Relationships between Cognitive Function and Odor Identification, Balance Capability, and Muscle Strength in Middle-Aged Persons with and without Type 2 Diabetes

Aim. We investigated the relationship between cognitive function and olfactory and physical functions in middle-aged persons with and without type 2 diabetes (T2D) to examine the potential of olfactory and physical functions as biomarkers for early cognitive impairment. Methods. Enrolled were 70 T2D patients (age 40 to <65 y) and 81 age-matched control participants without diabetes. Cognitive function was assessed by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Trail Making Test parts A and B (TMT-A/-B), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self-Report (QIDS), and Starkstein Apathy Scale (SAS). Multiple linear regression analyses were performed. Results. Odor identification was an independent determinant shown in the results of the TMT-A in the entire participant group and was independently associated with the MoCA and TMT-B in the T2D group. Balance capability assessed with a stabilometer was independently associated with all cognitive function tests except for QISD and SAS in the entire participant group and the T2D group and was independently associated with TMT-A in the control group. Knee extension strength was independently associated with the SAS in the entire participant group and the T2D group. Conclusions. Odor identification, balance capability, and knee extension strength were potential markers for cognitive decline in middle-aged persons with T2D.

Metacognitive judgements of change detection predict change blindness

People tend to think they are not susceptible to change blindness and overestimate their ability to detect salient changes in scenes. Here, we investigated whether participants’ metacognitive judgements of change detection ability predict change blindness. In Experiment 1, participants completed a change blindness task in which participants viewed alternating versions of a scene until they detected what changed between them and 6-7 months later, provided their metacognitive judgements. We found that changes rated as more likely to be spotted were detected faster than changes rated as more unlikely to be spotted. Metacognitive judgements continued to predict change blindness when accounting for low-level image properties (i.e., change size and eccentricity). In Experiment 2, metacognitive judgements from a new group of participants were compared to those collected in Experiment 1 to determine whether people are better predicting their own change blindness or if the predictions from others are equally effective. There was no effect of participant group on the relationship between metacognitive judgements and change blindness. Finally, in Experiment 3, we investigated whether metacognitive judgements are based on a high-level image property – semantic similarity. An independent group of participants provided descriptions of the two versions of the scenes and another group rated the similarity between the descriptions. We found that changes rated as more similar were judged as being more difficult to detect than changes rated as less similar; however, semantic similarity was not predictive of change blindness. These findings reveal that (1) people can accurately rate the relative difficulty of different changes and predict change blindness for different images and (2) metacognitive judgements of change detection likelihood are not fully explained by low-level and semantic image properties.

Distributing Authorship at a Localised Scale: Developing public engagement in sound mapping

Sound maps, particularly the web-based examples that have proliferated since the early 2000s, have proven compelling and valuable as means of conveying diverse perspectives of urban, rural and wilderness sound environments, while opening the creative process of mapping through field recording to non-expert user groups. As such, sound maps hold the promise of broad public engagement with everyday sonic experience and spatial typologies. Yet this straightforward participatory aim is prone to complication in terms of participatory frameworks and scale of analysis. Drawing on a catalogue of sound maps by the author, this article problematises the participatory norms of sound mapping and, in tandem, calls for a more nuanced approach to scale than typically seen to date in sound maps based on geospatial mapping APIs. A sound mapping workshop in Lisbon with a multidisciplinary participant group provided the opportunity to ‘re-prototype’ sound maps at the scale of a local neighbourhood using multimodal means of representation; the results highlighted questions of form, scale, representation, authorship and purpose in sound mapping and demonstrated its continuing potential as a participatory practice.

Digital Games and the Exercise of Attention

Digital games can be used to improve cognitive skills in schools, since they have rules, goals, challenges and propose actions that require the player’s attention, the use of problem-solving capacity, involving the planning of actions, keeping the goals and objectives in mind. Therefore, this article’s objective is to investigate indicators on the effects of the use of digital cognitive games in interventions carried out in small groups in the school context on the attention capacity. Therefore, a quasi-experimental study was conducted with 30 subjects, aged 7 to 11, which were divided into two groups, participant and control. Both were evaluated before and after the intervention through the application of a concentrated attention test. The results obtained indicated that the participant group had a significantly superior performance in relation to the quality of the attention because of less mistakes in the second application than the control group. The differences found in test variables that indicate the speed of discrimination of stimuli and attention more broadly were not significant.

“My Patients Asked Me if I Owned a Fruit Stand in Town or Something.” Barriers and Facilitators of Personalized Dietary Advice Implemented in a Primary Care Setting

Primary care is especially well positioned to address prevention of non-communicable diseases. However, implementation of health promotion activities such as personalized dietary advice is challenging. The study aim was to understand barriers and facilitators of the personalized dietary advice component of a lifestyle intervention in primary care, as perceived by health center professionals and program participants. Thirteen focus groups were conducted with 49 professionals and 47 participants. Audio recordings were transcribed. Professional group text was coded using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Participant group text was coded via an inductive approach with thematic analysis. Across most CFIR domains, both barriers and facilitators were equally present, except for ‘characteristics of individuals’, which were primarily facilitators. Intervention characteristics was the most important domain, with barriers in design and packaging (e.g., the ICT tool) and complexity. Facilitators included high evidence strength and quality, adaptability, and relative advantage. Participants described the importance of more personalized advice, the value of follow-up with feedback, and the need to see outcomes. Both professionals and patients stated that primary care was the place for personalized dietary advice intervention, but that lack of time, workload, and training were barriers to effective implementation. Implementation strategies targeting these modifiable barriers could potentially increase intervention adoption and intervention effectiveness.

Dental health of preschool children after two-years of a supervised tooth brushing program in Southern Israel

Background Supervised tooth brushing is an important part of leading national oral health improvement programs in different countries. With the cessation of water fluoridation in 2014, a new program was immediately required to provide community-based caries prevention, especially amongst young children. The aim of this study was to determine whether a supervised tooth brushing program (STBP) in kindergartens could reduce dental caries amongst preschool children, when compared with children from the same community who did not participate in the program. The study was performed 2 years after the start of the program. Methods Two Jewish and two Arab local authorities (one participating and one control) were randomly chosen. In each local authority, 4 kindergartens (children aged 5) were randomly chosen, giving a total of 16 kindergartens. Children in the intervention group brushed once daily at kindergartens, with fluoridated toothpaste, for two school- years. All the children were examined using the WHO Oral Health Survey Methods Ed.4. Results Two hundred eighty-three five-year-old children were examined, 157 of them Jewish (86 participants in STBP, 71 non-participants) and 126 Arab (59 vs 67 respectively). Among Jewish children, the fraction of untreated decayed teeth was 61% in the participant group and 65% for non-participants, and amongst the Arab children 69% vs. 90% respectively. The fraction of treated decayed teeth for the participant group was 37% compared to 29% for the non-participants among Jewish children, whilst for the Bedouin group it was 23% vs. 8% respectively. Conclusions After 2 years, supervised tooth brushing with fluoride toothpaste shows a favorable effect. This study suggests that dental health of children participating in STBP was better than the control group. Fewer carious teeth and more treated carious lesions were recorded in this group. This program can be applied to low SES communities nationwide. Guidelines for fluoride concentration in toothpaste for children should be re-considered based on high caries levels.

Using storytelling to unpack resilience theory in accordance with an internationally recognised resilience framework with primary school children

Resilience can be a protective trait to promote mental health when implemented in the early years. This study explored the use of storytelling to foster children’s learning of resilience. A pedagogically appropriate storybook was used to facilitate and embed the skills of resilience in children at primary school. Teachers (n = 2) and community-based sports officers (n = 2) read the storybook to children enrolled in Kindergarten (first formal year of schooling) (n = 20), Year 1 (n = 20) and Year 2 (n = 20). The total number in the participant group was 60, aged 4–8 years old. Following the initial reading, teachers continued to deliver the storybook to children over a 4-week intervention period. All participants were interviewed about their perceptions of the storybook, and their responses were coded into key themes mapped by the Grotberg Resilience Framework. Results indicated that storytelling as a tool provided children with positive resilience-based behavioural intervention opportunities.

Myoelectric prosthesis users and non-disabled individuals wearing a simulated prosthesis exhibit similar compensatory movement strategies

Background Research studies on upper limb prosthesis function often rely on the use of simulated myoelectric prostheses (attached to and operated by individuals with intact limbs), primarily to increase participant sample size. However, it is not known if these devices elicit the same movement strategies as myoelectric prostheses (operated by individuals with amputation). The objective of this study was to address the question of whether non-disabled individuals using simulated prostheses employ the same compensatory movements (measured by hand and upper body kinematics) as individuals who use actual myoelectric prostheses. Methods The upper limb movements of two participant groups were investigated: (1) twelve non-disabled individuals wearing a simulated prosthesis, and (2) three individuals with transradial amputation using their custom-fitted myoelectric devices. Motion capture was used for data collection while participants performed a standardized functional task. Performance metrics, hand movements, and upper body angular kinematics were calculated. For each participant group, these measures were compared to those from a normative baseline dataset. Each deviation from normative movement behaviour, by either participant group, indicated that compensatory movements were used during task performance. Results Results show that participants using either a simulated or actual myoelectric prosthesis exhibited similar deviations from normative behaviour in phase durations, hand velocities, hand trajectories, number of movement units, grip aperture plateaus, and trunk and shoulder ranges of motion. Conclusions This study suggests that the use of a simulated prosthetic device in upper limb research offers a reasonable approximation of compensatory movements employed by a low- to moderately-skilled transradial myoelectric prosthesis user.

Modelling Gaze Behaviour in Subtitle Processing

One of the main rules of subtitling states that subtitles should be formatted and timed so that viewers have enough time to read and understand the text but also to follow the picture. In this paper we examine the factors that influence the time viewers spend looking at subtitles. We concentrate on the lexical and structural properties of subtitles. The participant group (N = 14) watched a television documentary with Russian narration and Finnish subtitles (the participants’ native language), while their eye movements were tracked. Using a linear mixed-effects model, we identified significant effects of subtitle duration and character count on the time participants spent looking at the subtitles. The model also revealed significant inter-individual differences, despite the fact that the participant group was seemingly homogeneous. The findings underline the complexity of subtitled audiovisual material as a stimulus of cognitive processing. We provide a starting point for more comprehensive modelling of the factors involved in gaze behaviour when watching subtitled content. Lay summary Subtitles have become a popular method for watching foreign series and films even in countries that have traditionally used dubbing in this regard. Because subtitles are visible to the viewer a short, limited time, they should be composed so that they are easy to read, and that the viewer has time to also follow the image. Nevertheless, the factors that have impact the time it takes to read a subtitle is not very well known. We wanted to find out what makes people who are watching subtitled television shows spend more time gazing at the subtitles? To answer this question, we recorded the eye movements of 14 participants when they were watching a short, subtitled television documentary. We created a statistical model of the gaze behavior from the eye movement data and found that both the length of the subtitle and the time the subtitle is visible are separate contributing factors. We also discovered large differences between individual viewers. Our conclusion is that people process subtitled content in very different ways, but there are some common tendencies. Our model can be seen as solid starting point for comprehensive modelling of gaze behavior of people watching subtitled audiovisual material.

Respect and equality as priority values for teaching on Physical Education: perspective of university students (Respeto e igualdad como valores prioritarios para la enseñanza de la Educación Física: perspectiva de los universitarios)

Education is not only concerned with the transmission of knowledge; it must also concern itself with the social and moral development of adolescents. Physical activity and sport provide a favorable environment for promoting personal and social values ​​in adolescents. The aims of the study are, to identify which values are developed and strengthened in High School physical education classes, under the vision of Physical Activity Sciences students, and to develop, implement, and evaluate teaching–learning games activities in the initial training of Physical Activity Sciences students for the integration of values in physical education. The participant group consisted of 87 students belonging to the Degree in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences. The tools used to identify the values was questionnaire designed from list of values presented by Schwartz. The assessment of the design and implementation of the activities was carried out through a rubric. The results confirm that university students would enhance in a future professional the values of respect, equality, and good manners. Regarding gender, it should be noted that there is a significant difference in the chosen values of humility (p = .016), group work (p = .05), and empathy (p = .027). Due to the design of the games developed by students, it was concluded that it is more feasible to implement activities that promote the values of collaboration and creativity. It did not happen with the values of equality, perseverance, respect, aggressiveness, authority, and daring; despite them being present in sports activities, they are not easy to focus upon in the objective set. Resumen. La educación no solo se ocupa de la transmisión de conocimientos; también debe preocuparse por el desarrollo social y moral de los adolescentes. La actividad física y el deporte proporcionan un entorno propicio para la promoción de los valores personales y sociales en los adolescentes. Los objetivos del estudio son identificar qué valores se deberían desarrollar y fortalecer en las clases de educación física, bajo la visión de los estudiantes de Ciencias de la Actividad Física, y diseñar, implementar y evaluar actividades de juego para la integración de los valores en Educación Física en la formación inicial de los alumnos. El grupo participante estuvo formado por 87 estudiantes del grado en Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte. La herramienta utilizada para identificar los valores fue un cuestionario diseñado a partir de la lista de valores presentada por Schwartz. La valoración del diseño y la implementación de las actividades se llevó a cabo mediante una rúbrica. Los resultados confirman que los universitarios potenciarán en un futuro profesional los valores de respeto, igualdad y buena educación. En cuanto al género, cabe señalar que existe una diferencia significativa en los valores elegidos de humildad (p = .016), trabajo en grupo (p = .05) y empatía (p = .027). Con el diseño de los juegos desarrollados por los estudiantes, se concluyó que es más factible implementar actividades que promuevan los valores de colaboración y creatividad. No ocurrió lo mismo con los valores de igualdad, perseverancia, respeto, agresividad, autoridad y atrevimiento que, a pesar de estar presentes en actividades deportivas, no son fáciles de enmarcar en el objetivo planteado.