as it increases in those students dissatisfied with their body.

Design and implementation of a portable colposcope Mueller matrix polarimeter.

SIGNIFICANCE: Mueller matrix polarimetry can provide useful information about the function and structure of the extracellular matrix. A portable and low-cost system could facilitate the clinical assessment of cervical anomalies in low-resource settings. AIM: We introduce a low-cost snapshot Mueller matrix polarimeter that does not require external power, has no moving parts, and can acquire a full Mueller matrix in ∼1 s, to conduct a feasibility study for cervical imaging in the low-resource setting. APPROACH: A snapshot system based on two sets of Savart plates, a ring illuminator with polarizing elements (generating four polarization states), and one camera is introduced. Stokes vectors are formulated to recover the polarization properties of the sample. Then, using Mueller matrix decomposition, the depolarization and retardance information is extracted. RESULTS: We report the results on 16 healthy individuals (out of 22 patients imaged), whose Pap smear showed no malignant findings from mobile clinics in rural region of Mysore, India. The depolarization and retardance information was in agreement with previous reports. CONCLUSIONS: We introduce an imaging system and conducted a feasibility study on healthy individuals. This work could futurely translate into diagnostic applications to provide a quantitative platform in the clinical environment (e.g., cervical cancer screening).

Optical phantoms for biomedical polarimetry: a review.

Calibration, quantification, and standardization of the polarimetric instrumentation, as well as interpretation and understanding of the obtained data, require the development and use of well-calibrated phantoms and standards. We reviewed the status of tissue phantoms for a variety of applications in polarimetry; more than 500 papers are considered. We divided the phantoms into five groups according to their origin (biological/nonbiological) and fundamental polarimetric properties of retardation, depolarization, and diattenuation. We found that, while biological media are generally depolarizing, retarding, and diattenuating, only one of all the phantoms reviewed incorporated all these properties, and few considered at least combined retardation and depolarization. Samples derived from biological tissue, such as tendon and muscle, remain extremely popular to quickly ascertain a polarimetric system, but do not provide quantifiable results aside from relative direction of their principal optical axis. Microspheres suspensions are the most utilized phantoms for depolarization, and combined with theoretical models can offer true quantification of depolarization or degree of polarization. There is a real paucity of birefringent phantoms despite the retardance being one of the most interesting parameters measurable with polarization techniques. Therefore, future work should be directed at generating truly reliable and repeatable phantoms for this metric determination. Diattenuating phantoms are rare and application-specific. Given that diattenuation is considered to be low in most biological tissues, the lack of such phantoms is seen as less problematic. The heterogeneity of the phantoms reviewed points to a critical need for standardization in this field. Ultimately, all research groups involved in polarimetric studies and instruments development would benefit from sharing a limited set of standardized polarimetric phantoms, as is done earlier in the round robin investigations in ellipsometry.

Use of Mueller matrix colposcopy in the characterization of cervical collagen anisotropy.

Annually, about 15 million preterm infants are born in the world. Of these, due to complications resulting from their premature birth, about 1 million would die before the age of five. Since the high incidence of preterm birth (PTB) is partially due to the lack of effective diagnostic modalities, methodologies are needed to determine risk of PTB. We propose a noninvasive tool based on polarized light imaging aimed at measuring the organization of collagen in the cervix. Cervical collagen has been shown to remodel with the approach of parturition. We used a full-field Mueller matrix polarimetric colposcope to assess and compare cervical collagen content and structure in nonpregnant and pregnant women in vivo. Local collagen directional azimuth was used and a total of eight cervices were imaged.

Use of Mueller matrix polarimetry and optical coherence tomography in the characterization of cervical collagen anisotropy.

Preterm birth (PTB) presents a serious medical health concern throughout the world. There is a high incidence of PTB in both developed and developing countries ranging from 11% to 15%, respectively. Recent research has shown that cervical collagen orientation and distribution changes during pregnancy may be useful in predicting PTB. Polarization imaging is an effective means to measure optical anisotropy in birefringent materials, such as the cervix's extracellular matrix. Noninvasive, full-field Mueller matrix polarimetry (MMP) imaging methodologies, and optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging were used to assess cervical collagen content and structure in nonpregnant porcine cervices. We demonstrate that the highly ordered structure of the nonpregnant porcine cervix can be observed with MMP. Furthermore, when utilized ex vivo, OCT and MMP yield very similar results with a mean error of 3.46% between the two modalities.