Bayesian bi-level variable selection for genome-wide survival study.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a clinical syndrome characterized by the onset and evolution of cognitive impairments, often considered a transitional stage to Alzheimer's disease (AD). The genetic traits of MCI patients who experience a rapid progression to AD can enhance early diagnosis capabilities and facilitate drug discovery for AD. While a genome-wide association study (GWAS) is a standard tool for identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to a disease, it fails to detect SNPs with small effect sizes due to stringent control for multiple testing. Additionally, the method does not consider the group structures of SNPs, such as genes or linkage disequilibrium blocks, which can provide valuable insights into the genetic architecture. To address the limitations, we propose a Bayesian bi-level variable selection method that detects SNPs associated with time of conversion from MCI to AD. Our approach integrates group inclusion indicators into an accelerated failure time model to identify important SNP groups. Additionally, we employ data augmentation techniques to impute censored time values using a predictive posterior. We adapt Dirichlet-Laplace shrinkage priors to incorporate the group structure for SNP-level variable selection. In the simulation study, our method outperformed other competing methods regarding variable selection. The analysis of Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) data revealed several genes directly or indirectly related to AD, whereas a classical GWAS did not identify any significant SNPs.

The Global Andrology Forum (GAF): Structure, Roles, Functioning and Outcomes: An Online Model for Collaborative Research.

PURPOSE: There are no published examples of a global online research collaborative in andrology. We describe the development, profile and member characteristics of the first consortium of this type, the Global Andrology Forum (GAF). MATERIALS AND METHODS: An online survey sent to all GAF members collected demographic information (sex, age, experience, academic title, degrees, country, specialty, profession). It also tapped data on members' characteristics e.g., skills in research, software and statistics; preferred activities; time commitments; expected roles; and interest in participating in research, in GAF's scientific activities and collaborative online research. The findings were analyzed and tabulated. We outline members' demographic and professional characteristics and scientific achievements to date. A narrative approach outlined GAF's structure and functioning. RESULTS: A total of 418 out of 540 members completed the survey and were included in the analysis (77.4% response rate). The sample comprised mainly urologists (34.2%) and a third of the respondents had practiced for >15 years (33.3%). Up to 86.1% of the members expressed interest in being actively engaged in writing scientific articles. A third of the sample (37.1%) could dedicate 4 to 6 hours/week. Few respondents reported skills in statistics and artwork (2.6% and 1.9% respectively). Members were assigned to specific roles based on their expertise and experiences. Collaborative working ensured the timely completion of projects while maintaining quality. For outcomes, GAF published 29 original articles within one year of its creation, with authors from 48 countries spanning topics that included varicocele, sperm DNA damage, oxidative stress, semen analysis and male infertility, oocyte/embryo, and laboratory issues of assisted reproductive technique (ART) and male infertility evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: GAF is a successful global online andrology research model. A healthy number of scientific articles have been published. Given such effectiveness, adopting the GAF model could be useful for other disciplines that wish to create and coordinate successful international online research groups.

Learning Optimal Group-structured Individualized Treatment Rules with Many Treatments.

Data driven individualized decision making problems have received a lot of attentions in recent years. In particular, decision makers aim to determine the optimal Individualized Treatment Rule (ITR) so that the expected specified outcome averaging over heterogeneous patient-specific characteristics is maximized. Many existing methods deal with binary or a moderate number of treatment arms and may not take potential treatment effect structure into account. However, the effectiveness of these methods may deteriorate when the number of treatment arms becomes large. In this article, we propose GRoup Outcome Weighted Learning (GROWL) to estimate the latent structure in the treatment space and the optimal group-structured ITRs through a single optimization. In particular, for estimating group-structured ITRs, we utilize the Reinforced Angle based Multicategory Support Vector Machines (RAMSVM) to learn group-based decision rules under the weighted angle based multi-class classification framework. Fisher consistency, the excess risk bound, and the convergence rate of the value function are established to provide a theoretical guarantee for GROWL. Extensive empirical results in simulation studies and real data analysis demonstrate that GROWL enjoys better performance than several other existing methods.

Analysis of Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Tarim and Junggar Bactrian Camels Based on Simplified GBS Genome Sequencing.

In view of the severe reduction in Bactrian camel germplasm resources, scientific evaluation, protection, and utilization is particularly important. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the genetic diversity and genetic structure of this species, and identify the genes that have played important roles in its evolution. In this study, 21,971 SNPs were identified in 118 domestic Bactrian camels from the Tarim (n = 60) and Junggar (n = 58) populations using simplified GBS genome sequencing. The results show that Tarim and Junggar Bactrian camels have high nucleotide diversity. A phylogenetic tree constructed using structural analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and the adjacency method (NJ) showed that Tarim and Junggar Bactrian camels were clustered together. The selection signals revealed that the Tarim and Junggar Bactrian camels shared 108 genes under positive selection, including WNT1, WNT10B, CD14, SEC61A2, DPAGT1, FOXO6, etc. These selected genes were widely involved in the immune system, embryonic development, lipid metabolism, and other processes. From a genomic analysis perspective, the genetic relationship between TLM and ZGE camels is close, with an average Fst of 0.048 and a relatively low average differentiation coefficient between the two populations. In addition, shared selected genes in the long-term depression pathway were significantly enriched in Tarim and Junggar. These findings will offer support and assistance for the exploration of genetic resource preservation, economically significant traits, and the mechanisms underlying biological characteristics, molecular breeding, and disease.

Intervención educativa grupal para incrementar el ejercicio físico en personal de salud y la prescripción de este en sus pacientes / Group educational intervention to increase physical exercise in healthcare personnel and promote its prescription for their patients / Intervenção educativa em grupo para aumentar o exercício físico em profissionais de saúde e sua prescrição em seus pacientes

Objetivo: el objetivo del estudio fue evaluar el impacto de una intervención educativa grupal en el personal de salud para mejorar su práctica de ejercicio físico y la prescripción de esta a sus pacientes. Metodología: diseño preexperimental con medidas repetidas en un solo grupo, compuesto por personal de la salud (n = 17). Resultados: en el personal de salud se encontró un incremento en la motivación hacia la práctica de ejercicio físico (Likert, pre: 56 vs. 3 meses: 61). La principal motivación fue mantener un buen estado de salud, con un incremento del 18 % a los 6 meses con respecto del inicio. Sin embargo, también se identificó una reducción en el tiempo de práctica semanal de ejercicio físico, en la intensidad moderada (mediana, pre 120 minutos [75 - 210], tres meses 105 minutos [45 - 180], seis meses 60 minutos [50 - 135]) y en la vigorosa (mediana, pre 300 minutos [121,5 - 360], tres meses 60 minutos [30 - 120], seis meses 30 minutos [30 - 60]). La prescripción de ejercicio físico mejoró en frecuencia (pre 23 %, tres meses 36 %, seis meses 30 %) y componentes, además se acompañó de una reducción de los minutos/semana que el paciente la practicaba. Conclusiones: una intervención educativa grupal para el personal de salud puede influenciar de manera positiva algunos componentes actitudinales a favor de su práctica de ejercicio físico y la prescripción de este en sus pacientes, pero afecta negativamente su práctica en ambos grupos.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a group-based educational intervention on healthcare professionals' engagement in physical exercise and their ability to prescribe it to their patients. Methodology: This study employed a pre-experimental design with repeated measures within a single group, comprising healthcare professionals (n = 17). Results: Among healthcare professionals, an increase in motivation towards engaging in physical exercise was observed (Likert scale, pre: 56 vs. 3 months: 61). The main motivation reported was maintaining good health, which showed an 18 % increase at the 6-month mark compared to the start of the study. However, a reduction was also identified in the weekly duration of moderate-intensity exercise (median, pre: 120 minutes [75-210], three months: 105 minutes [45-180], six months: 60 minutes [50-135]), as well as vigorous-intensity exercise (median, pre: 300 minutes [121.5-360], three months: 60 minutes [30-120], six months: 30 minutes [30-60]). The prescription of physical exercise improved in terms of frequency (pre: 23 %, three months: 36 %, six months: 30 %) and components, accompanied by a reduction in the number of minutes per week that patients engaged in exercise. Conclusions: A group-based educational intervention for healthcare professionals can positively influence certain attitudinal components in favor of their engaging in physical exercise and prescribing it to their patients. However, it negatively affects their actual exercise practice in both groups.

Objetivo: o objetivo do estudo foi avaliar o impacto de uma intervenção educativa em grupo no pessoal de saúde para melhorar sua prática de exercício físico e sua prescrição para seus pacientes. Metodologia: delineamento pré-experimental com medidas repetidas em grupo único, composto por profissionais de saúde (n = 17). Resultados: verificou-seum aumento da motivação para a prática de exercício físico nos profissionais de saúde (Likert, pré: 56 vs. 3 meses: 61). A principal motivação foi manter um bom estado de saúde, com aumento de 18 % aos 6 meses em relação ao início. No entanto, também foi identificada uma redução no tempo de prática semanal de exercício físico, em intensidade moderada (mediana, pré 120 minutos [75 - 210], três meses 105 minutos [45 - 180], seis meses 60 minutos [50 - 135] ) e vigoroso (mediana, pré 300 minutos [121,5 - 360], três meses 60 minutos [30 - 120], seis meses 30 minutos [30 - 60]). A prescrição de exercício físico melhorou na frequência (pré 23 %, três meses 36 %, seis meses 30 %) e componentes, também foi acompanhada por uma redução dos minutos/semana que o paciente o praticava. Conclusões: uma intervenção educativa em grupo para profissionais de saúde pode influenciar positivamente alguns componentes atitudinais a favor da prática de exercício físico e sua prescrição em seus pacientes, mas afeta negativamente sua prática em ambos os grupos.

Class-imbalance Prediction and High-dimensional Risk Factor Identification of Adverse Reactions of Traditional Chinese Medicine with Centralized Monitoring in Real-world Hospitals / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo achieve high-dimensional prediction of class imbalanced of adverse drug reaction（ADR） of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） and to classify and identify risk factors affecting the occurrence of ADR based on the post-marketing safety data of TCM monitored centrally in real world hospitals. MethodThe ensemble clustering resampling combined with regularized Group Lasso regression was used to perform high-dimensional balancing of ADR class-imbalanced data， and then to integrate the balanced datasets to achieve ADR prediction and the risk factor identification by category. ResultA practical example study of the proposed method on a monitoring data of TCM injection performed that the accuracy of the ADR prediction， the prediction sensitivity， the prediction specificity and the area under receiver operating characteristic curve（AUC） were all above 0.8 on the test set. Meanwhile， 40 risk factors affecting the occurrence of ADR were screened out from total 600 high-dimensional variables. And the effect of risk factors on the occurrence of ADR was identified by classification weighting. The important risk factors were classified as follows：past history， medication information， name of combined drugs， disease status， number of combined drugs and personal data. ConclusionIn the real world data of rare ADR with a large amount of clinical variables， this paper realized accurate ADR prediction on high-dimensional and class imbalanced condition， and classified and identified the key risk factors and their clinical significance of categories， so as to provide risk early warning for clinical rational drug use and combined drug use， as well as scientific basis for reevaluation of safety of post-marketing TCM.

Flat teams drive scientific innovation.

With teams growing in all areas of scientific and scholarly research, we explore the relationship between team structure and the character of knowledge they produce. Drawing on 89,575 self-reports of team member research activity underlying scientific publications, we show how individual activities cohere into broad roles of 1) leadership through the direction and presentation of research and 2) support through data collection, analysis, and discussion. The hidden hierarchy of a scientific team is characterized by its lead (or L) ratio of members playing leadership roles to total team size. The L ratio is validated through correlation with imputed contributions to the specific paper and to science as a whole, which we use to effectively extrapolate the L ratio for 16,397,750 papers where roles are not explicit. We find that, relative to flat, egalitarian teams, tall, hierarchical teams produce less novelty and more often develop existing ideas, increase productivity for those on top and decrease it for those beneath, and increase short-term citations but decrease long-term influence. These effects hold within person-the same person on the same-sized team produces science much more likely to disruptively innovate if they work on a flat, high-L-ratio team. These results suggest the critical role flat teams play for sustainable scientific advance and the training and advancement of scientists.

Fatores impulsores e restritivos da prática com grupos em serviços comunitários de atenção psicossocial / Driving and restrictive factors of group practice in community psychosocial care services

Resumo O objetivo desta pesquisa qualitativa foi investigar as concepções teóricas dos trabalhadores sobre o grupo bem como analisar os fatores impulsores e restritivos da prática terapêutica grupal nos Centros de Atenção Psicossocial (CAPS). Participaram do estudo 66 trabalhadores de CAPS e ambulatórios da Rede de Atenção Psicossocial (RAPS) de 23 municípios do estado de Goiás. A coleta de dados se deu por meio de questionário estruturado e entrevista grupal registrada em gravação de áudio e fotografias. Da análise temática dos dados emergiram o conceito do que o grupo é e do que o grupo não é. Tanto no eixo das forças impulsoras, quanto das forças restritivas, as categorias foram organizadas em três blocos de análise: aspectos relacionados ao serviço, aos profissionais e aos usuários. Aspectos relacionais, estruturais, terapêuticos e a competência profissional para a coordenação de grupo se integram de modo antagônico, complementar e indissociável para apreensão da realidade estudada. Conclui-se que evidenciar os aspectos restritivos que precisam ser reconhecidos e aprimorados bem como os impulsores que precisam ser mantidos e potencializados pode contribuir ativamente para ampliar a capacidade terapêutica do uso da tecnologia grupal no contexto da saúde mental.

Abstract This qualitative research aimed to investigate workers' theoretical conceptions regarding group work and analyze the driving and restrictive factors of group therapeutic practice in Psychosocial Care Centers (CAPS). Sixty-six workers from CAPS and outpatient clinics from the Psychosocial Care Network from twenty-three municipalities in the State of Goiás participated in the study. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and a group interview audio-recorded and documented with photographs. The concept of what the group is and is not emerged from the thematic analysis of the data. The categories were organized into three analysis blocks concerning driving and restrictive forces: service-related, professional-related, and user-related. Relational, structural, and therapeutic aspects and professional competence for group coordination are integrated in an antagonistic, complementary, and inseparable way to apprehend the studied reality. We conclude that highlighting the restrictive aspects that must be recognized and improved and the drivers that must be maintained and enhanced can actively contribute to expanding the therapeutic capacity related to the use of group technology in mental health.

MP-LASSO chart: a multi-level polar chart for visualizing group LASSO analysis of genomic data.

Penalized regression has been widely used in genome-wide association studies for jointanalyses to find genetic associations. Among penalized regression models, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) method effectively removes some coefficientsfrom the model by shrinking them to zero. To handle group structures, such as genes andpathways, several modified Lasso penalties have been proposed, including group Lasso andsparse group Lasso. Group Lasso ensures sparsity at the level of pre-defined groups, eliminating unimportant groups. Sparse group Lasso performs group selection as in group Lasso,but also performs individual selection as in Lasso. While these sparse methods are useful inhigh-dimensional genetic studies, interpreting the results with many groups and coefficients is not straightforward. Lasso's results are often expressed as trace plots of regressioncoefficients. However, few studies have explored the systematic visualization of group information. In this study, we propose a multi-level polar Lasso (MP-Lasso) chart, which caneffectively represent the results from group Lasso and sparse group Lasso analyses. An Rpackage to draw MP-Lasso charts was developed. Through a real-world genetic data application, we demonstrated that our MP-Lasso chart package effectively visualizes the resultsof Lasso, group Lasso, and sparse group Lasso.

[Population structure and resource change of Larimichthys polyactis in spring in Zhoushan fishery spawning ground protection area, China]. / 舟山渔场产卵场保护区春季小黄鱼群体结构及资源动态.

We investigated population structure, resource density changes of Larimichthys polyactis and its relationship with environmental factors in spring, based on the survey data of bottom trawl in adjacent sea areas of Zhoushan fishery spawning ground protection area from 2014 to 2019. The results showed that the relationship between body length and body weight of Larimichthys polyactis was W=0.44×10-4×L2.78, and parameter b was less than 3, which indicated that L. polyactis had negative allometric growth in recent years. There was a negative correlation between fullness and body length, with body becoming slender. From 2014 to 2019, body length and weight of L. polyactis were the highest in 2014 and the lowest in 2019. Since 2014, population size of L. polyactis in Zhoushan fishery spawning ground protection area and adjacent sea area had gradually decreased, indicating that the miniaturization of L. polyactis had not altered in recent years. From the perspective of the annual change of resource density, resource density of L. polyactis was higher than that before the establishment of the reserve, indicating that the management and protection of the reserve area played a protective role in the recovery of L. polyactis resources. The fitting results of GAM model showed that water depth and bottom water temperature were the environmental factors closely related to the density distribution of L. polyactis resources. With increasing water depth, the resources showed a fluctuating upward trend and were the highest near the water depth of 60 m. In the range of 12-16 ℃ water temperature, the resources increased with the increases of bottom water temperature. When water temperature was above 16 ℃, resources decreased with the increases of bottom water temperature.

Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus) at Tuleny Island, Russia in 2018: Abundance, Composition, and Entanglement.

The Steller sea lion (SSL, Eumetopias jubatus) inhabits the North Pacific Ocean off both the North American and Asian coasts. The abundance of the species in Asia declined by more than half in the second part of the 20th century. Decline recurred in the second decade of the 21th century after a short period of restoration. In contrast with the total dynamics of SSL in Asia, the reproductive aggregation on Tuleny I. (Sea of Okhotsk) has been growing almost continuously since the beginning of its formation in the late 1980s. Long-term monitoring of SSL at Tuleny I. always covered only summer reproductive seasons. We surveyed Tuleny I. in October 2018, and counted 1058 non-pup sea lions and 396 pups. The majority of tagged animals encountered at the rookery were of local origin. About one-third of the summer non-pup sea lions' number could remain at the rookery until the middle of October, which coincides with the seasonal appearance of sea lions off the coast of Japan. The sex-age structure was characterized by total absence of adult males and reduced proportion of subadult males and juveniles. It contrasts with autumn behavior of SSLs in the rookery of the northern Sea of Okhotsk. We observed that 0.7% of the inspected sea lions were entangled in marine debris. The proportion of entangled animals is lower in comparison with that of the whole population of Tuleny I. due to reduction in the ratios of males and juveniles, which entangle in foreign objects more often than adult females.

Autocuidado em hanseníase sob a ótica de grupos operativos: uma abordagem qualitativa / Self-care in leprosy from the perspective of operative groups: a qualitative approach / Autocuidado de la enfermedad de Hansen desde la perspectiva de los grupos operativos: abordaje cualitativo

OBJETIVOS: Analisar um grupo de apoio ao autocuidado para pessoas acometidas pela hanseníase sob a ótica de grupos operativos. MÉTODO: Estudo qualitativo do tipo explicativo, realizado em uma unidade de saúde em um município de Pernambuco. Foi realizada a análise de conteúdo, na modalidade análise temática proposta por Bardin. RESULTADOS: Os resultados apontaram características do grupo relacionadas aos seis vetores da teoria de Pichon-Rivière: afiliação e pertença, cooperação, pertinência, comunicação, aprendizagem e tele. DISCUSSÃO: O acompanhamento de um grupo de autocuidado em hanseníase proporciona uma abrangência de significados e reflexões. Estar inserido em um grupo aumenta as oportunidades de reconstrução da autoconfiança, autoestima e inserção na comunidade. CONCLUSÃO: O grupo de apoio ao autocuidado em hanseníase em foco se caracteriza como um grupo operativo. Estudos que investiguem os fatores implícitos dos GACs ainda são necessários, sobretudo no que diz respeito às características dos grupos nas diferentes unidades de saúde.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze a self-care support group for people affected by leprosy from the perspective of operative groups. METHOD: A qualitative study of the explanatory type, carried out in a health unit in a municipality of Pernambuco. Content analysis was carried out, in the thematic analysis proposed by Bardin. RESULTS: The results indicated characteristics of the group related to the six vectors of the Pichon-Rivière theory: affiliation and belonging, cooperation, pertinence, communication, learning and tele. DISCUSSION: The monitoring of a self-care group in leprosy provides a range of meanings and reflections. Being part of a group increases the opportunities for rebuilding self-confidence, self-esteem and insertion in the community. CONCLUSION: The leprosy self-care support group in focus is characterized as an operative group. Studies that investigate the implicit factors of the SCGs are still needed, especially with regard to the characteristics of the groups in the different health units.

OBJETIVO: Analizar un grupo de apoyo para el autocuidado de personas afectadas por la enfermedad de Hansen (lepra) desde la perspectiva de los grupos operativos. MÉTODO: Estudio cualitativo de tipo explicativo, realizado en una unidad de salud de un municipio de Pernambuco. El análisis de contenido se realizó según la modalidad de análisis temático propuesto por Bardin. RESULTADOS: Los resultados indicaron que el grupo tenía características relacionadas con los seis vectores de la teoría de Pichon-Rivière: afiliación y pertenencia, cooperación, pertinencia, comunicación, aprendizaje y telé. DISCUSIÓN: El seguimiento de un grupo para el autocuidado de la enfermedad de Hansen ofrece una cobertura de significados y reflexiones. Formar parte de un grupo aumenta las oportunidades de reconstruir la confianza en uno mismo, la autoestima y la inserción en la comunidad. CONCLUSIÓN: El grupo de apoyo para el autocuidado de la enfermedad de Hansen se caracteriza, principalmente, por ser un grupo operatorio. Aún se necesitan estudios que investiguen los factores implícitos de los GAC, especialmente en lo que respecta a las características de los grupos en las diferentes unidades de salud.

Statistical integration of two omics datasets using GO2PLS.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, multiple omics data are measured on the same samples in the belief that these different omics datasets represent various aspects of the underlying biological systems. Integrating these omics datasets will facilitate the understanding of the systems. For this purpose, various methods have been proposed, such as Partial Least Squares (PLS), decomposing two datasets into joint and residual subspaces. Since omics data are heterogeneous, the joint components in PLS will contain variation specific to each dataset. To account for this, Two-way Orthogonal Partial Least Squares (O2PLS) captures the heterogeneity by introducing orthogonal subspaces and better estimates the joint subspaces. However, the latent components spanning the joint subspaces in O2PLS are linear combinations of all variables, while it might be of interest to identify a small subset relevant to the research question. To obtain sparsity, we extend O2PLS to Group Sparse O2PLS (GO2PLS) that utilizes biological information on group structures among variables and performs group selection in the joint subspace. RESULTS: The simulation study showed that introducing sparsity improved the feature selection performance. Furthermore, incorporating group structures increased robustness of the feature selection procedure. GO2PLS performed optimally in terms of accuracy of joint score estimation, joint loading estimation, and feature selection. We applied GO2PLS to datasets from two studies: TwinsUK (a population study) and CVON-DOSIS (a small case-control study). In the first, we incorporated biological information on the group structures of the methylation CpG sites when integrating the methylation dataset with the IgG glycomics data. The targeted genes of the selected methylation groups turned out to be relevant to the immune system, in which the IgG glycans play important roles. In the second, we selected regulatory regions and transcripts that explained the covariance between regulomics and transcriptomics data. The corresponding genes of the selected features appeared to be relevant to heart muscle disease. CONCLUSIONS: GO2PLS integrates two omics datasets to help understand the underlying system that involves both omics levels. It incorporates external group information and performs group selection, resulting in a small subset of features that best explain the relationship between two omics datasets for better interpretability.

Searching for structure in collective systems.

From fish schools and bird flocks to biofilms and neural networks, collective systems in nature are made up of many mutually influencing individuals that interact locally to produce large-scale coordinated behavior. Although coordination is central to what it means to behave collectively, measures of large-scale coordination in these systems are ad hoc and system specific. The lack of a common quantitative scale makes broad cross-system comparisons difficult. Here we identify a system-independent measure of coordination based on an information-theoretic measure of multivariate dependence and show it can be used in practice to give a new view of even classic, well-studied collective systems. Moreover, we use this measure to derive a novel method for finding the most coordinated components within a system and demonstrate how this can be used in practice to reveal intrasystem organizational structure.

A efetividade da intervenção fonoaudiológica grupal no comportamento comunicativo de indivíduos com diagnóstico de esquizofrenia / Effectiveness of the speech language intervention on the communicative behavior in groups of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia

RESUMO Objetivo Verificar a efetividade da intervenção fonoaudiológica grupal no comportamento comunicativo de indivíduos com diagnóstico de esquizofrenia. Método Trata-se de um estudo quase experimental, quantitativo analítico-exploratório. Foram incluídos usuários de um Centro de Atenção Psicossocial III (CAPS III) com diagnóstico de esquizofrenia, divididos em 2 grupos: Grupo Experimental (GE), compondo o Grupo de Intervenção Fonoaudiológica (GIF) e Grupo Controle (GC). O comportamento comunicativo foi avaliado através da Bateria MAC Breve. O GIF foi realizado em 2 sessões semanais, totalizando 24 sessões. Após esse período, os indivíduos foram reavaliados. A análise ocorreu por meio dos Testes não paramétricos de Mann Whitney e o Teste de Correlação de Pearson. Resultados Participaram 19 indivíduos, de ambos os sexos, com idade entre 19 e 59 anos, escolaridade mínima de 5 anos, sendo que 14 participaram do GE e 5 do GC. No GE, foi possível observar que houve melhora no comportamento comunicativo após a intervenção fonoaudiológica em todas as tarefas avaliadas, exceto na tarefa de Escrita. Já no GC, não foram observadas alterações significativas comparando a avaliação e a reavaliação após 12 semanas. Conclusão A intervenção fonoaudiológica grupal foi efetiva, utilizando a comunicação como instrumento de socialização e contribuindo para a melhoria das condições de vida de indivíduos com diagnóstico de esquizofrenia.

ABSTRACT Purpose To verify the effectiveness of the speech language intervention in the communicative behavior in group of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. Methods This is a semi-experimental, quantitative analytical-exploratory study. Users of a Psychosocial Care Center III (CAPS III) with a diagnosis of schizophrenia were included, divided into 2 groups: Experimental Group (EG), comprising the Speech Therapy Intervention Group (STIG) and Control Group (CG). The communicative behavior was evaluated through the Brief MAC Battery. The STIG was performed in 2 weekly sessions, during 12 weeks, totalizing 24 sessions. After this period, individuals were reassessed. Data were analyzed through Mann Whitney non-parametric Test, and Pearson's Correlation Test. Results A total of 19 individuals of both sexes participated, who are between 19 and 59 years old with a minimum schooling of 5 years, 14 participating in EG and 5 in CG. In the EG, it was possible to observe that there was improvement in the communicative behavior after the speech language intervention in all the tasks evaluated, except in the writing task. In CG, no significant changes were observed comparing evaluation and reevaluation after 12 weeks. Conclusion The speech-language intervention in group was effective as a socialization tool and contributing to the improvement of the living conditions of these people with schizophrenia.

Conhecimento de puérperas sobre amamentação e fonoaudiologia em uma maternidade pública do Nordeste brasileiro / Parturients breastfeeding and speech-language therapy knowledge in a public maternity hospital from Northeastern Brazil / Conocimiento de las madres sobre la lactancia materna y la terapia del habla en un hospital público de maternidad en el noreste de Brasil

Introdução: Orientações prévias sobre aleitamento materno durante o período que antecede o nascimento, em consultas pré-natais e nas ações preventivas propostas em unidades de saúde, parecem ser importantes para conscientizar as futuras mães. Objetivo: Verificar o conhecimento de mães sobre aleitamento materno e aspectos fonoaudiológicos envolvidos na amamentação (linguagem, motricidade orofacial e audição). Métodos: Estudo intervencionista e analítico realizado com 254 puérperas em maternidade pública do Nordeste brasileiro; divididas de acordo com escolaridade, faixa etária, experiência prévia com amamentação e orientações sobre aleitamento materno. O nível de conhecimento foi obtido através de questionário com 8 afirmações, analisado pelo modelo de Birnbaum de 3 parâmetros baseado na Teoria de Resposta ao Item. Os testes Mann-Whitney/Kruskal-Wallis analisaram diferenças nas medianas. Utilizou-se software R Core Team 2020, com nível de significância 5%. Resultados: O maior percentual de acertos foi sobre determinadas assertivas sobre linguagem (72,8% L1), motricidade orofacial (71,7% MO1) e audição (65% A2); e os menores nas assertivas de aleitamento materno (58,3% AM2 e 42,1% AM1); e outras sobre motricidade orofacial (48% MO2); linguagem (39,8% L2) e audição (34,6% A1); sem diferenças significativas entre os grupos. Conclusão: Concluímos que nem todas as parturientes demonstraram conhecimento pleno dos conteúdos abordados, embora alguns aspectos da fonoaudiologia sejam bem reconhecidos.

Introduction: Prior guidance on breastfeeding during the period before birth, in prenatal consultations and in the preventive actions proposed in health units, seems to be important to raise awareness among future mothers. Objective: To verify the knowledge of mothers on breastfeeding and speech-language therapy aspects involved in breastfeeding (language, orofacial motricity, and hearing). Methods:Interventional and analytical study carried out with 254 mothers in a public maternity hospital in Northeastern Brazil; divided according to schooling, age group, breastfeeding previous experience and guidance on breastfeeding. The knowledge level was obtained through a questionnaire with 8 statements, analyzed by the 3 parameters Birnbaum model based on Item Response Theory. The Mann-Whitney / Kruskal-Wallis tests analyzed differences in medians. R Core Team 2020 software was used, with a 5% significance level. Results: The highest percentage of correct answers was about certain statements about language (72.8% L1), orofacial motricity (71.7% MO1) and hearing (65% A2); and minors in breastfeeding statements (58.3% AM2 and 42.1% AM1); and others on orofacial motricity (48% MO2); language (39.8% L2) and hearing (34.6% A1); without significant differences between groups. Conclusion: We conclude that not all parturients demonstrated full knowledge of the contents covered, although some aspects of speech therapy are well recognized.

Introducción: La orientación previa sobre la lactancia materna durante el período anterior al nacimiento, en las consultas prenatales y en las acciones preventivas propuestas en las unidades de salud, parece ser importante para crear conciencia sobre las futuras madres. Objetivo: Verificar el conocimiento de las madres sobre los aspectos de la lactancia materna y la terapia del habla relacionados con la lactancia materna (lenguaje, motricidad orofacial y audición). Métodos: Estudio analítico y de intervención realizado con 254 madres en un hospital público de maternidad en el noreste de Brasil; dividido de acuerdo con la educación, grupo de edad, experiencia previa en lactancia y pautas de lactancia materna. El nivel de conocimiento se obtuvo a través de un cuestionario con 8 declaraciones, analizadas por el modelo de 3 parámetros de Birnbaum basado en la Teoría de respuesta al ítem. Las pruebas de Mann-Whitney / Kruskal-Wallis analizaron las diferencias en las medianas. Se utilizó el software R Core Team 2020, con un nivel de significación del 5%. Resultados: El porcentaje más alto de respuestas correctas fue sobre ciertas afirmaciones sobre lenguaje (72.8% L1), habilidades motoras orofaciales (71.7% MO1) y audición (65% A2); y menores en declaraciones de lactancia materna (58.3% AM2 y 42.1% AM1); y otros sobre motricidad orofacial (48% MO2); lenguaje (39.8% L2) y audición (34.6% A1); sin diferencias significativas entre grupos. Conclusión: Llegamos a la conclusión de que no todos los parturientas demostraron un conocimiento completo de los contenidos cubiertos, aunque algunos aspectos de la terapia del habla son bien reconocidos.

Spatial resolution and location impact group structure in a marine food web.

Ecological processes in food webs depend on species interactions. By identifying broad-scaled interaction patterns, important information on species' ecological roles may be revealed. Here, we use the group model to examine how spatial resolution and proximity influence group structure. We examine a data set from the Barents Sea, with food webs described for both the whole region and 25 subregions. We test how the group structure in the networks differ comparing (1) the regional metaweb to subregions and (2) subregion to subregion. We find that more than half the species in the metaweb change groups when compared to subregions. Between subregions, networks with similar group structure are spatially related. Interestingly, although species overlap is important for similarity in group structure, there are notable exceptions. Our results highlight that species ecological roles vary depending on fine-scaled differences in the patterns of interactions, and that local network characteristics are important to consider.

Role Commitment and Acceptance in a Sport Context.

The objectives of this study were to (a) develop a conceptualization of role acceptance, later situated within the broader concept of role commitment, pertinent to the sport environment; (b) develop a measure integrating direct perceptions of role commitment and the bases of this variable; and (c) determine if role commitment could predict athletes' intentions to return. To accomplish these objectives, multiple methods were used across 4 projects that leveraged the extant literature on acceptance and commitment perceptions from sport and organizational psychology, engaged athletes in focus groups in a think-aloud protocol, and obtained responses on iterative versions of a new role-commitment questionnaire from over 700 athletes from a variety of competitive and developmental levels. Overall, this approach captured the bases of role commitment (affective, normative, and continuance perspectives), as well as direct perceptions of role commitment, and demonstrated an important link to intentions to return to sport.

A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Group for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Patients: A Review of a Pilot Program.

Adolescent and young adult (AYA-between ages 15 and 39) cancer patients face unique psychosocial challenges due to their developmental stage and complex health problems. Research indicates psychotherapy and group support can be beneficial to AYAs. Group therapy offers an opportunity for connection among peers who are enduring similar struggles while also utilizing effective therapeutic intervention. The current project describes a model for an AYA cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) group. The model was informed by existing CBT literature and was successfully implemented. Future research may evaluate the efficacy of the proposed group structure and content for reducing distress in AYA cancer patients.

Social network analysis in pigs: impacts of significant dyads on general network and centrality parameters.

In general, one animal is considered dominant over another animal if it has won more fights than its opponent. Whether this difference in won and lost fights is significant is neglected in most studies. Thus, the present study evaluates the impact of two different calculation methods for dyadic interactions with a significant asymmetric outcome on the results of social network analysis regarding agonistic interactions of pigs in three different mixing events (weaned piglets, fattening pigs and gilts). Directly after mixing, all animals were video recorded for 17 (fattening pigs, gilts) and 28 h (weaned piglets), documenting agonistic interactions. Two calculation methods for significant dyads, that is, dyadic interactions with a clear dominant subordinate relationship in which one animal has won significantly more fights than its encounter, were proposed: pen individual limits were calculated by a sign test considering the differences of won and lost fights of all dyadic interactions in each pen; dyad individual limits were determined by a one-sided sign test for each individual dyad. For all data sets (ALL, including all dyadic interactions; PEN or DYAD, including only significant dyads according to pen or dyad individual limits), networks were built based on the information of initiator and receiver with the pigs as nodes and the edges between them illustrating attacks. General network parameters describing the whole network structure and centrality parameters describing the position of each animal in the network were calculated. Both pen and dyad individual limits revealed only a small percentage of significant dyads for weaned piglets (12.4% or 8.8%), fattening pigs (4.2% or 0.6%) and gilts (3.6% or 0.4%). The comparison between the data sets revealed only high Spearman's rank correlation coefficients (rS) for the density, that is, percentage of possible edges that were actually present in the network, whereas the centrality parameters showed only moderate rS values (0.37 to 0.75). Thus, the rank order of the animals changed due to the exclusion of insignificant dyads, which shows that the results obtained from social network analysis are clearly influenced if insignificant dyads are excluded from the analyses. Due to the fact that the pen individual limits consider the overall level of agonistic interactions within each pen, this calculation method should be preferred over the dyad individual limits. Otherwise, too many animals in the group became isolated nodes with zero centrality for which no statement about their position within the network can be made.