Public perception of psychiatry, psychology and mental health professionals: a 15-year analysis.

Background: X (previously known as "Twitter") serves as a platform for open discussions on mental health, providing an avenue for scrutinizing public perspectives regarding psychiatry, psychology and their associated professionals. Objective: To analyze the conversations happening on X about psychiatrists, psychologists, and their respective disciplines to understand how the public perception of these professionals and specialties has evolved over the last 15 years. Methods: We collected and analyzed all tweets posted in English or Spanish between 2007 and 2023 referring to psychiatry, psychology, neurology, mental health, psychiatrist, psychologist, or neurologist using advance topic modelling and sentiment analysis. Results: A total of 403,767 tweets were analyzed, 155,217 (38%) were in English and 248,550 (62%) in Spanish. Tweets about mental health and mental health professionals and disciplines showed a consistent volume between 2011 and 2016, followed by a gradual increase from 2016 through 2022. The proportion of tweets discussing mental health doubled from 2016 to 2022, increasing from 20% to 67% in Spanish and from 15% to 45% in English. Several differences were observed on the volume of tweets overtime depending on the language they were written. Users associated each term with varied topics, such as seeking for help and recommendation for therapy, self-help resources, medication and side effects, suicide prevention, mental health in times of crisis, among others. The number of tweets mentioning these topics increased by 5-10% from 2016 to 2022, indicating a growing interest among the population. Emotional analysis showed most of the topics were associated with fear and anger. Conclusion: The increasing trend in discussions about mental health and the related professionals and disciplines over time may signify an elevated collective awareness of mental health. Gaining insights into the topics around these matters and user's corresponding emotions towards them presents an opportunity to combat the stigma surrounding mental health more effectively.

Evaluation of tracheal intubations in a paediatric intensive care unit.

INTRODUCTION: Tracheal intubation is a frequent procedure in paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) that carries a risk of complications that can increase morbidity and mortality. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Prospective, longitudinal, observational study in patients intubated in a level III PICU between January and December 2020. We analysed the risk factors associated with failed intubation and adverse events. RESULTS: The analysis included 48 intubations. The most frequent indication for intubation was hypoxaemic respiratory failure (25%). The first attempt was successful in 60.4% of intubations, without differences between procedures performed by staff physicians and resident physicians (62.5% vs 56.3%; P = .759). Difficulty in bag-mask ventilation was associated with failed intubation in the first attempt (P = .028). Adverse events occurred in 12.5% of intubations, and severe events in 8.3%, including 1 case of cardiac arrest, 2 cases of severe hypotension and 1 of oesophageal intubation with delayed recognition. None of the patients died. Making multiple attempts was significantly associated with adverse events (P < .002). Systematic preparation of the procedure with cognitive aids and role allocation was independently associated with a lower incidence of adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: In critically ill children, first-attempt intubation failure is common and associated with difficulty in bag-mask ventilation. A significant percentage of intubations may result in serious adverse events. The implementation of intubation protocols could decrease the incidence of adverse events.

Evaluación de las intubaciones endotraqueales en una unidad de cuidados intensivos pediátricos / Evaluation of tracheal intubations in a paediatric intensive care unit

Introducción: La intubación traqueal es un procedimiento frecuente en las unidades de cuidados intensivos pediátricos con riesgo de complicaciones que pueden aumentar la morbimortalidad. Pacientes y métodos: Estudio descriptivo y analítico de una cohorte prospectiva que incluye a los pacientes intubados en una unidad de cuidados intensivos pediátricos de tercer nivel entre enero y diciembre de 2020, analizando los factores asociados con el fracaso de intubación y los efectos adversos. Resultados: Se analizaron 48 intubaciones. La indicación más frecuente fue el fallo respiratorio hipoxémico (25%). El primer intento de intubación fue exitoso en el 60,4%, sin diferencias entre los médicos adjuntos y los residentes (62,5 vs. 56,3%; p=0,759). La dificultad en la ventilación con bolsa y mascarilla se asoció con el fracaso del primer intento de intubación (p=0,028). Se objetivaron eventos adversos en un 12,5% de las intubaciones, siendo graves en un 8,3% de los casos, incluyendo una parada cardiorrespiratoria, 2 casos de hipotensión grave y una intubación esofágica detectada de forma tardía. Ninguno de los pacientes falleció. Los intentos múltiples de intubación se asociaron significativamente con la aparición de eventos adversos (p<0,002). La preparación sistemática del procedimiento con ayudas cognitivas y asignación de los papeles del equipo se relacionó de forma independiente con un menor número de eventos adversos. Conclusiones: El éxito en el primer intento de intubación en niños en estado crítico es bajo y se relaciona con la dificultad de ventilación con bolsa y mascarilla. En un porcentaje significativo pueden presentar efectos adversos graves. La utilización de protocolos puede disminuir el número de eventos adversos. (AU)

Introduction: Tracheal intubation is a frequent procedure in paediatric intensive care units that carries a risk of complications that can increase morbidity and mortality. Patients and methods: Prospective, longitudinal, observational study in patients intubated in a level iii paediatric intensive care unit between January and December 2020. We analysed the risk factors associated with failed intubation and adverse events. Results: The analysis included 48 intubations. The most frequent indication for intubation was hypoxaemic respiratory failure (25%). The first attempt was successful in 60.4% of intubations, without differences between procedures performed by staff physicians and resident physicians (62.5 vs. 56.3%; P=.759). Difficulty in bag-mask ventilation was associated with failed intubation in the first attempt (P=.028). Adverse events occurred in 12.5% of intubations, and severe events in 8.3%, including one case of cardiac arrest, 2 cases of severe hypotension and one of oesophageal intubation with delayed recognition. None of the patients died. Making multiple attempts was significantly associated with adverse events (P<.002). Systematic preparation of the procedure with cognitive aids and role allocation was independently associated with a lower incidence of adverse events. Conclusions: In critically ill children, first-attempt intubation failure is common and associated with difficulty in bag-mask ventilation. A significant percentage of intubations may result in serious adverse events. The implementation of intubation protocols could decrease the incidence of adverse events. (AU)

A Microfluidic Human Model of Blood-Brain Barrier Employing Primary Human Astrocytes.

The neurovascular unit (NVU) is the most important biological barrier between vascular districts and central nervous system (CNS) parenchyma, which maintains brain homeostasis, protects the CNS from pathogens penetration, and mediates neuroimmune communication. T lymphocytes migration across the blood-brain barrier is heavily affected in different brain diseases, representing a major target for novel drug development. In vitro models of NVU could represent a primary tool to investigate the molecular events occurring at this interface. To move toward the establishment of personalized therapies, a patient-related NVU-model is set, incorporating human primary astrocytes integrated into a microfluidic platform. The model is morphologically and functionally characterized, proving to be an advantageous tool to investigate human T lymphocytes transmigration and thus the efficacy of potential novel drugs affecting this process.

The representation of abstract words: what matters? Reply to Paivio's (2013) comment on Kousta et al. (2011).

In Kousta, Vigliocco, Vinson, Andrews, and Del Campo (2011), we presented an embodied theory of semantic representation, which crucially included abstract concepts as internally embodied via affective states. Paivio (2013) took issue with our treatment of dual coding theory, our reliance on data from lexical decision, and our theoretical proposal. Here, we address these different issues and clarify how our findings offer a way to move forward in the investigation of how abstract concepts are represented.

The representation of abstract words: why emotion matters.

Although much is known about the representation and processing of concrete concepts, knowledge of what abstract semantics might be is severely limited. In this article we first address the adequacy of the 2 dominant accounts (dual coding theory and the context availability model) put forward in order to explain representation and processing differences between concrete and abstract words. We find that neither proposal can account for experimental findings and that this is, at least partly, because abstract words are considered to be unrelated to experiential information in both of these accounts. We then address a particular type of experiential information, emotional content, and demonstrate that it plays a crucial role in the processing and representation of abstract concepts: Statistically, abstract words are more emotionally valenced than are concrete words, and this accounts for a residual latency advantage for abstract words, when variables such as imageability (a construct derived from dual coding theory) and rated context availability are held constant. We conclude with a discussion of our novel hypothesis for embodied abstract semantics.

Prevalencia de anticuerpos séricos contra la bacteria Brucella sp. en una población humana tropical

Prevalence of serum antibodies for the bacterium Brucella sp. in a tropical human population. Brucellosis is a systemic bacterial disease that can last years if not treated properly. The laboratory diagnosis is made by serological tests or isolation of the agent. We studied the prevalence of antibodies against Brucella sp. in inhabitants of rural communities of Cartago, Costa Rica, who are dedicated mainly to dairy cattle activities. We analyzed 714 representative samples with the Rose Bengal plate agglutination test (RBT) and the standard agglutination test in microplate (SAT). The overall prevalence was 0.87 %. No seroconversion was demonstrated for seropositive individuals. Even though 71 % of the population mentioned consuming non-pasteurized milk, no statistically significant association was found (1.09 %, IC 0.30-2.77) between milk consumption and the presence of antibodies suggestive of infection by Brucella sp. As a brucellosis high-risk population, the absence of symptoms in the population agrees with the observed titers of antibodies, suggesting a low previous exposure to the agent. Rev. Biol. Trop. 55 (2): 385-391. Epub 2007 June, 29.

La brucelosis es una enfermedad bacteriana generalizada con tendencia a la cronicidad si no se trata adecuadamente. El diagnóstico de laboratorio se realiza por el aislamiento e identificación del agente o en la mayoría de los casos mediante pruebas serológicas. En este estudio se informa la prevalencia de anticuerpos séricos contra Brucella sp. en habitantes de comunidades rurales de Cartago dedicadas principalmente a la ganadería de leche. Se analizó un total de 714 muestras representativas de la población mediante la técnica de aglutinación Rosa de Bengala en lámina (RBT) y la prueba de aglutinación en microplaca (SAT). Se encontró una prevalencia de 0.87 %, y en ninguna persona seropositiva se demostró seroconversión. Aún, cuando el 71 % de la población refirió consumir leche no pasteurizada, no se encontró asociación estadísticamente significativa (1.09 %, IC 0.30-2.77) entre el consumo de leche no pasteurizada y la presencia de anticuerpos sugestivos de infección por Brucella sp. A pesar de ser una zona de alta prevalencia de brucelosis bovina por Brucella abortus, la ausencia de síntomas en la población y los bajos títulos de anticuerpos observados sugieren una escasa exposición previa al agente.