Effectivity of Touch Imprint Cytology of Core Needle Biopsy in Evaluation of Breast Lesions: A Study in Changing Trends of Rapid on Site Evaluation.

Background: Touch imprint cytology (TIC) of core needle biopsy specimen is an easy method of rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) which aids in the rapid diagnosis of breast lumps by cytological analysis. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of touch imprint cytology in predicting the adequacy of needle core biopsy of breast lumps and its diagnostic accuracy for malignancy. Materials and Methods: This study was done in Burdwan Medical College over a period of two years on 80 patients who had presented with breast lumps and had given consent for core needle biopsy for diagnosis. Results: Out of 80 cases, satisfactory materials on touch imprint were obtained in 79 cases. Only one case did not yield satisfactory material and hence was excluded from the analysis. A total of 43 cases were malignant, and 36 cases were either benign or inflammatory on core needle biopsy. Thirty-seven cases were accurately diagnosed as malignant by TIC, and 35 cases were accurately diagnosed as benign by TIC. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of TIC were 86.05%, 97.22%, 97.37%, and 85.36%, respectively, and the overall accuracy was 90%. Conclusion: TIC of core needle biopsy is a rapid, reliable, and accurate method for early cytological diagnosis of symptomatic breast lesions. It can be used routinely at the site of biopsy to evaluate the adequacy of materials obtained during core needle biopsy and to plan for further workup in case of malignant breast lesions.

Highly Sensitive Dual-Mode Touch Sensing Device Using Poly(vinylidene fluoride)/Graphene Nitride for Wearable E-Skin: Patterning, High-Temperature Annealing, and Remote Data Transmission.

In recent years, significant advancements in printed electronics and flexible materials have catalyzed the development of electronic skins for wearable applications. However, the low glass transition temperature of flexible substrates poses a challenge as it is incompatible with the high-temperature annealing required for electrode fabrication, thereby limiting the performance of flexible electronic devices. In this study, we address these limitations by proposing a novel flexible device manufacturing process that combines adhesive printing patterning with a transfer printing technology. By employing poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/graphene nitride (GCN) as the transfer substrate and dielectric layer, we successfully fabricated a high-performance dual-mode touch sensor on a large scale. The successful development of this dual-mode sensor can be attributed to two key factors: the construction of a robust hydrogen-bonding network between the PVDF/GCN dielectric layer and the carbon electrode and the ability of GCN to restrict the movement of PVDF molecular chains within the dielectric layer. This restriction reduces the overall polarization of the film, enabling the formation of a complete device structure with a highly sensitive edge electric field. The noncontact sensors developed in this study are fully printable into sensor arrays and can be seamlessly integrated with internet of things technology for wearable applications. These sensors exhibit exceptional tactile response and facilitate effective human-machine interactions over extended distances, underscoring their significant potential in fields such as healthcare and artificial intelligence.

[The benefits of socio-aesthetics in psychiatry: three experiments with adolescents]. / Intérêt de la socio-esthétique en psychiatrie : trois expériences menées auprès d'adolescents.

Adolescents and young adults admitted to the Espace unit at Nantes University Hospital are offered beauty treatments. Although their situations are diverse, they consistently show a decline in self-esteem. These young patients benefit from individual hand and facial treatments, make-up sessions and group workshops.

Visual tests, touch responses: Computer-based neuropsychological tools.

Objective: Investigate three new computer tests of visual abilities relative to traditional paper-and-pencil (P&P) tests on groups with and without cerebral neurological impairment (CNI, Non-CNI) based on MRI and EEG criteria. The new tests employ an intuitive interface with audio instructions, touch responses, non-response prompts, and videography of test behavior. The Presidents Test was designed as an achievement-related measure of visual knowledge; the Railroad Test - visual perception and delayed recognition; and the Swamp Test - visual attention. Attitudes toward testing were assessed with an original Testing Experience Questionnaire (TEQ). Method: Of the 129 participants, 84 were women, 73 identified as non-White, average age 45.5 and education 14.3 years. Procedures included the new computer tests and a selection of standard neuropsychological measures including performance validity tests (PVT). Participants who failed two or three PVTs or had missing PVT data were excluded from main analyses, resulting in N = 115. Results: The new computer tests demonstrated adequate reliability. Correlations and factor analyses confirmed the computer tests as functioning in accordance with design. The Presidents Test was associated with academic achievement. The Railroad and Swamp Tests were linked to visual perception and visual attention. Correlations between computer total test duration time and traditional speed of processing tasks were modest. Computer and traditional tests demonstrated similar discriminability between CNI and Non-CNI groups. TEQ indicated positive attitudes toward testing in general, and computer testing in particular. Conclusions: The new computer tests evaluated in this study were found to be reliable, functioned to assess the designed cognitive domains, and discriminated between CNI and Non-CNI participants similarly to the traditional neuropsychological measures. Attitudes toward computer testing were favorable.

Artistic turns: laterality in paintings of kisses and embraces.

Many lateral biases exist in human behavior, often implicit and not deliberated. Romantic kissing and embracing received experimental attention in the last three decades. We investigated laterality in paintings depicting these social interactions using two methodologies to assess whether painters depicted such biases and whether these biases could be due to observers' aesthetic preferences or painters' ability in portraying naturalistic interactions. In Study 1, we inspected about 190,000 artworks available online to classify leftward and rightward biases in romantic kisses and embraces. The comparison of 103 paintings depicting clearly lateralized interactions revealed a significant rightward bias in romantic kissing (66%) and a trend toward a leftward bias (62%) for embraces, aligning with naturalistic studies of human interactions. In Study 2, 128 participants expressed their aesthetic preference between the paintings selected in Study 1 and their vertically mirrored versions. A preference for the original paintings over their mirrored versions emerged, especially when presented in the upper portion of the screen, but no significant preference for the typical lateralization of kissing and embracing was found. These findings suggest that artists' alignment with naturalistic biases could be due to familiarity and exposure to asymmetric interactions rather than observers' aesthetic preferences.

Saccades to both vision and touch are modified following adaptation but cross-modal transfers are asymmetrical.

Adaptation of reactive saccades (RS), made toward the sudden appearance of stimuli in our environment, is a plastic mechanism thought to occur at the motor level of saccade generation. As saccadic oculomotor commands integrate multisensory information in the parietal cortex and superior colliculus, adaptation of RS should occur not only towards visual but also tactile targets. In addition, saccadic adaptation in one modality (vision or touch) should transfer cross-modally. To test these predictions, we used the double-step target paradigm to adapt rightward saccades made at two different eccentricities toward the participants' index and middle fingers, identified either visually (Experiment1) or tactually (Experiment2). In each experiment, the rate of adaptation induced for the adapted modality and the rate of adaptation transfer to the non-adapted modality were compared to that measured in a control (no adaptation) session. Results revealed that touch-triggered RS can be adapted as well as visually triggered ones. Moreover, the transfer pattern was asymmetric: visual saccadic adaptation transferred fully to tactile saccades, whereas tactile saccadic adaptation, despite full generalization to non-adapted fingers, transferred only partially to visual saccades. These findings disclose that in the case of tactile saccades, adaptation can be elicited in the absence of post-saccadic visual feedback. In addition, the asymmetric adaptation transfer across sensory modalities suggests that the adaptation locus for tactile saccades may occur in part upstream of the final motor pathway common to all saccades. These findings bring new insights both on the functional loci(us) and on the error signals of RS adaptation.

Positive and negative touch differentially modulate metacognitive memory judgements for emotional stimuli.

Touch plays a crucial role in providing humans with information from the external environment and can be perceived by humans as positively or negatively valenced. It is well documented that touch can differentially influence social functions, but very little is known about how touch can modulate (meta)cognition. Utilizing a within-subject design, participants were exposed to (a) positive, (b) negative, and (c) no touch, alongside encoding of emotionally valenced (positive and negative) images. After a 20-minute delay, participants completed a Yes/No recognition task to investigate how touch influenced memory-related decision components (e.g. criterion, confidence). Results showed that, compared to the control condition, both positive and negative touch were associated with overall lower confidence ratings, a less liberal response bias and slower response times. Interestingly, for correct recognitions, only negative touch (vs. no touch) led to inappropriately lower confidence and slower response times while both confidence and response time remained unaltered in positive touch. Our findings provide the first evidence that positive and negative touch differentially interact with metacognitive memory-related decisions. Altered metacognitive judgements after being touched could have significant consequences in applied settings, such as situations of eyewitness testimony.

Humans-written versus ChatGPT-generated case reports.

AIM: Artificial intelligence, especially ChatGPT, has been used in various aspects of medicine; however, whether ChatGPT can be used in case report writing is unknown. This study aimed to provoke discussion and provide a platform for it. METHODS: I wrote a theoretical case report where cyst aspiration cured a twisted ovarian cyst (Manuscript 4). I tasked ChatGPT with generating case reports by inputting information at three different levels: (1) key message and case profile, (2) addition of key introduction information (including known facts and problems to be solved), and (3) further addition of main discussion points. These inputs resulted in the creation of Manuscripts 1-3, which were subjected to analysis. Manuscript 3, generated by ChatGPT with the deepest information input, was compared with Manuscript 4, the human-authored counterpart. RESULTS: With the least information, Manuscript 1 can stand on its own, but its content is superficial. The more detailed data input, the more readable and reasonable the manuscripts become. A human-written manuscript involves personal experience and viewpoints other than obstetrics-gynecology. CONCLUSIONS: Better input produced more reasonable and readable case reports. Human-written paper, compared with ChatGPT-generated one, can involve "human touch." Whether such human touch enriches the case report awaits further discussion. Whether ChatGPT can be used in case report writing, and if it can, to what extent, should be worthy of further study. I encourage every doctor to form their own stance towards ChatGPT use in medical writing.

"Spicy Touch": Cross-modal associations between hand-feel touch and capsaicin-induced oral irritation.

The influence of extrinsic hand-feel touch cues on consumer experiences in food and beverage consumption is well established. However, their impact on trigeminal perception, particularly the oral irritation caused by capsaicin or spicy foods, is less understood. This study aimed to determine the existence of cross-modal associations between hand-feel touch and capsaicin-induced oral irritation. This study investigated whether these potential associations were driven by the sensory contributions of the hand-feel tactile materials (measured by instrumental physical parameters) or by affective responses (evaluated through hedonic scales and the self-reported emotion questionnaire, EsSense Profile®, by consumers). In our study, 96 participants tasted a capsaicin solution while engaging with nine hand-feel tactile materials, i.e., cardboard, linen, rattan, silicone, stainless steel, sandpaper (fine), sandpaper (rough), sponge, and towel. They subsequently rated their liking and emotional responses, perceived intensity of oral irritation, and the congruency between hand-feel tactile sensation and oral irritation. Instrumental measurements characterized the surface texture of the hand-feel tactile materials, which were correlated with the collected sensory data. The results revealed that unique cross-modal associations between hand-feel touch and capsaicin-induced oral irritation. Specifically, while sandpapers demonstrated high congruence with the sensation of oral irritation, stainless steel was found to be least congruent. These associations were influenced by both the common emotional responses ("active," "aggressive," "daring," "energetic," "guilty," and "worried") evoked by the hand-feel tactile materials and the capsaicin, as well as by participants' liking for the hand-feel tactile materials and the characteristics of the surface textures. This study provides empirical evidence of the cross-modality between hand-feel tactile sensations and capsaicin-induced oral irritation, opening new avenues for future research in this area.

Donation After Circulatory Death following Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Treatments. Are We Ready to Break the Dead Donor Rule?

A fundamental criterion considered essential to deem the procedure of vital organ procurement for transplantation ethical is that the donor must be dead, as per the Dead Donor Rule (DDR). In the case of Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD), is the donor genuinely dead? The main aim of this article is to clarify this uncertainty, which primarily arises from the fact that in DCD, death is determined based on cardiac criteria (Circulatory Death, CD), rather than neurological criteria (Brain Death, BD), and that to allow the procurement procedure, physicians reperfuse the organs in an assisted manner. To ensure that the cessation of circulation leads to the irreversible loss of brain functions, DCD regulations require that physicians wait a certain period after CD before commencing vital organ procurement. However, during this "no-touch period," the organs are at risk of damage, potentially rendering them unsuitable for transplantation. When DCD is performed on patients whose CD follows a Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Treatment (WLST) (DCD Maastricht III category), how long should the no-touch period last? Does its existence really make sense? Does beginning the procedure of vital organ procurement immediately after WLST constitute a violation of the DDR that can be ethically justified? The discussion aims to provide arguments in support of the non-absoluteness of the DDR.

Artificial intelligence interpretation of touch print smear cytology of testicular specimen from patients with azoospermia.

PURPOSE: Identification of mature sperm at microdissection testicular sperm extraction (mTESE) is a crucial step of sperm retrieval to help patients with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) proceed to intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Touch print smear (TPS) cytology allows immediate interpretation and prompt sperm identification intraoperatively. In this study, we leverage machine learning (ML) to facilitate TPS reading and conquer the learning curve for new operators. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred seventy-six microscopic TPS images from the testicular specimen of patients with azoospermia at Taipei Veterans General Hospital were retrospectively collected, including categories of Sertoli cell, primary spermatocytes, round spermatids, elongated spermatids, immature sperm, and mature sperm. Among them, 118 images were assigned as the training set and 29 images as the validation set. RetinaNet (Lin et al. in IEEE Trans Pattern Anal Mach Intell. 42:318-327, 2020), a one-stage detection framework, was adopted for cell detection. The performance was evaluated at the cell level with average precision (AP) and recall, and the precision-recall (PR) curve was displayed among an independent testing set that contains 29 images that aim to assess the model. RESULTS: The training set consisted of 4772 annotated cells, including 1782 Sertoli cells, 314 primary spermatocytes, 443 round spermatids, 279 elongated spermatids, 504 immature sperm, and 1450 mature sperm. This study demonstrated the performance of each category and the overall AP and recall on the validation set, which were 80.47% and 96.69%. The overall AP and recall were 79.48% and 93.63% on the testing set, while increased to 85.29% and 93.80% once the post-meiotic cells were merged into one category. CONCLUSIONS: This study proposed an innovative approach that leveraged ML methods to facilitate the diagnosis of spermatogenesis at mTESE for patients with NOA. With the assistance of ML techniques, surgeons could determine the stages of spermatogenesis and provide timely histopathological diagnosis for infertile males.

Fingertip light touch contact increases anteroposterior limits of stability in healthy young and older adults.

BACKGROUND: The limit of stability (LoS), an index of stance balance ability, is reduced in older adults. Although contacting an earth-fixed external surface through fingertips' light touch improves older adults' stance balance control, its effects on the LoS in this population are unclear. RESEARCH QUESTION: Does light touch increase the LoS and reduce postural sway in the LoS? METHODS: This study included 20 young adults (11 women and 9 men, mean age = 20.6 years) and 15 community-dwelling older adults (8 women and 7 men, mean age = 74.5 years). The position and path length of the center of pressure (CoP) during quiet standing (QS) and the anterior and posterior LoS (A-LoS and P-LoS, respectively) were measured using a force platform under two touch conditions (no-touch condition and light-touch condition). In light-touch condition, participants placed the tip of their dominant index finger on a load cell, which had an applied force of <1 N. RESULTS: In both touch conditions, the older group had a more limited CoP position in the anteroposterior LoS and a longer CoP path length in the QS and LoS than the younger group. In both participant groups, the light-touch condition showed a wider CoP position in the anteroposterior LoS and a shorter CoP path length in the QS and LoS than the no-touch condition. SIGNIFICANCE: Light touch increases the anteroposterior LoS and decreases postural sway in the LoS. Therefore, contacting an external object by fingertips' light touch may be an effective training protocol to increase the LoS in older adults.

Transformation of neural coding for vibrotactile stimuli along the ascending somatosensory pathway.

In mammals, action potentials fired by rapidly adapting mechanosensitive afferents are known to reliably time lock to the cycles of a vibration. How and where along the ascending neuraxis is the peripheral afferent temporal code transformed into a rate code are currently not clear. Here, we probed the encoding of vibrotactile stimuli with electrophysiological recordings along major stages of the ascending somatosensory pathway in mice. We discovered the main transformation step was identified at the level of the thalamus, and parvalbumin-positive interneurons in thalamic reticular nucleus participate in sharpening frequency selectivity and in disrupting the precise spike timing. When frequency-specific microstimulation was applied within the brainstem, it generated frequency selectivity reminiscent of real vibration responses in the somatosensory cortex and could provide informative and robust signals for learning in behaving mice. Taken together, these findings could guide biomimetic stimulus strategies to activate specific nuclei along the ascending somatosensory pathway for neural prostheses.

The effect of therapeutic touch on colic symptoms in infantile colic infants: A randomised controlled study.

AIM: This study aimed to examine the effects of therapeutic touch (TT) on infantile colic symptoms (Infant Colic Scale (ICS) score, crying time and sleep time). METHODS: This randomised controlled trial included infants aged 4-12 weeks diagnosed with infantile colic in a pediatric unit of a hospital. Infants were assigned to intervention or control groups using a stratified randomisation method. The intervention group received TT sessions six times, 3 days a week, in addition to usual care for 2 weeks. The control group received the usual care. Data were collected using Mother-Infant Information Form, ICS, Crying and Sleep Time Follow-Up Forms. The infants were followed up for two weeks. RESULTS: A total of 64 infants who met the criteria were included in the study, including intervention (n = 32) and control (n = 32) groups. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups (intervention and control) in terms of ICS scores (U = 4.5; P < 0.001; d = 3.252; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.505-3.999), crying time (F = 57.097; ŋp 2 = 0.461; P < 0.001) and sleep time (F = 17.884; ŋp 2 = 0.211; P < 0.001). When the intervention group was compared with the control group at all time points, the size of the effect (group × time interaction) was found to be high. CONCLUSIONS: TT effectively relieved symptoms, decreased crying time and increased sleep time in infants with infantile colic. TT is recommended to relieve colic in infants.

Transfer and recovery of DNA and metal particles: A proof-of-concept application of a parallel strategy by DNA and environmental scanning electron microscopy analysis.

According to the principle of Locard "Every contact leaves a trace", when touching a surface, a bi-directional transfer of self and non-self-DNA residing on the hands and touched objects can occur. Metals are commonly encountered in forensic evidence and, during hand contact with these surfaces, a transfer of metal particles could occur together with the transfer of human DNA. This study proposes a proof-concept approach for the original detection of metal particles and touch DNA to track the activity performed by a donor and particularly to assess the metallic substrate touched before the contact with a subsequent surface. To this scope, a scenario of contact events was simulated by three volunteers, who participated in fingerprint deposition firstly on copper and then on plastic and glass surfaces. Twenty-four stubs were collected on the hands of volunteers and the secondary surfaces and then analyzed by environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). DNA was quantified only from copper and plastic surfaces. Ten additional volunteers followed the same protocol of deposition on copper and then on plastic surfaces to evaluate DNA transfer only. On 20 touch DNA samples, the copper surface yielded significantly lower DNA amounts, ranging from 0.001 to 0.129 ng/µl, compared to the secondary touched plastic surface, ranging from 0.007 to 0.362 ng/µl. ESEM-EDS analysis showed that copper particles could be abundantly detected on the hands of the volunteers after contact with the copper surface. Particles containing silicates with copper were shown on plastic, while they were only found in 1/3 of samples on glass. Our proof-of-concept study has shown that ESEM-EDS analysis has the potential to detect copper particles transferred to the hands of volunteers during contact with a copper metallic surface and deposited on secondarily touched items. The results suggest that this original ESEM-DNA parallel approach could potentially allow the tracking of DNA transfer and metal particles at a crime scene, although this represents only a first step and further research on a wider casuistry could help to address the interpretation of results given activity level propositions.

Insecure Attachment, Oxytocinergic System and C-Tactile Fibers: An Integrative and Translational Pathophysiological Model of Fibromyalgia and Central Sensitivity Syndromes.

Although the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia syndrome has been better understood in recent decades, a unified model of its pathogenesis and an effective therapeutic approach are still far from being realized. The main aim of this article will be to delve into the fundamental mechanisms of the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia conceptualized as stress intolerance syndrome. Using the biopsychosocial model of chronic pain syndromes, we will describe the potential role of the attachment system, C-tactile fibers, and oxytocinergic system dysfunction in the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia syndrome and other central sensitivity syndromes. At the end of the article, the therapeutic implications of this new global and translational pathophysiological model will be briefly discussed.

Development and validation of the Social Touch Experiences and Attitudes Questionnaire-Chinese version (STEAQ-C): How interpersonal touch relates to subclinical traits and symptoms.

Social touch has a vital role in human development and psychological well-being. However, there is a lack of measures assessing individual differences in social touch experiences and attitudes, especially under Eastern cultures. This study developed the Social Touch Experiences and Attitudes Questionnaire - Chinese version (STEAQ-C) and examined its psychometric properties with healthy young Chinese adults. In Study 1, an item pool was generated and principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify the factor structure of the STEAQ. Study 2 recruited an independent sample and examined its reliability and validity. Network analysis further explored the interrelations between social touch and a variety of subclinical traits and symptoms. PCA identified four factors of the STEAQ-C, relating to childhood touch experiences, current touch with intimate partners, with family and friends, and with unfamiliar people. Study 2 confirmed the four-factor structure and upheld its internal consistency and stability. Positive attitudes towards and greater experiences of social touch were negatively correlated with sensory over-responsiveness and sensory hyposensitivity, as well as childhood trauma particularly emotional neglect, supporting the convergent validity. Evidence of criterion-related validity was accrued via its concurrent and predictive associations with secure attachment style, higher levels of social competence, and lower levels of social anxiety. Network analysis highlighted altered perception of social touch may be a shared feature for psychiatric conditions with social dysfunctions (e.g., autism, social anxiety and negative schizotypy). The newly-developed STEAQ-C may be a timely tool in assessing social touch experiences and attitudes under Eastern cultures.

Infant neural sensitivity to affective touch is associated with maternal postpartum depression.

Classic attachment theory emphasizes the sensitivity of the parent to perceive and appropriately respond to the infant's cues. However, parent-child attachment is a dyadic interaction that is also dependent upon the sensitivity of the child to the early caregiving environment. Individual differences in infant sensitivity to parental cues is likely shaped by both the early caregiving environment as well as the infant's neurobiology, such as perceptual sensitivity to social stimuli. Here, we investigated associations between maternal postpartum depression and infant neurological sensitivity to affective touch using brain signal entropy - a metric of the brain's moment-to-moment variability related to signal processing. We recruited two independent samples of infants aged 0-5 months. In Sample 1 (n = 79), we found increased levels of maternal postpartum depression were associated with diminished perceptual sensitivity - i.e. lower entropy - to affective tactile stimulation specifically within the primary somatosensory cortex. In Sample 2 (n = 36), we replicated this finding and showed that this effect was not related to characteristics of the touch administered during the experiment. These results suggest that decreased affective touch early in life - a common consequence of postpartum depression - likely impacts the infant's perceptual sensitivity to affective touch and ultimately the formation of experience-dependent neural networks that support the successful formation of attachment relationships.

Infant neural sensitivity to affective touch is associated with maternal postpartum depression.

Classic attachment theory emphasizes the sensitivity of the parent to perceive and appropriately respond to the infant's cues. However, parent-child attachment is a dyadic interaction that is also dependent upon the sensitivity of the child to the early caregiving environment. Individual differences in infant sensitivity to parental cues is likely shaped by both the early caregiving environment as well as the infant's neurobiology, such as perceptual sensitivity to social stimuli. Here, we investigated associations between maternal postpartum depression and infant neurological sensitivity to affective touch using brain signal entropy - a metric of the brain's moment-to-moment variability related to signal processing. We recruited two independent samples of infants aged 0-5 months. In Sample 1 (n=79), we found increased levels of maternal postpartum depression were associated with diminished perceptual sensitivity - i.e. lower entropy - to affective tactile stimulation specifically within the primary somatosensory cortex. In Sample 2 (n=36), we replicated this finding and showed that this effect was not related to characteristics of the touch administered during the experiment. These results suggest that decreased affective touch early in life - a common consequence of postpartum depression - likely impacts the infant's perceptual sensitivity to affective touch and ultimately the formation of experience-dependent neural networks that support the successful formation of attachment relationships.

A coupled hand and surface hygiene criterion on heterogeneous surface touch networks.

Contaminated hands of people and contaminated surfaces of inanimate objects (fomites) can spread microbes that cause enteric and respiratory infections. Thus, hand hygiene and surface hygiene are probably the most widely adopted public health interventions for controlling such infections. However, conclusions of studies on the effectiveness of these interventions are often inconsistent, likely because such studies have examined these interventions separately and thus not detected their interactions, leading to differing conclusions about their individual impact. In this study, it is proposed that hand and environmental surface hygiene (including disinfection) should be coupled to control contamination spread between surfaces, especially within heterogeneous surface touch networks. In these networks, surfaces and individuals have varying contact frequencies and patterns, reflecting the diverse and non-uniform interactions that typically occur in real-world environments. Accordingly, we propose a new theoretical framework to delineate the relationships between hand hygiene and surface hygiene. In addition, the performance of a model based on this framework that used real-world behavioural data from a graduate student office is reported. Moreover, a coupled hygiene criterion for heterogeneous networks is derived. This criterion stipulates that the product of the pathogen-removal rates for hands and surfaces must exceed a cleaning threshold to ensure the exponential decay of contamination. Failure to meet this threshold results in a non-zero steady prevalence of contamination. Furthermore, the cleaning threshold increases as the numbers of surfaces and hands increase, highlighting the significant impact of network structures on hygiene practices. Thus, extensive cleaning may be necessary in crowded indoor environments with many surfaces and occupants, such as cruise ships, to prevent super-large outbreaks of, for example, noroviral infections. Overall, the findings of this study reveal how improved and integrated hygiene control can prevent fomite transmission.