Psychometric evaluation of the Trust in Science and Scientists Scale.

Reliable and valid measurement of trust in science and scientists is important. Assessing levels of such trust is important in determining attitudes and predicting behaviours in response to medical and scientific interventions targeted at managing public crises. However, trust is a complex phenomenon that has to be understood in relation to both distrust and mistrust. The Trust in Science and Scientists Scale has been adopted with increasing frequency in large-scale public health research. Detailed psychometric evaluation of the scale is overdue and makes meaningful comparisons between studies that use the scale difficult. Here, we examine the scale's dimensionality across five separate samples. We find that two factors emerge that are divided by their item polarity. Implications for scale use and trust in science measurement are discussed.

The choice of response alternatives in COVID-19 social science surveys.

Social science research is key for understanding and for predicting compliance with COVID-19 guidelines, and this research relies on survey data. While much focus is on the survey question stems, less is on the response alternatives presented that both constrain responses and convey information about the assumed expectations of the survey designers. The focus here is on the choice of response alternatives for the types of behavioral frequency questions used in many COVID-19 and other health surveys. We examine issues with two types of response alternatives. The first are vague quantifiers, like "rarely" and "frequently." Using data from 30 countries from the Imperial COVID data hub, we show that the interpretation of these vague quantifiers (and their translations) depends on the norms in that country. If the mean amount of hand washing in a country is high, it is likely "frequently" corresponds to a higher numeric value for hand washing than if the mean in the country is low. The second type are sets of numeric alternatives and they can also be problematic. Using a US survey, respondents were randomly allocated to receive either response alternatives where most of the scale corresponds to low frequencies or where most of the scale corresponds to high frequencies. Those given the low frequency set provided lower estimates of the health behaviors. The choice of response alternatives for behavioral frequency questions can affect the estimates of health behaviors. How the response alternatives mold the responses should be taken into account for epidemiological modeling. We conclude with some recommendations for response alternatives for behavioral frequency questions in surveys.

Prevalence of ADHD in Accident Victims: Results of the PRADA Study.

BACKGROUND: Recent research has shown an increased risk of accidents and injuries in ADHD patients, which could potentially be reduced by stimulant treatment. Therefore, the first aim of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of adult ADHD in a trauma surgery population. The second aim was to investigate accident mechanisms and circumstances which could be specific to ADHD patients, in comparison to the general population. METHODS: We screened 905 accident victims for ADHD using the ASRS 18-item self-report questionnaire. The basic demographic data and circumstances of the accidents were also assessed. RESULTS: Prevalence of adult ADHD was found to be 6.18% in our trauma surgery patient sample. ADHD accident victims reported significantly higher rates of distraction, stress and overconfidence in comparison to non-ADHD accident victims. Overconfidence and being in thoughts as causal mechanisms for the accidents remained significantly higher in ADHD patients after correction for multiple comparison. ADHD patients additionally reported a history of multiple accidents. CONCLUSION: The majority of ADHD patients in our sample had not previously been diagnosed and were therefore not receiving treatment. The results subsequently suggest that general ADHD screening in trauma surgery patients may be useful in preventing further accidents in ADHD patients. Furthermore, psychoeducation regarding specific causal accident mechanisms could be implemented in ADHD therapy to decrease accident incidence rate.

Accident patterns in trauma surgery patients with and without self-reported ADHD.

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been associated with a higher risk for accidents and injuries, leading to increased mortality. The objective of this study was to identify the types and mechanisms of accidents in a group of adult trauma victims with self-reported ADHD compared to a control group, based on Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale Version 1.1 (ASRSv1.1). A semi-open/qualitative accident questionnaire was conducted with 116 recruited patients from three trauma surgery units. The adult ADHD (aADHD) group differed significantly from the control group in self-reported psychiatric co-morbidities (p = 0.012), regular psychotropic medication use (p = 0.005), other accidents in the past year (p = 0.002), substance use before the accident (p = 0.007), and overconfidence in relation to the accident (p = 0.033). Most interestingly, we found significantly greater subjective ratings for stress (p = 0.002) and stressful/pressurising events before the accident (p = 0.026) in the adult ADHD group, as well as for self-reported stress at the time when conducting the interview (p = 0.016). The data demonstrate that special attention should be paid to interventions in stress reduction and sufficient treatment of ADHD in terms of preventing accidents and injuries in aADHD. Therefore, we suggest, in addition to pharmaceutical therapy, the integration of stress-management and coping strategies into aADHD management.

In-situ high-speed X-ray imaging of piezo-driven directed energy deposition additive manufacturing.

Powder-blown laser additive manufacturing adds flexibility, in terms of locally varying powder materials, to the ability of building components with complex geometry. Although the process is promising, porosity is common in a built component, hence decreasing fatigue life and mechanical strength. The understanding of the physical phenomena during the interaction of a laser beam and powder-blown deposition is limited and requires in-situ monitoring to capture the influences of process parameters on powder flow, absorptivity of laser energy into the substrate, melt pool dynamics and porosity formation. This study introduces a piezo-driven powder deposition system that allows for imaging of individual powder particles that flow into a scanning melt pool. Here, in-situ high-speed X-ray imaging of the powder-blown additive manufacturing process of Ti-6Al-4V powder particles is the first of its kind and reveals how laser-matter interaction influences powder flow and porosity formation.

Time-resolved assessment of collateral flow using 4D CT angiography in large-vessel occlusion stroke.

OBJECTIVES: In acute stroke patients with large vessel occlusion, collateral blood flow affects tissue fate and patient outcome. The visibility of collaterals on computed tomography angiography (CTA) strongly depends on the acquisition phase, but the optimal time point for collateral imaging is unknown. METHODS: We analysed collaterals in a time-resolved fashion using four-dimensional (4D) CTA in 82 endovascularly treated stroke patients, aiming to determine which acquisition phase best depicts collaterals and predicts outcome. Early, peak and late phases as well as temporally fused maximum intensity projections (tMIP) were graded using a semiquantitative regional leptomeningeal collateral score, compared with conventional single-phase CTA and correlated with functional outcome. RESULTS: The total extent of collateral flow was best visualised on tMIP. Collateral scores were significantly lower on early and peak phase as well as on single-phase CTA. Collateral grade was associated with favourable functional outcome and the strength of this relationship increased from earlier to later phases, with collaterals on tMIP showing the strongest correlation with outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Temporally fused tMIP images provide the best depiction of collateral flow. Our findings suggest that the total extent of collateral flow, rather than the velocity of collateral filling, best predicts clinical outcome. KEY POINTS: • Collateral flow visibility on CTA strongly depends on the acquisition phase • tMIP offers the best visualisation of the extent of collaterals • Outcome prediction may be better with tMIP than with earlier phases.• Total extent of collaterals seems more important than their filling speed • If triggered too early, CTA may underestimate collateral flow.