An another perspective of face masks in emotion recognition: Comment on Shepherd and Rippon (2022).

In a recent article, Shepherd and Rippon (2022) investigated the impact of widespread face mask use on emotion recognition. They found that mask-wearing led to reduced accuracy in identifying emotions such as fear, sadness, and disgust when participants were exposed to brief facial stimuli. Their study highlights the significance of masks in concealing facial areas crucial for non-verbal communication, potentially affecting emotional well-being. Here in this comment, we have argued that despite concerns about impaired emotional recognition and social interactions, balancing COVID-19 protection and effective communication is essential. We stress the importance of adhering to mask guidelines while enhancing alternative cues and communication strategies. In public health emergencies like COVID-19, such research should acknowledge the whole complexity and prioritize safety aspects in a manner that prevents controversial issues.

Performance measures for alcohol and other drugs services: a commentary.

Alcohol and other drugs treatment includes a wide range of service and personal characteristics, along with expected and unexpected barriers to treatment. To capture the benefits and the gaps of a designed treatment, one needs to consider process-of-care and outcome measurements. Process-of-care measures are mainly developments of the rationale proposed by The Washington Circle and capture all variants in the process-of-care as proportions. Outcome measures are strongly related to different concepts of recovery and described as simple yes/no answers type to wide levels of response, such as in Likert-type scales. According to the studies collected here, more realistic periods of data-collection for process-of-care measures and a more reliable format to capture outcome particularities should be designed.

Recent advances in the management of chronic migraine in children.

INTRODUCTION: Migraine is a chronic-recurrent disorder that progresses in some adults and also in many children. Chronic migraine (CM) is the clinical result of this process. Since migraine does not progress in most children, identifying the risk factors for progression is an important public health priority that should be matched by evidence-based treatment. Areas covered: Herein we conduct a systematic review on the comorbidities and treatment of CM in children and adolescents in the last ten years, summarizing evidence-based recommendations for disease management. Expert commentary: By conceptualizing CM as the result of migraine progression from an episodic form, we suggest avoiding CM at the outset through development of aggressive, preventive interventions as the goal of headache management in the pediatric population. Key interventions include: Decreasing headache frequency with behavioral and pharmacologic interventions; Monitoring body mass index and encouraging maintenance of normal weight; Avoiding medication overuse; Screening and treating comorbidities.