Individual differences in emotional intelligence skills of people with visual impairment and loneliness amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, public health interventions such as social distancing and stay-at-home orders have widely been implemented, which is anticipated to contribute to reducing the spread of COVID-19. On the contrary, there is a concern that the public health interventions may increase the level of loneliness. Loneliness and social isolation are public health risks, closely associated with serious medical conditions. As COVID-19 is new to us today, little is known about emotional well-being among people with visual impairment during the COVID-19 pandemic. To address the knowledge gap, this study conducted phone interviews with a convenience sample of 31 people with visual impairment. The interview incorporated the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale (version 3) and the trait meta-mood scale (TMMS) to measure loneliness and emotional intelligence skills, respectively. This study found that people with visual impairment were vulnerable to the feeling of loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic and showed individual differences in emotional intelligence skills by different degrees of loneliness. Researchers and health professionals should consider offering adequate coping strategies to those with visual impairment amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Differences of people with visual disabilities in the perceived intensity of emotion inferred from speech of sighted people in online communication settings.

PURPOSE: As humans convey information about emotions by speech signals, emotion recognition via auditory information is often employed to assess one's affective states. There are numerous ways of applying the knowledge of emotional vocal expressions to system designs that accommodate users' needs adequately. Yet, little is known about how people with visual disabilities infer emotions from speech stimuli, especially via online platforms (e.g., Zoom). This study focussed on examining the degree to which they perceive emotions strongly or weakly, i.e., perceived intensity but also investigating the degree to which their sociodemographic backgrounds affect them perceiving different intensity levels of emotions when exposed to a set of emotional speech stimuli via Zoom. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A convenience sample of 30 individuals with visual disabilities participated in zoom interviews. Participants were given a set of emotional speech stimuli and reported the intensity level of the perceived emotions on a rating scale from 1 (weak) to 8 (strong). RESULTS: When the participants were exposed to the emotional speech stimuli, calm, happy, fearful, sad, and neutral, they reported that neutral was the dominant emotion they perceived with the greatest intensity. Individual differences were also observed in the perceived intensity of emotions, associated with sociodemographic backgrounds, such as health, vision, job, and age. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study are anticipated to contribute to the fundamental knowledge that will be helpful for many stakeholders such as voice technology engineers, user experience designers, health professionals, and social workers providing support to people with visual disabilities.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONTechnologies equipped with alternative user interfaces (e.g., Siri, Alexa, and Google Voice Assistant) meeting the needs of people with visual disabilities can promote independent living and quality of life.Such technologies can also be equipped with systems that can recognize emotions via users' voice, such that users can obtain services customized to fit their emotional needs or adequately address their emotional challenges (e.g., early detection of onset, provision of advice, and so on).The results of this study can be beneficial to health professionals (e.g., social workers) who work closely with clients who have visual disabilities (e.g., virtual telehealth sessions) as they could gain insights or learn how to recognize and understand the clients' emotional struggle by hearing their voice, which is contributing to enhancement of emotional intelligence. Thus, they can provide better services to their clients, leading to building a strong bond and trust between health professionals and clients with visual disabilities even they meet virtually (e.g., Zoom).

Information and Communications Technology and Education Customized for Fathers of Preterm Infants.

PURPOSE: Although various educational technology interventions have been introduced to support parents of preterm infants, the interventions tend to focus on mothers over fathers. This study aims to advance understanding of the concerns and needs of fathers and seek opportunities of information technology to support them. DESIGN AND SAMPLE: A convenience sampling method recruited 18 parents (i.e., ten mothers and eight fathers of preterm infants) for interviews. The interview transcripts were analyzed by the inductive content analysis method. MAIN OUTCOME VARIABLE: The analysis identified two main themes (i.e., customized education, learning styles and tools preferred by fathers) and five subthemes (i.e., infant care, self-care, self-regulated online learning, adaptive user interfaces of online education modules, and hands-on learning with multimedia). RESULTS: The interviewed parents emphasized the importance of education customized for the fathers of preterm infants, and argued that an e-learning system has the potential to fulfill the fathers' educational needs.

A conceptual framework for interdisciplinary education in engineering and nursing health informatics.

This paper discusses a conceptual framework for an interdisciplinary education in engineering and nursing health informatics. A team with diverse scientific backgrounds and perspectives is anticipated to effectively and efficiently address healthcare systems problems, which can be facilitated by highly integrated and interactive team settings. Nursing students, for example, are in the best position to assess the functional health status and technology needs of patients and health professionals given their close interactions with them. On the other hand, engineering students have skills and knowledge needed to develop a fully functioning technology intervention. The students in engineering and healthcare majors will be able to help each other to obtain a deeper understanding about clinical perspective and technology intervention designs to address adequately healthcare systems problems today via the interdisciplinary educational setting.

Understanding of how older adults with low vision obtain, process, and understand health information and services.

INTRODUCTION: Twenty-five years after the Americans with Disabilities Act, there has still been a lack of advancement of accessibility in healthcare for people with visual impairments, particularly older adults with low vision. This study aims to advance understanding of how older adults with low vision obtain, process, and use health information and services, and to seek opportunities of information technology to support them. METHODS: A convenience sample of 10 older adults with low vision participated in semi-structured phone interviews, which were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis. RESULTS: Participants shared various concerns in accessing, understanding, and using health information, care services, and multimedia technologies. Two main themes and nine subthemes emerged from the analysis. DISCUSSION: Due to the concerns, older adults with low vision tended to fail to obtain the full range of all health information and services to meet their specific needs. Those with low vision still rely on residual vision such that multimedia-based information which can be useful, but it should still be designed to ensure its accessibility, usability, and understandability.

Morphology Driven by Molecular Structure of Thiazole-Based Polymers for Use in Field-Effect Transistors and Solar Cells.

The effects of the molecular structure of thiazole-based polymers on the active layer morphologies and performances of electronic and photovoltaic devices were studied. Thus, thiazole-based conjugated polymers with a novel thiazole-vinylene-thiazole (TzVTz) structure were designed and synthesized. The TzVTz structure was introduced to extend the π conjugation and coplanarity of the polymer chains. By combining alkylthienyl-substituted benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene (BDT) or dithieno[2,3-d:2',3'-d']benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene (DTBDT) electron-donating units and a TzVTz electron-accepting unit, enhanced intermolecular interactions and charge transport were obtained in the novel polymers BDT-TzVTz and DTBDT-TzVTz. With a view to using the polymers in transistor and photovoltaic applications, the molecular self-assembly in and their nanoscale morphologies of the active layers were controlled by thermal annealing to enhance the molecular packing and by introducing a diphenyl ether solvent additive to improve the miscibility between polymer donors and [6,6]phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71 BM) acceptors, respectively. The morphological characterization of the photoactive layers showed that a higher degree of π-electron delocalization and more favorable molecular packing in DTBDT-TzVTz compared with in BDT-TzVTz leads to distinctly higher performances in transistor and photovoltaic devices. The superior performance of a photovoltaic device incorporating DTBDT-TzVTz was achieved through the superior miscibility of DTBDT-TzVTz with PC71 BM and the improved crystallinity of DTBDT-TzVTz in the nanofibrillar structure.

Social Support Provision: Perspective of Fathers With Preterm Infants.

PURPOSE: Today's social support systems for parents of preterm infants tend to pay more attention to mothers than fathers. As a father also plays a critical role in caring for a preterm infant, there is a need to advance understanding of paternal concerns and needs about social supports that should better support fathers. DESIGN AND METHODS: Interviews were conducted with 18 parents of preterm infants (i.e., 10 mothers and 8 fathers) who have been discharged from the NICU to home. All interviews were audio-recorded and subsequently transcribed verbatim for analysis. RESULTS: The fathers' primary resources are healthcare professionals, their partners, and peer fathers of preterm infants. The fathers expressed various social support needs associated with informational, belonging, and emotional supports. CONCLUSIONS: It is recommended that a social support system be customized accordingly to better accommodate paternal needs. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Healthcare professionals may refer to the study results in designing the educational materials for fathers of preterm infants.

Corrigendum: Inflammatory Cytokine Expressions of the Subacromial Bursitis and Glenohumeral Joint Synovitis in the Patients with Full Thickness Rotator Cuff Tear.

[This corrects the article on p. 172 in vol. 14.].

Supporting Parents of Premature Infants Transitioning from the NICU to Home: A Pilot Randomized Control Trial of a Smartphone Application.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether parents of Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) transitioning home with the NICU-2-Home smartphone application have greater parenting self-efficacy, are better prepared for discharge and have shorter length of stay (LOS) than control parents. METHODS: A four-week pilot randomized controlled trial during the transition home with 90 VLBW parents randomized to usual care (n=44) or usual care plus NICU-2-Home (n=46), a smartphone application designed for VLBW parents. Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC) was assessed at baseline, day after discharge, and two weeks post-discharge. Preparedness for discharge and length of stay (LOS) were secondary outcomes. Analyses by usage were also included. RESULTS: While parents of VLBW infants in the intervention group did not show an improvement in PSOC during the transition when compared directly to controls, after accounting for actual mean app usage, PSOC improved 7% (2.71 points/time greater; 95%CI = 1.45, 6.27) for intervention versus controls. Compared to controls, above-average users increased their PSOC score by 14% (6.84 points/time; 95%CL = 5.02, 8.67), average users by 11% (4.58 points/time; 95%CL = 2.89, 6.27) and below-average users by 6% (2.41 points/time; 95%CL = 0.04, 4.79). Moderate evidence showed LOS was shorter for above-average users compared to the control group (ß = 12.2. SE = 6.9, p = 0.085). CONCLUSION: A smartphone application used by parents of VLBW infants during the transition home from the NICU can improve parenting self-efficacy, discharge preparedness, and LOS with improved benefits based on usage.

Use of Social Media by Fathers of Premature Infants.

Although parents of premature infants experience many challenges when transitioning home from the neonatal intensive care unit, healthcare providers and social support systems tend to focus on mothers and infants rather than fathers. Unfortunately, very little is known about paternal concerns and needs as compared with maternal ones. The lack of understanding about paternal needs may lead to inadequate designs of neonatal intensive care unit family support programs with less involved fathers, all of which contribute to increased burdens on mothers and poor health outcomes for their infants. Although information technology (IT) might have the potential to increase support for the fathers of preterm infants, only a few studies have examined systematically how IT applications can be beneficial. This study aims to advance the understanding of needs and concerns of fathers with preterm infants and how fathers use the IT applications (eg, social networking Web sites) to support themselves. We observed qualitatively various social networking Web sites (ie, 29 Web sites) where fathers share their experiences about preterm infants. We discovered that fathers used various social media to discuss their concerns and, in turn, obtained informational, companionship, and emotional supports. On the basis of our analysis, we provide insights into a father-centered technology intervention design.

Paternal and maternal concerns for their very low-birth-weight infants transitioning from the NICU to home.

This study examines qualitatively the concerns and coping mechanisms of fathers and mothers of very low-birth-weight (VLBW; <1500 g) neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) infants as they transition to home from the NICU. In-depth, semistructured phone interviews were conducted with a sample of fathers and mothers of VLBW NICU infants in the Chicago area who had transitioned home, and parental concerns were examined during the transition to home. Phone interviews lasting 30 to 60 minutes were transcribed verbatim, and all interviews were coded using content and narrative analysis. Twenty-five parents (10 fathers, 15 mothers) of 16 VLBW infants who had an average gestational age of 29.5 weeks and an average NICU stay of 58.38 days completed the interview. Overriding concerns included pervasive uncertainty, lingering medical concerns, and partner-related adjustment concerns that differed by gender. A variety of resilient coping methods during this stressful transition are also described. Fathers and mothers of VLBW NICU graduates have evolving but often differing concerns as they transition from the NICU to home. Many of these concerns can be addressed with improved discharge information exchanges and anticipatory guidance. Supporting parents during this stressful and often difficult transition may lead to decreased family stress, improved care, and better infant outcomes.

Haptic perception of users with low vision and their needs in haptic-incorporated user interfaces.

PURPOSE: This paper reports on research aimed at advancing understanding haptic capability and needs of users with low vision. The objective is to apply this understanding to the design of haptic-incorporated user interfaces. METHOD: Study 1 investigated the haptic perception between sighted participants and those with low vision through the magnitude estimation technique, and Study 2 explored the degree to which similar user interface needs were observed among the two vision groups. RESULTS: Overall, our findings indicate there was no significant difference between the two vision groups in terms of haptic perception and user interface needs. A few differences in user interface preference did exist, however, and designers should take these into account. CONCLUSIONS: Participants with low vision were a group who relied on their vision in everyday life instead of touch. Thus, their haptic capability was less likely to be enhanced via brain plasticity, which probably contributed to no significant difference in haptic-incorporated user interface needs. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: No significant different haptic capability and haptic user interface (UI) needs exists between cited participants and those with low vision. UI designers should take into consideration that a certain range of magnitude/type of haptic feedback is available to accommodate preferences of both vision groups, which would ultimately increase the likelihood of successfully developing universal designs.

Simultaneous bilateral quadriceps tendon rupture in a patient with chronic renal failure.

Bilateral quadriceps tendon rupture is an unusual injury, but may be encountered in patients with various chronic diseases after minor trauma. This article presents a case of bilateral quadriceps tendon rupture of a 38-year-old woman with chronic renal failure. Surgical repair was performed using a bone tunnel technique with a nonabsorbable suture and a suture anchor. Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging confirmed complete healing of the repair site, and clinically active extension with 120 degrees of range of motion was achieved.