Search

Post-error slowing, described as an error-corrective index of response binding during motor sequence learning, has only been demonstrated in the serial reaction time task under conditions where extrinsic error feedback is presented. The present experiment investigated whether post-error slowing is dependent on, or is influenced by, extrinsic error feedback. Thirty participants (14 females, Mage = 21.9 ± 1.8 years) completed the serial reaction time task with or without presentation of extrinsic error feedback. Post-error slowing was observed following response error whether feedback was presented or not. However, presentation of extrinsic error feedback increased post-error slowing across practice and extended the number of responses that were slowed following an error. There was no evidence of feedback effects on motor sequence learning or explicit awareness. Instead, feedback appeared to function as a performance factor that reduced response error rates relative to no feedback conditions. These findings illustrate that post-error slowing in motor sequence learning is not reliant on or a result of presentation of extrinsic error information. More specific to the serial reaction time task paradigm, the present findings demonstrate that the common practice of presenting error feedback is not necessary for investigating motor sequence learning unless the aim is to maintain low error rate. However, doing so might inflate reaction time in latter training blocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has indicated that parents’ awareness of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) directly affects children’s interests and attitudes. Based on this discovery, this study sought to dig deeper into the relationship between parents’ awareness of STEM and how that plays a role in their children’s thinking when considering a career. Elementary school students and their parents studying in the Southeastern Anatolian region of Turkey were included in the study. All in all, 541 elementary school students (Mage = 9.26) and their parents (n = 341) elected to participate. Descriptive statistical analyses and structural equation modeling were applied to the data. The descriptive statistical analysis results showed that parents’ STEM awareness, students’ STEM attitudes, and STEM career interest scores were high. According to the results of the path analysis, parents’ STEM awareness affects STEM career interest of their children primarily through attitudes. The results obtained from the study were discussed in the light of the literature, and implications were presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to assess the impact of an educational intervention on knowledge, acceptability, and willingness to pay (WTP) for dapivirine vaginal ring (DPV-VR) by undergraduate female students at the University of Nigeria (UNN). Methods: A cross-sectional design was adopted to obtain responses from the respondents using a validated 23-item questionnaire. A sample size of 1500 was estimated from five systematically sampled faculties. Their acceptability was accessed before and after educating them on the dapivirine vaginal ring (DPV-VR). WTP was determined in Naira (N490/$1) using contingent valuation. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the findings, with inter-faculty comparison done with the Chi-squared test. Results: 1017 students responded to the questionnaire. The modal age was 18–24 years (754 [74.1%]), and most of them (886 [87.1%]) were unmarried. More than half of the respondents had tested for HIV (531 [52.2%])), with 3 (1.5%), 3 (1.7%), 2 (0.6%), 2 (1.8%) and 1 (0.5%) student from Arts, Biological Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Social Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine, respectively, having positive results. Only 304 (29.9%) of the students had prior knowledge of DPV-VR. There was about a two-fold increase in the acceptability of the dapivirine vaginal ring (DPV-VR) (294 to 596) after the intervention (p ≤ 0.001). Most of the students (466 [45.8%]) indicated that they would be willing to pay < N410.00 for a single dapivirine vaginal ring (DPV-VR). Conclusions: Many of the female students at UNN were willing to use the dapivirine vaginal ring (DPV-VR); even more after they were informed of its importance. Most of the students were willing to pay less than one dollar out-of-pocket for the ring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Repeating patterning proficiency predicts students' later mathematical proficiency. A comparative multi-case design enabled the present study to compare patterning success and strategy use for repeating patterns of 75 Norwegian 6-year-old grade 1 students. We provided the students with duplicate, extend, transfer, and unit isolation activities in a semi-structured, task-based interview that was video-recorded. The students' number sense was also measured using a digital assessment. In-depth analysis of 52 students (divided evenly into two groups based on their number sense scores, lowest and highest) was performed. A statistically significant group difference was found for extend activities. Multimodal video analysis of strategies employed revealed that both student groups used recursive and different strategies and only students with high number sense used relational strategies. The students with low number sense used more variants of recursive patterning strategies. Our findings also demonstrated that attention to pattern features may both hinder identification of a pattern's underlying structure and reflect advanced strategy use rather than not showing pattern awareness. We discuss group differences in terms of decomposition and awareness of mathematical pattern and structure and emphasise the need for scaffolding awareness of mathematical pattern and structure through communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple non-cystic renal lesions are occasionally discovered during imaging for various reasons and poses a diagnostic challenge to the practicing radiologist. These lesions may appear as a primary or dominant imaging finding or may be an additional abnormality in the setting of multiorgan involvement. Awareness of the imaging appearance of the various entities presenting as renal lesions integrated with associated extrarenal imaging findings along with clinical information is crucial for a proper diagnostic approach and patient work-up. This review summarizes the most relevant causes of infectious, inflammatory, vascular, and neoplastic disorders presenting as predominantly multiple focal non-cystic lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific integrity has been increasingly challenged by scientific misconduct and paper mills, resulting in an increase in retractions. Naunyn–Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology has been significantly impacted by fraudulent submissions, resulting in numerous retractions. By analyzing retraction notes and utilizing a post-publication surveillance strategy, this editorial discusses how this journal continues to deal with problematic publications, uncovers image- and physiological-related integrity issues, and responds to fraudulent activity. By adopting innovative methods to detect integrity issues and transparently communicating our concerns, we aim to increase awareness among scientists and scientific journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Epistaxis is commonly referred to as nosebleeds. The age range in which it most frequently manifests itself is three to eight years old. One of the primary settings for pediatric epistaxis is schools since kids can get accidental injuries while playing. The security and welfare of the pupils in school are the teacher's concerns. So, the teachers must be aware of the correct basic first-aid protocols. This study aims to assess the awareness of handling of epistaxis first aid in schools. Methodology: The study participant's responses were gathered using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. Statistical analysis was done and the significance of the results was assessed Results & Conclusion: The majority of participants felt confident when it came to managing epistaxis, despite the fact that they had not received any formal training and simply possessed only an average understanding of the subject, lacking detailed insights and intricacies related to its first aid treatment. This underscores the fact that they were overestimating their knowledge and expertise in this domain. Therefore, educators, who are typically the initial responders to pediatric epistaxis in schools, have a limited or inadequate understanding and familiarity with the appropriate first aid protocols. Further studies scaling larger populations and propagating awareness in institutes related to children especially through means of live demonstrations and workshops can advance first aid management during emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces an extension of the classical Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered (SIR) model by incorporating individual self-protection awareness to more accurately reflect its impact on epidemic spread. We derive outbreak thresholds for both homogeneous and heterogeneous networks and validate the model through theoretical analysis. Key findings from numerical simulations on Erdős-Rényi (ER) and Barabási-Albert (BA) networks show that self-protective behaviors significantly reduce the epidemic spread. Notably, while heterogeneous networks demonstrate a more pronounced reduction in the peak of infected individuals, they still exhibit a larger final infection scale and a lower outbreak threshold. These results highlight the dual impact of network structure and self-protection awareness on epidemic dynamics, offering new insights for infectious disease control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the popularization of electric vehicles (EVs), more and more charging stations are deployed in the urban area. This brings practical interest to the operation optimization of the charging station in a competitive charging market. As EV drivers are sensitive to the charging cost, the charging price is one of the major concerns during the operation optimization for the charging station. This paper considers this important problem and makes the following contributions. Firstly, a charging demand simulation method is proposed to generate the potential charging demand based on the transportation network and EV trip characteristic. By multiple scenarios generation, the uncertainties in the charging demand can be incorporated. Secondly, a competitor awareness model is proposed to predict the possible charging pricing policies of the competitors. This method can discover the implicit relationship between pricing policy and the status of the competitors without the requirement of the competitors' utility functions. Thirdly, a Grey wolf optimization (GWO)-based charging price determination algorithm is proposed considering the uncertain charging demand, the pricing policies of the competitors and the charging willingness of EVs. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed method can improve the competitiveness and the operation profit of the charging station. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflecting on everyday experiences offers valuable insights and has the potential to enhance psychological well-being. Yet, only some have access to a facilitator for reflection. Conversational agents hold promise as companions for these discussions. We surveyed individuals with therapy experience to understand user needs and arrived at interaction strategies used in therapy. We then evaluated these strategies with five therapists and transformed our data, along with their input, into a set of interaction strategies to be used on conversational agents for reflection. We developed an AI chatbot prototype where we implemented these strategies and conducted a 1-week in-the-wild study with 34 participants to evaluate the interaction strategies and experiences of interacting with a chatbot for reflection. Findings reveal that participants are willing to engage with a chatbot, even with limited capabilities. Critical aspects include the chatbot's contextual awareness, statement repetition, and human-like qualities. Successfully balancing questions with non-question statements is essential for a pleasurable dialogue-driven reflection. Our paper presents implications for future design and research studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a unified object-aware temporal learning framework for multi-view 3D detection and tracking tasks. Having observed that the efficacy of the temporal fusion strategy in recent multi-view perception methods may be weakened by distractors and background clutters in historical frames, we propose a cyclic learning mechanism to improve the robustness of multi-view representation learning. The essence is constructing a backward bridge to propagate information from model predictions (e.g., object locations and sizes) to image and BEV features, which forms a circle with regular inference. After backward refinement, the responses of target-irrelevant regions in historical frames would be suppressed, decreasing the risk of polluting future frames and improving the object awareness ability of temporal fusion. We further tailor an object-aware association strategy for tracking based on the cyclic learning model. The cyclic learning model not only provides refined features, but also delivers finer clues (e.g., scale level) for tracklet association. The proposed cycle learning method and association module together contribute a novel and unified multi-task framework. Experiments on nuScenes show that the proposed model achieves consistent performance gains over baselines of different designs (i.e., dense query-based BEVFormer, sparse query-based SparseBEV and LSS-based BEVDet4D) on both detection and tracking evaluation. Codes and models will be released. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To determine the relationship between gynecologic cancer awareness and health literacy among women of reproductive age. Methods: This study was conducted in a descriptive design and involved 510 women. Data collection utilized the "Personal Information Form", "Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Scale (GCAS)" and "Health Literacy Scale (HLS)", gathered. Pearson correlation and linear regression analyses, independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance and post hoc analyses were employed for data analysis. Effect sizes were calculated using eta-squared (η2) coefficients. Results: The mean total score of women on the GCAS was 154.42 ± 18.27, while the mean total score on the HLS was 57.07 ± 7.86. Significant differences were observed in women's GCAS total scores concerning age, perceived income status, and history of gynecological examination, whereas significant differences were noted in HLS total scores concerning age, educational status, marital status, and perceived income status. A weak positive correlation was detected betwixt women's GCAS and HLS total scores. It was determined that 20.8% of the total variation in gynecologic cancer awareness level was explained by health literacy. Conclusion: Women exhibit an above-average level of awareness regarding gynecologic cancers. Health literacy level contributes to an increase in gynecologic cancer awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Awareness about the oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) specialty in the Gulf Cooperation Council has increased in recent years with the expanding scope of practice of the specialty. Nevertheless, the perception of OMFS has not yet been investigated among healthcare students. The aim of this study was to compare the perceptions and knowledge of dental and medical students about OMFS. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study evaluating 100 dental and 100 medical students attending Kuwait University was conducted using a previously validated survey instrument. Students were instructed to select the most appropriate specialist to treat certain procedures across four disciplines: reconstruction, trauma, pathology and cosmetic procedures. Student year groups were compared statistically using Fisher's exact test. Results: The responses of both student groups showed disparities, with dental students showing overwhelmingly more awareness of the practice of OMFS. OMFS was preferred overall for most clinical scenarios in trauma (p < 0.001), pathology (p < 0.001), and reconstructive surgery (p < 0.001). Plastic surgery was preferred for cosmetic surgeries (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Our findings prompt us to revisit our dental and medical school's curriculum to increase the educational content related to OMFS procedures. Additional healthcare promotional campaigns and clinical awareness regarding OMFS are needed among healthcare professionals, university clinics and medical venues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raising Climate Change (CC) awareness is crucial for mitigating the negative effects of this phenomenon, as well as for ensuring a sustainable future for upcoming generations. This study assesses and compares the climate change awareness level of Mediterranean university students in France and Greece. Emphasis was given to three research questions regarding knowledge, information sources, and awareness level. A questionnaire was used to determine the knowledge level and awareness of 641 university students in France and Greece. Principal Component Analysis was used to determine the main factors influencing the above-mentioned aspects, as was an independent sample t-test to compare the sample's awareness level and socio-economic characteristics. Based on a modified climate change awareness index developed by the researchers, most students were found to have a low level of awareness of climate change. However, there is evidence that students are willing to undertake specific eco-friendly initiatives. Additionally, one of the study's key findings is that students' knowledge and awareness of climate change varies according to socio-demographic characteristics such as gender, age, income level, and academic field. Nationality was proved to be a significant factor influencing belief in CC and willingness to take action. Incentives for both formal and informal information should be provided by policymakers to ensure theoretical background as well as climate change-related actions, in order to raise climate change awareness across younger generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a severe hemoglobin gene mutation disorder inherited from both parents. 2% of Ghanaian newborns are affected by SCD; one in three Ghanaians has the hemoglobin S gene. Christian religious leaders may play a role in the prevention of SCD through the promotion of genetic counseling, genotype screening for premarital couples, and offering counseling to couples on prenatal screening and diagnosis for SCD. However, little is known about the awareness and perception of SCD among Christian religious leaders in Ghana, and this study aims to explore these. This study adopted a qualitative descriptive design to explore the awareness and perception of SCD among Christian religious leaders in the capital city of Ghana. A purposive sampling technique selected 16 participants from churches under the main Christian groups. The participants were chosen based on their roles and responsibilities within their respective churches. Data was collected using a semi-structured interview guide, which included open-ended questions to encourage participants to share their thoughts and experiences. The interviews were conducted in a private setting to ensure confidentiality. The data was then analyzed using a thematic analysis approach, which involved identifying recurring themes and patterns in the participants' responses. The study's findings are crucial. They reveal a high awareness of SCD among Christian religious leaders, but also some misconceptions. Most of the religious leaders knew SCD was a genetic disease, although a few associated SCD with superstitious beliefs, poor dietary intake, and lifestyle. Some also stated that SCD was a disease of the blood group instead of the defective haemoglobin gene. They perceived SCD to be burdensome, disruptive, and draining, and they associated the disease with burnout in Persons Living with SCD (PLWSCD) and their families. The religious leaders had a good social network with PLWSCD, including family, friends, colleagues, and congregants. These findings underscore the need for intense education about SCD, especially among Christian religious leaders. It is crucial to engage all stakeholders to intensify public awareness and education about SCD while improving the management and social support systems available to PLWSCD and families. This includes the religious institution's leadership, PLWSCD and families, the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, and the Ghana Education Service. As active stakeholders, religious leaders can play a vital role in supporting PLWSCD if they are equipped with the necessary knowledge about the condition.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aspect-level sentiment analysis plays a pivotal role in fine-grained sentiment categorization, especially given the rapid expansion of online information. Traditional methods often struggle with accurately determining sentiment polarity when faced with implicit or ambiguous data, leading to limited accuracy and context-awareness. To address these challenges, we propose the Deep Context-Aware Sentiment Analysis Model (DCASAM). This model integrates the capabilities of Deep Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory Network (DBiLSTM) and Densely Connected Graph Convolutional Network (DGCN), enhancing the ability to capture long-distance dependencies and subtle contextual variations.The DBiLSTM component effectively captures sequential dependencies, while the DGCN component leverages densely connected structures to model intricate relationships within the data. This combination allows DCASAM to maintain a high level of contextual understanding and sentiment detection accuracy.Experimental evaluations on well-known public datasets, including Restaurant14, Laptop14, and Twitter, demonstrate the superior performance of DCASAM over existing models. Our model achieves an average improvement in accuracy by 1.07% and F1 score by 1.68%, showcasing its robustness and efficacy in handling complex sentiment analysis tasks.These results highlight the potential of DCASAM for real-world applications, offering a solid foundation for future research in aspect-level sentiment analysis. By providing a more nuanced understanding of sentiment, our model contributes significantly to the advancement of fine-grained sentiment analysis techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epistemological disjunctivists hold that perceiving subjects have "reflective access" to factive perceptual support for belief. However, little has been done to elaborate the intended notion of reflection, or introspective awareness more generally. Moreover, critics have pointed out that the disjunctivist conception of "reflective access" can seem vulnerable to varieties of Williamson's anti-luminosity argument. In this paper I defend disjunctivism from this charge, arguing that it holds the resources for a potent defense of the claim that knowledge of perceptual states is luminous. Indeed, I argue that appreciating the relation between disjunctivism and luminosity sheds critical light on how the disjunctivist conceives of perceptual support for belief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metacognitive awareness is essential in regulating second language (L2) listening and has been predominantly assessed by a multidimensional instrument named the Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire (MALQ). Since previous studies have yielded inconclusive evidence concerning the generalization of MALQ, it is important to examine the overall reliability of the MALQ measures from a meta-analytical perspective. The purpose of the study was to examine variability in the reliability of MALQ measures in the field of L2 listening. A meta-analytic reliability generalization (RG) was conducted to synthesize Cronbach's alpha coefficients derived from 45 studies that used MALQ. The results showed that the aggregated reliability estimate was 0.80 for MALQ measures, with four out of the five subscales having an aggregate reliability coefficient larger than 0.7, i.e., 0.73 for mental translation, 0.74 for planning and evaluating, 0.71 for person knowledge, and 0.79 for problem-solving. On the other hand, the reliability of directed attention was 0.68, falling short of meeting the minimum requirement of 0.70. In addition, as a high degree of heterogeneity was found in the studies included, a mixed effect meta-regression was performed, identifying four moderators affecting the reliability of MALQ measures: publication year, educational setting, participants' L1, and L2 proficiency level. We further found evidence for publication bias in the included publications. Suggestions for future research are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Psychotherapie Forum is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is implicated in causing several types of cancer, including cervical cancer. In Brazil, the quadrivalent HPV vaccine is provided free of charge for children between the ages of 9 and 14. Nevertheless, the vaccination coverage rate has remained below 60% since its implementation in 2014. This study aimed (i) to assess the knowledge of parents/guardians on HPV infection and vaccine prophylaxis and (ii) to test the association between having a "higher degree of knowledge" (HDK) and the sociodemographic characteristics. A total of 388 parents/guardians of children of vaccination age were enrolled. Questions assessing sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, and attitudes toward HPV infection and vaccination were administered to participants via a self-answered questionnaire. Questionnaires of 343 participants were considered for analysis. Participants who answered at least 70% of the questions correctly were classified as presenting HDK. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for the associations between population characteristics and HDK. This study occurred prior to the COVID-19 pandemic; thus, the pandemic was not considered in our analysis. A total of 212 (61.8%) participants showed HDK. Participants who were male (OR = 0.39; 95% CI = 0.22, 0.70) and lived in larger households (OR = 0.48; 95% CI = 0.25, 0.95) were less likely to present HDK. Participants who reported having an acquaintance with prior/concurrent HPV infection were more likely to have HDK (OR = 3.78; 95% CI = 2.02, 7.05). These findings suggest the importance of developing novel strategies for raising parental awareness of HPV, particularly targeting males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Morocco, cervical cancer is a serious public health problem with an estimated number of 2165 new cases and 1199 deaths in 2020. The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has been available in Morocco since 2008. Few data are available on physicians' practices and attitudes toward HPV vaccine. Hence, this study aims to evaluate physicians' awareness and practice towards HPV vaccine and to highlight the main factors affecting physicians' recommendation of this vaccine in Morocco. We have carried out a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire with 500 physicians in different Moroccan regions between March 2019 and March 2020. This study showed an insufficient level of awareness of the two most common types of HPV associated with cervical cancer (36.6%). The rate of HPV vaccine recommendation did not exceed 16.6%. However, more than 63% of participants who were aware of HPV vaccine were willing to recommend it for their future eligible patients. Age (p value < 0.01), sector of activity (p value < 0.01), awareness of the two most common types of HPV associated with genital warts (p value = 0.02), of the vaccine schedules (p value = 0.03), and of the commercial name of this vaccine (p value < 0.01), were significant factors influencing physicians' recommendation of HPV vaccine. Our results showed that, older age (above 51 years old) was associated with negative attitude towards the recommendation of this vaccine (OR: 0.17, 0.06–0.46 CI 95%). Practice in public sector was positively associated with recommendation of HPV vaccine (OR: 7.54, 3.38–16.80 CI 95%). Who were aware of the two most common types of HPV associated with genital warts were more likely to recommend HPV vaccine (OR: 3.36, 1.31–8.65 CI 95%). In the same line, participants, who were also more likely to recommend the vaccine, were those who were aware of HPV vaccine schedules (OR: 6.07, 3.51–10.50 IC 95%); participants who were aware of the commercial name of the HPV vaccine were more likely to recommend the vaccine (OR: 10.04, 5.02–20.09 IC 95%). Indeed, raising physicians' awareness is urgently needed to improve HPV vaccine coverage within Moroccan population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects up to 936 million adults globally and is linked to significant health risks, including neurocognitive impairment, cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic conditions. Despite its prevalence, OSA remains largely underdiagnosed. This study aimed to enhance OSA awareness and risk assessment using the STOP-Bang questionnaire in a telemedicine format. Methods: During a six-week campaign on a popular Latin American news portal, 5,966 adults completed the STOP-Bang questionnaire. Participants reporting moderate or severe OSA risk were advised to seek clinical evaluation. Results: Among respondents, 44.7% were identified as having a moderate-to-high risk for OSA. Key risk factors included snoring, witnessed apneas, hypertension, male gender, older age, high BMI, and larger neck circumference. Statistical analyses showed significant associations between these variables and OSA risk. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of increasing OSA visibility and early detection in the general population. Despite limitations such as selection bias and potential false negatives/positives with the STOP-Bang tool, the findings demonstrate the potential of media campaigns to raise awareness and prompt early medical consultation. Future efforts should include follow-up assessments to evaluate healthcare-seeking behavior and confirm OSA diagnoses, contributing to improved public health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by empirical work on coercive and collaborative lay theories of power, this qualitative study explored perceptions and experiences of power acquisition and maintenance in romantic relationships. Utilising data from 15 semi-structured interviews, we generated four themes using reflexive thematic analysis. Two themes related to the coercive theory of power: (1) patriarchal culture automatically affords men more power, (2) the practice of coercion. Two themes corresponded with the collaborative theory of power: (1) power balance is desired and beneficial, (2) emotional responsiveness and awareness. While most participants articulated features of both coercive and collaborative theories of power, the emergence of either was largely dependent on the context in which power was discussed. Our findings indicate potential gender differences. While both men and women were described as capable of using coercive tactics to acquire relationship power, men were articulated to adopt overt strategies, whereas women were highlighted to employ furtive tactics. Women additionally described how culture is functionally coercive insofar as it is structured to afford men greater power in romantic relationships. Collectively, our results provide preliminary support for extending lay theories of power into the context of romantic relationships whilst highlighting the complexities in how they emerge and are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Egyptian Heart Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Electronic cigarette use has increased exponentially in Egypt and all over the world. However, there is insufficient information about their use among Cairo University medical students. This study aimed to assess e-cigarette knowledge, attitude, and use among Cairo University medical students. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 300 consenting Cairo University medical students in the period of 1st November 2023 to 15th December 2023 was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire. A multistage sampling technique was used to randomly select 300 students: 150 students from the third year and 150 from the fifth year of the Cairo University Medical School. Results: The mean age was 22.12 ± 1.87 years and 69.3% were males and 30.7% were females. Most of them (88.3%) had heard about e-cigarettes, with higher knowledge for students in their clinical years. The main sources of information were the media and friends (41.8% and 37.5%). By type, 14%, 12.7%, and 7.3% were cigarette, shisha, and e-cigarette smokers. Smoking prevalence was higher among males and students in their clinical years (12% and 4.7% in clinical and preclinical years respectively, p = 0.02). Among all, 39.3%, 10.2%, and 3.3% of the participants' friends, siblings, and parents smoked e-cigarettes respectively; compared to 16.7%, 17.9%, and 33% among the subset of participants who were e-cigarette smokers. A significantly lower percentage of e-cigarette smokers believed that e-cigarettes are addictive or cause respiratory problems, and a higher percentage thought that e-cigarettes are less harmful, help in smoking cessation, and that their nicotine content is lower than traditional cigarettes. Predictors of e-cigarette smoking were being in clinical years, cigarette and shisha smoking, and having friends who are e-cigarette smokers. Conclusion: The study revealed several students' misconceptions and a wide variation in their attitudes about the harmful and addictive effects of e-cigarettes. This underscores the urgent need for the development of a medical school curriculum to provide accurate information about e-cigarettes to address the problem of its growing use in Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Object detection in drone aerial images is challenging due to the difficulty of small object detection and complex backgrounds. To address these issues, this paper proposes an improved object detection model, perception and target capture detector (PTCDet), to increase detection accuracy and robustness in complex scenes. Specifically, the proposed multiple feature extraction attention (MFEA) module significantly enhances the ability of the model to detect small objects through multidimensional feature map augmentation. The weighted perceptive field augmentation (WPFA) module is designed to improve the contextual awareness and feature representation of the model, optimizing detection accuracy for small objects. Based on the multiscale feature fusion structure, an enhanced scale fusion detection (ESFD) module is used to improve small object detection by generating larger scale feature maps. Ultimately, the inner focaler IoU loss (INFL) function effectively accelerates the regression of detection bounding boxes, enhancing the generalization ability and overall detection performance of the model. The experimental results on three public datasets demonstrate that PTCDet outperforms other detection algorithms. For example, on the VisDrone dataset, compared with the baseline model YOLOv8, map@0.5 and map@0.5:0.95 are improved by 6.21% and 4.21%, respectively. PTCDet exhibits excellent performance in addressing complex backgrounds and small object detection, providing an effective and robust solution for object detection tasks in drone aerial images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioaerosols, airborne biological particles, are present ubiquitously in nature. When inhaled, ingested, or exposed to the skin, can pose various health risks. Bioaerosols sampling is crucial for educational institutes in view of high occupancy, long exposure duration and proximity between occupants. A comprehensive study was designed to determine size-segregated bioaerosols concentration, size-wise deposition fraction, and the dose inhaled by the exposed population. The bacterial and fungal bioaerosols concentrations were measured at 4 locations viz. undergraduate laboratory (IN 1), Molecular Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Laboratory (IN 2), college nursery (OUT 1) and open cafeteria (OUT 2). Sampling was conducted using a 6-stage viable Andersen cascade impactor and culturable bioaerosols were counted by colony counting method. The highest average concentrations of bacterial and fungal bioaerosols were found in IN 1 and OUT 1. The bioaerosols concentration was influenced by a complex interplay of factors, majorly including ventilation, footfall, occupancy, and surrounding vegetation. The size distribution analysis showed that a significant portion was in the respirable size range (< 4.5 μm), capable of reaching the lower respiratory tract and causing potential health issues. The dosimetry modelling further assisted in predicting the bioaerosols dose deposition in different regions of the human respiratory tract. Subsequently, to discern the connection between bioaerosols exposure and respiratory ailments, bioaerosols exposure awareness and health survey was conducted for individuals in the vicinity of sampling locations. The knowledge garnered from the study can make the basis for the health risk assessment due to bioaerosols exposure in educational environments to appraise potential health hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Awareness structures by Fagin, Halpern (Artif Intell 34:39–76, 1988) (FH) feature a syntactic awareness correspondence and accessibility relations modeling implicit knowledge. They are a flexible model of unawareness, and best interpreted from an outside modeler’s perspective. Unawareness structures by Heifetz et al. (J Econ Theory, 130:78–94, 2006, Games Econ Behav 62:305–324, 2008) (HMS) model awareness by a lattice of state spaces and explicit knowledge via possibility correspondences. Sublattices thereof can be interpreted as subjective views of agents. Open questions include (1) how implicit knowledge can be defined in HMS structures, and (2) in which way FH structures can be extended to model the agents’ subjective views. In this paper, we address (1) by defining implicit knowledge such that it is consistent with explicit knowledge in HMS models. We also introduce a variant of HMS models that instead of explicit knowledge, takes implicit knowledge and awareness as primitives. Further, we address (2) by introducing a category of FH models that are modally equivalent relative to sublanguages and can be interpreted as agents’ subjective views depending on their awareness. These constructions allow us to show an equivalence between HMS and FH models. As a corollary, we obtain soundness and completeness of HMS models with respect to the Logic of Propositional Awareness, based on a language featuring both implicit and explicit knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study skills are important for success in college. However, students may not be aware of or willing to use effective strategies such as spaced practice and self-testing. This replication-extension study of Susser and McCabe (Susser and McCabe in Instr Sci 41:345–363, 2013) supports their original findings regarding spaced practice and extends the investigation to self-testing. Using the same survey method as the previous researchers, we found that college students showed awareness of the efficacy of spaced practice over massed practice and reported using it in ideal situations. Students reported greater use of spaced studying when a test was difficult, more heavily weighted, or over material of future use. Greater metacognitive self-regulation and elaboration was related to greater reported use of spaced practice. Extending beyond the original study to look self-testing, students were aware of the usefulness of self-testing. Similar to spaced practice, students reported being more likely to use self-testing for more difficult tests and heavily weighted tests. Those with greater metacognitive self-regulation were also more likely to report greater use of self-testing, although greater elaboration was not correlated with reported use of self-testing. Students with a higher GPA were also more likely to report spaced studying and self-testing. Findings suggest that students do know about some effective study strategies. Use of effective strategies may be helpful but students do not report using them in all settings. Educators may be interested in creating circumstances that encourage students to use effective strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile applications in crop protection especially for speedy pest diagnosis, monitoring, and management are increasingly gaining global attention and support. An understanding of the awareness and perception of the youths, particularly students in tertiary institutions (who are heavy users of smartphones), on the use of smartphone applications for crop protection, is crucial for sharpening their orientations towards embracing the digital ecosystem in agriculture. The imperativeness is evident in the ongoing government drive towards promoting students' engagement in digital agriculture as accommodated in the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (2022–2027). Consequently, this study investigated awareness and perception of mobile phone applications among crop and agricultural extension-related final-year students in selected Universities in Southwest Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used in selecting 407 students. Data were obtained with the aid of questionnaires. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation using SPSS software. Findings show that very few (less than 8%) of the respondents were aware of the usage of specific smart/android phone applications for pest identification, disease diagnosis, and weather forecasting. Less than 4% ever used smart/android phones for pest identification, crop protection, and information sourcing on disease diagnosis and management. However, their perception of the need for pest and disease diagnosis as a foundation step to enhance crop protection (4.65 points on a scale of 5), and readiness to use android/smartphone applications for this purpose (MS = 4.45) was positive. There are enormous implications for increased awareness and knowledge sharing on the use of android/smartphone applications for crop protection and other interventions to promote digital agriculture among students in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing attentional resources for a task can enhance the performance of a concurrent memory task; this phenomenon is referred to as the Attentional Boost Effect (ABE). This effect is consistently observed in item memory. However, the results are mixed regarding its presence in the two primary types of associative memory with vocabulary as the material: source memory and context memory. Previous research has yet to examine item memory and these two types of associative memory ABE within the same experimental context. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of encoding awareness, encoding frequency, and encoding duration on the ABE in vocabulary memory through three experiments. The results indicate that the ABE for vocabulary item memory and source memory is relatively stable and unaffected by encoding awareness, encoding frequency, and encoding duration. However, the presence of ABE in vocabulary context memory is influenced by encoding frequency. These findings suggest that the ABE in vocabulary memory is affected by the specific type of memory. This result also supports the notion that ABE is not a broad, undifferentiated enhancement of background information but rather involves a specific allocation mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different strains of identical species can vary substantially in terms of their spectrum of biomedically relevant phenotypes. Reconstructing the genomes of microbial communities at the level of their strains poses significant challenges, because sequencing errors can obscure strain-specific variants. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) reads are too short to resolve complex genomic regions. Third-generation sequencing (TGS) reads, although longer, are prone to higher error rates or substantially more expensive. Limiting TGS coverage to reduce costs compromises the accuracy of the assemblies. This explains why prior approaches agree on losses in strain awareness, accuracy, tendentially excessive costs, or combinations thereof. We introduce HyLight, a metagenome assembly approach that addresses these challenges by implementing the complementary strengths of TGS and NGS data. HyLight employs strain-resolved overlap graphs (OG) to accurately reconstruct individual strains within microbial communities. Our experiments demonstrate that HyLight produces strain-aware and contiguous assemblies at minimal error content, while significantly reducing costs because utilizing low-coverage TGS data. HyLight achieves an average improvement of 19.05% in preserving strain identity and demonstrates near-complete strain awareness across diverse datasets. In summary, HyLight offers considerable advances in metagenome assembly, insofar as it delivers significantly enhanced strain awareness, contiguity, and accuracy without the typical compromises observed in existing approaches. Reconstructing the genomes of microbial communities at the level of their strains poses significant challenges because sequencing errors can obscure strain-specific variants. Here the authors present a strain-aware approach that utilizes the complementary strengths of next-generation sequencing (NGS) and third-generation sequencing (TGS) reads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to develop a valid and reliable tool for measuring beliefs and attitudes regarding incest. Incest can be considered a widespread social problem. Despite the prevalence of incest, a tool that can measure knowledge of and attitudes toward incest in Turkey is still a necessity. In this study, 457 adults participated in the first and 255 adults in the second stage. To collect the data, Incest Scale, Childhood Emotional Incest Scale and demographic form were used. Exploratory/Confirmatory factor analysis, parallel analysis, reliability analysis were performed, and criterion validity was tested. A 23-item and 5-factor scale was obtained. The fit indexes obtained as a result of confirmatory factor analysis were satisfactory. Positive significant correlations were found between incest and childhood emotional incest. The reliability coefficients ​​were found to be within acceptable limits. This study is expected to fill a significant gap in the field, promote awareness regarding incest, and make an important contribution to the field to combat incest effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, vessels have become increasingly digitized, reflecting broader societal trends. As a result, maritime operations have become an attractive target for cyber threat actors. Despite the limited cybersecurity training seafarers receive, they are expected to operate within technologically advanced environments. The importance of cybersecurity awareness is evident, but the extent of seafarers' knowledge in this area remains uncertain. This article investigates three primary aspects: (1) the current state of cybersecurity onboard cargo vessels, (2) seafarers' cybersecurity awareness, and (3) potential improvements in seafarers' cybersecurity awareness. To accomplish this, a literature review is conducted to collect and analyze current research, supplemented by a questionnaire survey targeting Turkish seafarers. Our findings support increased investment in awareness and training programs, including organizational-wide cybersecurity awareness efforts, more frequent training, mandatory training for all seafarers through the Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW), and the appointment of a cybersecurity Officer (CySO) to ensure satisfactory cybersecurity levels onboard. Since this article focuses on high-level topics by assessing the general state of maritime cybersecurity and seafarers' cybersecurity awareness, it does not delve into detailed considerations of awareness and training programs. Nevertheless, it lays the foundation for future research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a study exploring the expressive and creative potential of dance phrase onsets and endings in interactive dance, using an artistic research approach. After describing the context and background of interactive dance and relevant perceptual issues, the technical setup is presented, both in terms of the performance area, sensors and other hardware, and software. The main part of the article is concerned with the specific movement-sound mappings and their relation to the dancer's movement choices in four different sections in the performance that the project resulted in, entitled Beginnings and Endings - Study I. Subsequently, the process and performance are evaluated, specifically focusing on the performer's perspective. The most interesting points from the evaluation are then discussed with reference to the presented mappings, related movement choices, and relevant research literature. Findings include that the dancer experienced an increased awareness of beginnings and endings in different sections of the performance, that the affordances of different mappings were explored in different ways and to different degrees, and that some of this could be ascribed to a dynamic between liberation and restriction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevention of aquatic invasive species is one of the most cost-effective management strategies for reducing negative ecological, economic, and social impacts to freshwater ecosystems. The release of leftover baitfish via the live bait trade has been identified as a high-risk pathway for introducing invasive species beyond physical barriers (e.g., mountains, dams). To assess differences in behavior surrounding live bait use and angler knowledge of invasive species, we conducted in-person angler surveys at waterbody access sites (i.e. boat ramps with available shore fishing and a shore fishing location with no boat ramp) along the Missouri River, above and below Gavins Point Dam (Yankton, South Dakota, USA). We were primarily interested in whether angler behavior and knowledge differed among fishing locations over the course of a year because of potential variation in risk. Gavins Point Dam is impervious to fish passage and prevents the spread of invasive silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix and bighead carp H. nobilis (collectively known as bigheaded carp), but bigheaded carp could be transported above this dam by the use of live baitfish. Regardless of where respondents fished (above the dam/carp absent, below the dam/carp present, or both), 70% ± 11.12 of anglers used live baitfish and 57% ± 3.14 participated in 'higher risk' baitfish practices including release. Knowledge of bigheaded carp was limited, as only 2% ± 1.31 of respondents identified both bigheaded carp as invasive in an image collage, 51.82% ± 4.48 could not identify where invasive carp are present/absent, and 40% ± 3.34 of anglers had not received any information regarding bigheaded carp. These findings highlight limitations in angler knowledge, compliance, and identification of native and invasive species. Future implementable actions could include invasive species and baitfish release outreach via electronic media sources or additional signage that address these knowledge gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing awareness of biodiversity loss, the demand for standardized monitoring is also growing. Moths are a species rich group and can easily be monitored with traps. However the traps have to be portable to cover remote areas. The disadvantage of the commonly used Heath trap are heavy batteries and the unreliable actinic is not very energy efficient. Therefore we invented a new, portable LED trap which reliable switch on and is more energy efficient. In this study, we compared the number of attracted individuals and moth species between the standard Heath trap and a 2835 LED-strip. We also tested the aging effect after 1000 and 2000 h runtime to rule out monitoring the deterioration of the LED and compared the new 2835 strip with a brighter 5050 LED-strip. The 2835 LED attracts on average 2.3 times more moths compared to the Heath trap. This is partly caused by the energy inefficiency of the actinic whereby it only runs 2/3 of the night compared to the whole night with the 2835 LED, emphasizing energy efficiency as big advantage of LED. No difference in the total number of individuals was found after 1000 and 2000 h runtime compared to new LEDs. The 5050 LEDs attracted on average 2.0 more moths compared to the 2835 LEDs, suggesting this LED as alternative for relatively species poor regions. Implications for insect conservation The LedTrap can be used everywhere within a standardised monitoring scheme or within moth related experiments, resulting in a better understanding of their trends and preferences, which contributes to their conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proposed method for joint entity and relation extraction integrates the tasks of entity extraction and relation classification by sharing the encoding layer. However, the method faces challenges due to incongruities in the contextual information captured by these subtasks, resulting in potential feature conflicts and adverse effects on model performance. To address this, we introduced a novel joint entity and relation extraction method that incorporates multi-module feature information enhancement (MFIE) (https://github.com/liyao345496280/Relation-extraction). We employ a relation awareness enhancement module for the entity extraction task, which directs the model's focus towards extracting entities closely related to potential relations using a potential relation extraction module and an attention mechanism. For the relation extraction task, we implement an entity information enhancement module that uses entity extraction results to augment the original feature information through a gating mechanism, thereby enhancing relation classification performance. Experiments on the NYT and WebNLG datasets demonstrate that our method performs well. Compared to the state-of-the-art method, the F1 score on the NYT dataset improved by 0.7%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most traditional marketers avoid using mindful consumption (MC) despite fast-rising consumer mindfulness, MC-advocation by trade magazines, and the success of tech-savvy, MC-oriented start-ups. We identify two gaps for this divergence—varying conceptions of MC and lack of a valid MC scale. Conception clarity and a valid MC scale are important for advancing managerial practice. We first integrate current, varying conceptions to identify three MC dimensions: Awareness, Caring, and Temperance. These signify awareness of self, society, and the environment (SSE), caring for the effects of consumption on SSE, and temperance in consumption. We then develop, refine, and validate the MC scale using 10 studies. We also assess the MC nomological network and scale robustness across genders, ages, occupations, and incomes. Marketers can use MC scale for product innovation, differentiation, and diversification. Policymakers can use this to nudge people towards MC-oriented sustainable behavior. This research opens multiple avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine whether and how managerial attention to environmental protection (MAEP) affects firms' green innovation. Using a sample of Chinese public firms in heavily polluting industries, we find a positive association between MAEP and green innovation. We further find that firms have better green innovation performance when managerial attention is directed towards specific environmental issues rather than broad ones. In mechanism analyses, we find evidence that MAEP promotes green innovation by making more environmental investments and by cultivating environmental awareness within firms. Moreover, MAEP's impact on green innovation is more pronounced when firms have few financial constraints or high-quality internal information environments. Finally, we demonstrate that MAEP promotes firms' high-quality green innovation, that MAEP-induced green innovation can lead firms to lower pollutant discharges in future, and that MAEP's effect on green innovation exists in firms with fewer greenwashing incentives, thus ruling out the greenwashing explanation. Overall, our findings document that increasing managerial attention to environmental protection is vital for non-green firms to initiate successful green practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphological awareness has been shown to contribute to the acquisition of literacy in various languages. The current study focuses on an explicit derivational morphology training program in French-speaking fourth graders with the aim of measuring direct effects on morphological awareness and transfer effects on spelling and reading. The intensive training given in class consisted of (1) learning how to segment words into smaller units and (2) understanding the meaning of affixes in relation to words. Thirty-six children received the morphology training and 34 age-matched participants followed an alternative visuo-semantic training matched for intensity. The results of this pre-post group comparison study show a significant Group by Time interaction: Substantial progress in morphological awareness is observed for the group trained in morphology, on both trained as well as on untrained items. A similar gain was observed for the spelling of morphologically derived words, for trained and untrained words. Both roots and affixes were spelled more accurately. For reading however, we found a learning effect in speed and accuracy on trained words, but no generalization to untrained words. All effects were maintained four months after training. These results highlight the role that morphology plays in children's literacy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meaning salience, or awareness of meaning in the present moment, is an emerging concept with potential implications for health and wellness. The purpose of this study was to understand the relationships between meaning salience and eight dimensions of wellness, and to see whether meaning salience moderated the relationship between presence of meaning and wellness. Participants (N = 1711) were recruited to complete a cross-sectional survey through Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Meaning salience was related to better wellness in seven of the eight wellness domains (healthy eating and activity, financial stress, occupational wellness, sleep, perceived wellness, social wellness, and stress, excluding avoiding unhealthy foods). Meaning salience significantly moderated the relationships between presence of meaning and four of eight wellness dimensions, such that at high levels of meaning salience, both high and low presence of meaning had stronger relationships with wellness. Those with high meaning salience and high presence of meaning scored best on four wellness dimensions; however, those with high meaning salience and low presence of meaning scored the worst on four wellness dimensions. Future research should explore what factors drive the relationship between meaning salience and wellness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The etiological diversity of pulmonary hypertension and its association with other accompanying unrelated symptoms is why this disease may be primarily diagnosed by physicians of different medical specialties. In this study, we sought to evaluate the awareness of physicians regarding pulmonary hypertension across different regions in Egypt and among different medical specialties this is because we believed that pulmonary hypertension disease awareness differed among different specialties. Methodology: The survey is conducted from January 2023 to April 2023 targeting certified physicians of different medical specialties in Egypt. A self-administered questionnaire is designed to evaluate and capture information on the awareness of physicians of different medical specialties regarding the diagnosis and management of disease. The questionnaire is offered through an online Google form link, that is made available in two languages English and Arabic for dissemination. Results: A total number of 177 physicians of different medical specialties participated in the questionnaire, 97 (54.8%) participants were males, and 80 (45.2%) participants were females with a mean age of 36.88 ± 7.18. Among different medical specialties, 89.4% (n = 76) of the pulmonologists and 91.9% (n = 34) of the cardiologists participating in the survey have satisfactory PH disease knowledge above 75% with a statistically high significant difference of 0.000, in addition, 87.1% (n = 74) of the pulmonologists and 94.6% (n = 35) of the cardiologists have satisfactory PH disease management knowledge above 75% with a statistically significant difference of 0.000. Coincidentally most participants encountering PH patients in their daily clinical practice have satisfactory PH disease knowledge above 75% and satisfactory PH disease management knowledge above 75% with percentages of 84.8% and 82.3% respectively with statistically significant differences of 0.000 and 0.043 respectively. Conclusions: Our research highlights the importance of appropriate awareness of the healthcare providers of different medical specialties regarding PH disease essential to abide by the current guidelines in management as well as prioritizing the establishment of geographically available designated expert centers enforcing proper clinical practice. Thus, aiming at reducing the prereferral malpractice noted as the prescription of targeted therapy based on the clinical and imaging assessment only without hemodynamic study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new argument in favor of the Awareness Principle, the principle that one is always aware of one's concurrent conscious states. Informally, the argument is this: (1) Your conscious states are such that you can attend to them without undertaking any action beyond mere shift of attention; but (2) You cannot come to attend to something without undertaking any action beyond mere shift of attention unless you are already aware of that thing; so, (3) Your conscious states are such that you are aware of them. We open by introducing more fully the Awareness Principle (§ 1) and explicating the crucial notion of "mere shift of attention" (§ 2). We then develop the argument more fully, first in an intuitive form (§ 3) and then more formally (§ 4), before replying to a series of objections (§§ 5–7). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this survey, we aimed to provide the description of previous oocyte donors' profile in a Belgian tertiary fertility hospital clinic. The research question is as follows: could certain aspects be changed or improved, according to previous oocyte donors? The final purpose is to boost adherence to future oocyte donation (OD) programs, given the large gap between supply and demand. Methods: We set up an observational cross-sectional study of oocyte donors who were recruited in a tertiary referral hospital. Participants were asked to join an anonymous online survey with questions about demographic and reproductive variables, reasons to start or discontinue OD, satisfaction rate, experience, and attitude towards presumed anonymity. Results: A total of 218 women were eligible to join the study, with a response rate of 49% (108/218). The emerging profile of the oocyte donor is a well-educated (102/108 with at least a high school degree), employed (86/108) woman in her thirties. Altruism and solidarity were the main drivers of their choice (105/108), and a general permissive attitude towards disclosure of their personal information to the recipient (60/108) was registered. In case of negative experience or discontinuation, concerns regarding pain management and specific long-lasting psychological support were expressed (8/20). Conclusions: Our findings suggest the need to improve pain relief and to offer psychological support even beyond ending the donation process. These interventions could improve both participation and adherence to OD programs, ensuring an autonomous and free choice while avoiding any risk of exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The celebrated Russian philosopher, Evald Ilyenkov, draws on Spinoza to solve a key philosophical problem: how exactly does the mind connect to the real world? However, the proposed solution has come under much criticism, for example in a recent special issue of Studies of East European Thought (74, 3). This paper aims to clearly explain the solution, overcoming misunderstandings that are evident in the special issue. The kernel of the solution is an argument that human cognition rests on practical activity. In practical activity humans do not act on a fixed structure within their own bodies, in the manner, say, that the activity of water is determined by its fixed structure, H2O. Instead, human practical activity directly connects with and continually adapts to the structures and causal powers of external bodies. Awareness of practical activity thereby gives the human mind access to a mode of activity that is in direct contact and ever-greater accordance with the objects of the real world. The paper will elaborate and develop this kernel, with particular attention to the notion of 'causal powers' that it contains, by drawing from the revival in philosophy and the social sciences of what has been termed 'causal powers realism'. The paper thereby opens new insights and connections regarding the Spinoza-Ilyenkov solution, alleviating the potential for misunderstandings evident in the special issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this exploratory descriptive study, changes in one cohort's responses to an authentic statistical investigation at the commencement of years 3 and 4 were analysed. Forty-four students made predictions by interpreting a data table of historical monthly temperatures, represented these data and explained their reasoning. An Awareness of Mathematical Pattern and Structure (AMPS) framework was extended to analyse students' responses at five increasing levels of predictive reasoning. More developed predictive reasoning was observed in year 4 than for year 3, as well as large individual differences in both years. Most year 4 students (87%) made predictions within the historical range, relative to half the same cohort in year 3 (54%). More year 4 students (79%) made predictions based on extraction, clustering and aggregation of these data than those in year 3 (51%). Year 4 students noticed patterns such as seasonal trends and variability in these data and observed measures of central tendency. By year 4, 57% of students' representations demonstrated transnumeration using extracted data from the table, including pictorial, column and line graphs. However, most students' representations and explanations of these data lagged behind their predictions at both year levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks, reliable information transmission relies on an effective routing strategy. Most existing reinforcement learning-based routing methods are ineffective in dynamic network environments and cannot prevent inefficient network routing. Efficient network routing can be controlled by network traffic management, so this paper proposes an intelligent routing strategy based on Deep Reinforcement Learning to enhance routing performance. By integrating intersection forwarding and traffic awareness capabilities, this paper addresses the problem of local optimality and utilizes the Deep Q Network to make intersection forwarding decisions. The state space of this strategy consists of intersection nodes, road information between intersections, and forwarding packet information. When a vehicle node carrying a packet approaches an intersection based on the state space, the intersection node uses a neural network to select the optimal next-hop relay intersection from past learning experiences. It generates appropriate vehicle routing decisions based on information from the current and candidate relay intersections. Finally, we use the real taxi trajectory data of Beijing City to conduct extensive simulation experiments. Simulation results and analysis demonstrate that the proposed strategy outperforms related research regarding higher average packet delivery ratio, shorter average end-to-end delay, and lower average overhead ratio in dense and sparse traffic periods under real road environments. Consequently, this strategy provides efficient and reliable message transmission services for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To explore the ability of Dental Students (DS), Medical Students (MS), Trainee Interns (TI) and Pre-vocational Junior Doctors (JD) in identifying procedures performed by Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS), the scope of practice (SOP) of OMS and ability to differentiate OMS from similar specialities. Methods: The study included 282 complete responses to a survey consisting of: 9 demographic questions, 11 OMS awareness, professional ambition, teaching and exposure, confidence in identifying and referring questions and 70 procedural/scenario questions across four domains. Collected data was qualitatively and statistically analysed using SPSS V29. Results: OMS awareness was limited. 92.2% reported None to Small amount of OMS teaching and exposure during university, with 66.0% preferring to have had a Fair to Significant amount. DS experienced more than medical respondents (2.1 vs. 1.5, p < 0.001). Most respondents reported No to Low confidence in identifying the SOP and procedures performed by OMS (67.7%) and referring to OMS (62.4%) compared to similar specialities (32.4% and 33.2%, respectively). 52.9% of procedures performed by OMS were correctly identified as being performed by OMS. The ability to identify the OMS SOP (8.7%) and differentiate OMS from similar specialities (5.0%) was low, however better among DS than medical respondents (14.9% vs. 6.3%, p = 0.002 and 12.2% vs. 2.2%, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The study has highlighted a deficit in the understanding of OMS with potential implications in the public and private healthcare sector. Identification of procedures, OMS SOP and ability to differentiate OMS from similar specialities is limited however slightly better among DS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]