Comparing the short and original versions of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale in older adults

Balance confidence assessment in older adults has implications for falls and quality of life. It remains unclear whether the original Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC-16) scale or the shortened 6-item (ABC-6) scale is recommended. To further inform the decision-making process of balance confidence tool selection, a secondary analysis of an existing dataset consisting of 77 community-dwelling older adults was performed. ABC-16 and ABC-6 association and agreement, internal consistencies, and relationships with self-rated health (SRH) were assessed. Participants were primarily female (80.5%) between the ages of 60 and 87 years. Results indicated a strong association between the scales [r = .97, p<.001); ICC(2,1) = .80] but limited agreement (95% Limits of Agreement range = 22.1; mean difference of 7.2 points in the direction of the ABC-16). Cronbach’s alphas were .95 (ABC-16) and .89 (ABC-6), suggesting high internal consistency for both scales but possible item redundancy with the ABC-16. Regression model 1 (ABC-6 = primary predictor) explained more of the variance (R2=.36) in SRH compared to model 2 (ABC-16 = primary predictor; R2=.29). Hotelling’s t-test [t(74)=2.4, p=.008] indicated that the correlation coefficient (Multiple R) from the ABC-6 model was significantly higher than the correlation coefficient from the ABC-16 model. In conclusion, despite a high correlation, the two scales did not agree strongly and should not be considered interchangeable. Given that the ABC-16 takes longer to administer, does not relate to SRH as strongly, and could have redundant items, the ABC-6 should be considered for balance confidence assessment in older adults.

Age is the only predictor for upper gastrointestinal malignancy in Chinese patients with uncomplicated dyspepsia: a prospective investigation of endoscopic findings

Background Dyspepsia is a common cause of physician visits. If and when endoscopy should be performed depend on the regions and the populations. This study aimed to identify the current risk factors predictive of upper gastrointestinal malignancy or peptic ulcer in China with high prevalence of gastric cancer. Methods A questionnaire was conducted among consecutive outpatients undergoing their first esophagogastroduodenoscopy for dyspepsia. Symptoms other than alarm symptoms in this study were defined as uncomplicated dyspepsia. Results 4310 outpatients (mean age 44, median 42, range 14–86) were included in the final analyses. Significant pathology was found in 13.8% (595/4310) patients including peptic ulcer (12.3%) and upper gastrointestinal malignancy (1.5%). Age, male sex and alarm symptoms were significantly associated with malignancy. The age cut-off identified for upper gastrointestinal malignancy was 56 years among patients with uncomplicated dyspepsia, which was similar to the combined cutoff of age and gender. Conclusions Age should be considered as the primary predictor for upper gastrointestinal malignancy in Chinese patients with uncomplicated dyspepsia. 56 could probably be the optimal age to identify those lesions in this population. Trial registration: Chictr.org (ChiCTR2000040775).

Are more humorous children more intelligent? A case from Turkish culture

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between intelligence and humor ability in a Turkish sample. The sample included 217 middle-school students with a wide range of intelligence measured by a Turkish intelligence test (ASIS). Humor ability was measured using the Humor Ability Assessment Form. Students were instructed to write captions for 10 cartoons that were as funny and relevant as possible. Seven experts rated the funniness of the captions and their relevance to the cartoons, yielding a total of 30,380 ratings (217 students × 10 cartoons × two criteria × seven experts). The findings showed that both general intelligence and the second-level components (verbal ability, visual-spatial ability, and memory) had high correlations with humor ability. Intelligence explained 68% of the variance in humor ability. Among the third-level factors, verbal analogical reasoning was the primary predictor of humor ability (β = 0.325, p < 0.001). Humor ability scores significantly differed across intelligence clusters, implying that highly humorous children may be highly intelligent.

Fallopian tube anatomy predicts pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes after tubal reversal surgery

We conducted this study to determine whether fallopian tube anatomy can predict the likelihood of pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes after tubal sterilization reversal. We built a flexible, non-parametric, multivariate model via generalized additive models to assess the effects of the following tubal parameters observed during tubal reparative surgery: tubal lengths; differences in tubal segment location and diameters at the anastomosis sites; and fibrosis of the tubal muscularis. In this study, population, age, and tubal length—in that order—were the primary factors predicting the likelihood of pregnancy. For pregnancy outcomes, tubal length was the most influential predictor of birth and ectopic pregnancy, while age was the primary predictor of miscarriage. Segment location and diameters contributed slightly to the odds of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy. Tubal muscularis fibrosis had little apparent effect. This study is the first to show that a statistical learning predictive model based on fallopian tube anatomy can predict pregnancy and pregnancy outcome probabilities after tubal reversal surgery.

Sustainable Development Goal Drivers in Food Systems

Interacting driving forces in food systems, resulting in cumulative driver effects and synergies, induce non-linear processes in multiple directions. This paper critically reviews the discourse on driving forces in food systems and argues that mindset is the primary predictor for food system outcomes. In the epoch of sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the Anthropocene, mindset matters more than ever. Transformative narratives are beginning to transcend the dominant social paradigm, which is still driving the food system's overall trajectory. The psychosocial portrayal of the systemic mindset found in organic food systems presented in this paper “flips the script” and hypothesizes that worldview and paradigm have the most causal linkages with unsustainable driver synergies and reversely the biggest leverage on the mitigation thereof. Borrowing from ecological economics discourses, the paper sharpens the driver definition by applying the DPSIR analytical tool as a modified diagnostic framework and modeling approach for food systems. This research sheds new light on the nature of drivers of change, which are often portrayed as almighty and inevitable trends shaping food systems. Instead, it is proposed that drivers emerge from the actors' mindset, affecting food system behavior in a non-linear way. Mindset drives reinforcing feedback loops, resulting in vicious and virtuous cycles. These driver motives manifest in subsystems and continue to drive their interaction across food system elements. Mindset acts as an encapsulated input of food systems, all the while responding to feedback and releasing new drivers. A transformation framework along leverage points of the food system is presented that features the concept of SDG drivers.

The Frequency and Characteristics of Facial Injury Following COVID-19 Social Distancing Laws: Newcastle, (Australia) Observations

The imposition of COVID-19 social distancing laws serendipitously decreased the frequency and altered the characteristics of facial injury presentation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the devolution of social distancing laws had the opposite effect. Materials and methods: The authors undertook a retrospective study of the clinical records of a cohort of patients who sustained a facial injury during COVID-19 social distancing devolution. The primary predictor valuable was the 8 week devolution of social distancing. Other variables consisted of a heterogeneous set of factors grouped into logical categories: demographic, injury specifics, and treatment. A descriptive statistical analysis was undertaken on the assembled results. Results: The study found that the absolute numbers of facial injury presentation rose from 73 to 120; a 64% increase. The study also found that there was an alteration to the characteristics of facial injury presentation across the study variables. Conclusion: The initial imposition and subsequent devolution of COVID-19 social distancing measures had a serendipitous public health benefit. Initially there was a decrease in the frequency of facial injury presentation followed by an increase upon cessation of social distancing restrictions

An Intersectional Investigation of Study Abroad Intent among Latino/a and White First-generation College Students

Despite a marked increase in study abroad participation in recent decades, first-generation students and Students of Color remain vastly underrepresented. The current study sought to expand the extant literature on first-generation and Latino/a students’ study abroad participation by applying an intersectional approach to identifying predictors of study abroad intent. A total of 478 undergraduates (Latino/a and White; first-generation and continuing-generation) completed a questionnaire based on previously identified predictors of study abroad intent. Separate binary logistic regression analyses for each of the four (ethnicity x generational status) subgroups indicated that personality and intercultural variables predicted intent to study abroad solely for the White continuing-generation students. Exposure to study abroad was a primary predictor of intent across subgroups, yet significant between-group differences emerged regarding the source and extent of this exposure. Implications for study abroad advising and inclusive participation are discussed.

The Good Kill

The Good Kill examines killing in war in its moral and normative dimension. It argues against the commonplace belief, often tacitly held if not consciously asserted, among academics, the general public, and even military professionals, that killing, including in a justified war, is always morally wrong even when necessary. In light of an increasingly sophisticated understanding of combat trauma, this belief is a crisis. Moral injury, a proposed subset of posttraumatic stress disorder, occurs when one does something that goes against deeply held normative convictions. In a military context, the primary predictor of moral injury is having killed in combat. In turn, the primary predictor for suicide among combat veterans is moral injury. In this way, the assertion that killing is wrong but in war it is necessary becomes deadly, rendering the very business of the profession of arms morally injurious. It does not need to be this way. Beginning with the simple observation—recognized by both common sense and law—that killing comes in different kinds, this book equips warfighters and those charged with their care and formation with confidence in the rectitude of certain kinds of killing. Engaging with Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Ramsey, Nigel Biggar, and other leading Christian realists, crucial normative principles within the just war tradition are brought to bear on questions regarding just conduct in war, moral and nonmoral evil, and enemy love. The Good Kill helps equip the just warrior to navigate the morally bruising field of battle without becoming irreparably morally injured.

g versus c: comparing individual and collective intelligence across two meta-analyses

Collective intelligence (CI) is said to manifest in a group’s domain general mental ability. It can be measured across a battery of group IQ tests and statistically reduced to a latent factor called the “c-factor.” Advocates have found the c-factor predicts group performance better than individual IQ. We test this claim by meta-analyzing correlations between the c-factor and nine group performance criterion tasks generated by eight independent samples (N = 857 groups). Results indicated a moderate correlation, r, of .26 (95% CI .10, .40). All but four studies comprising five independent samples (N = 366 groups) failed to control for the intelligence of individual members using individual IQ scores or their statistically reduced equivalent (i.e., the g-factor). A meta-analysis of this subset of studies found the average IQ of the groups’ members had little to no correlation with group performance (r = .06, 95% CI −.08, .20). Around 80% of studies did not have enough statistical power to reliably detect correlations between the primary predictor variables and the criterion tasks. Though some of our findings are consistent with claims that a general factor of group performance may exist and relate positively to group performance, limitations suggest alternative explanations cannot be dismissed. We caution against prematurely embracing notions of the c-factor unless it can be independently and robustly replicated and demonstrated to be incrementally valid beyond the g-factor in group performance contexts.

Hepatic Stellate Cell Activation and Inactivation in NASH‑Fibrosis—Roles as Putative Treatment Targets?

Hepatic fibrosis is the primary predictor of mortality in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). In this process, the activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) constitute the principal cells responsible for the deposition of a fibrous extracellular matrix, thereby driving the hepatic scarring. HSC activation, migration, and proliferation are controlled by a complex signaling network involving growth factors, lipotoxicity, inflammation, and cellular stress. Conversely, the clearance of activated HSCs is a prerequisite for the resolution of the extracellular fibrosis. Hence, pathways regulating the fate of the HSCs may represent attractive therapeutic targets for the treatment and prevention of NASH-associated hepatic fibrosis. However, the development of anti-fibrotic drugs for NASH patients has not yet resulted in clinically approved therapeutics, underscoring the complex biology and challenges involved when targeting the intricate cellular signaling mechanisms. This narrative review investigated the mechanisms of activation and inactivation of HSCs with a focus on NASH-associated hepatic fibrosis. Presenting an updated overview, this review highlights key cellular pathways with potential value for the development of future treatment modalities.