Can names shape facial appearance?

Our given name is a social tag associated with us early in life. This study investigates the possibility of a self-fulfilling prophecy effect wherein individuals' facial appearance develops over time to resemble the social stereotypes associated with given names. Leveraging the face-name matching effect, which demonstrates an ability to match adults' names to their faces, we hypothesized that individuals would resemble their social stereotype (name) in adulthood but not in childhood. To test this hypothesis, children and adults were asked to match faces and names of children and adults. Results revealed that both adults and children correctly matched adult faces to their corresponding names, significantly above the chance level. However, when it came to children's faces and names, participants were unable to make accurate associations. Complementing our lab studies, we employed a machine-learning framework to process facial image data and found that facial representations of adults with the same name were more similar to each other than to those of adults with different names. This pattern of similarity was absent among the facial representations of children, thereby strengthening the case for the self-fulfilling prophecy hypothesis. Furthermore, the face-name matching effect was evident for adults but not for children's faces that were artificially aged to resemble adults, supporting the conjectured role of social development in this effect. Together, these findings suggest that even our facial appearance can be influenced by a social factor such as our name, confirming the potent impact of social expectations.

Prosocial nudges and visual indicators increase social distancing, but authoritative nudges do not.

Social distancing reduces the transmission of COVID-19 and other airborne diseases. To test different ways to increase social distancing, we conducted a field experiment at a major US airport using a system that presented color-coded visual indicators on crowdedness. We complemented those visual indicators with nudges commonly used to increase COVID-19-preventive behaviors. Analyzing data from 57,146 travelers, we find that visual indicators and nudges significantly affected social distancing. Introducing visual indicators increased the share of travelers practicing social distancing, and this positive effect was enhanced by introducing nudges focused on personal benefits ("protect yourself") and public benefits ("protect others"). Conversely, an authoritative nudge referencing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ("don't break CDC COVID-19 guidelines") did not change social distancing behavior. Our results demonstrate that visual indicators and informed nudges can boost social distancing and potentially curb the spread of contagious diseases.

What are the best predictors for successful GnRH antagonist protocol in in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment?

OBJECTIVE: To determine factors that affect the success rate of GnRH antagonist protocol in in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. PATIENTS: Patients who underwent IVF cycle with their first GnRH antagonist protocol. INTERVENTION: Antagonist protocol during IVF treatment. The main outcome measurements were; Number of retrieved oocytes, embryo quality and pregnancy rate. RESULTS: Gravidity was negatively correlated with number of eggs (p = 0.017), while total follicle number ≥15 (p = 0.044) and E(2) on day of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) (p = 0.000) had a positive correlation with number of eggs. Maximum follicle size at HCG administration showed a trend toward an inverse correlation (p = 0.053). Addition of LH to drug stimulation was negatively correlated with number of eggs in comparison to rFSH only (p = 0.013 and 0.0000, respectively). Age and number of frozen eggs were negatively correlated with successful pregnancy (p = 0.025 and 0.004, respectively), while embryo quality, gravidity and number of embryos were positive (p = 0.011 and 0.014, respectively). CONCLUSION: Controlled parameters like timing of antagonist start, duration of antagonist and the optimal leading follicle diameter for HCG triggering had no effect on treatment outcomes.

Blood glucose measurement in patients with suspected diabetic ketoacidosis: a comparison of Abbott MediSense PCx point-of-care meter values to reference laboratory values.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study is to compare blood glucose levels measured by a point of care (POC) device to laboratory measurement using the same sample venous blood from patients with suspected diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). METHODS: A descriptive correlational design was used for this IRB-approved quality assurance project. The study site was the 50-bed BMC emergency department (ED) which has an annual census of over 100,000 patient visits. The convenience sample consisted of 54 blood samples from suspected DKA patients with orders for hourly blood draws for glucose measurement. Spearman correlations of the glucose POC values, reference lab values, and differences between the two, were evaluated. A chi-square test was used to evaluate the association between the acidosis status and FDA acceptability of POC values. RESULTS: Patient age range was 10-86 years; 63% were females; 46% had a final diagnosis of DKA. POC values underestimated glucose levels 93% of the time. There was a high correlation between the lab value and the magnitude of the difference, (lab minus POC value) indicating that the higher the true glucose value, the greater the difference between the lab and the POC value. A chi-square test showed no overall association between acidosis and FDA-acceptability. DISCUSSION: The POC values underestimated lab reported glucose levels in 50 of 54 cases even with the use of same venous sample sent to the lab, which make it highly unreliable for use in monitoring suspected DKA patients.