Development of parenting difficulties in infectious disease pandemic inventory.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to develop the Parenting Difficulties in Infectious Disease Pandemic Inventory (PDIDPI) for the assessment of parenting difficulties during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to examine its psychometric properties. METHODS: The 31-item PDIDPI was developed on the basis of the results of focus group interviews. An exploratory factor analysis using principal axis factoring was conducted to examine the PDIDPI factor structure. The internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach α values. The test-retest reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The concurrent validity was established by examining the correlations of the PDIDPI with Fear of COVID-19 Scale and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD) scores. RESULTS: We determined that the PDIDPI has seven factors: infection, school and learning, life change, care burden, daily living, health care, and emotion and behavior. The PDIDPI also had good internal consistency (α = 0.685-0.929) and acceptable test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.404-0.794). Regarding concurrent validity, the overall PDIDPI and its seven factors were all significantly associated with depression, determined by the CESD (r = 0.223-0.370), but not all factors were significantly associated with fear of COVID-19 (r = 0.082-0.203). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the psychometric properties of the PDIDPI, confirming its utility for evaluating the multifaceted challenges parents face in child management during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Factors Related to Caregivers' Intention to Vaccinate Their Elderly Family Members with Major Neurocognitive Disorders against COVID-19.

Vaccination helps reduce the risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in elderly individuals with major neurocognitive disorders (MNDs). However, some caregivers are hesitant to have their elderly family members with MNDs vaccinated against COVID-19. This study explored the factors influencing caregivers' intentions to vaccinate elderly family members with MNDs against COVID-19. A total of 232 caregivers of elderly family members with MNDs participated in this study. In this survey, data regarding COVID-19 vaccination acceptance, fear, side effects, family members' attitudes toward vaccination, mental health status, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and cognitive impairments were collected from the elderly participants with MNDs. The associations between these variables and the caregivers' intention to vaccinate their elderly family members with MNDs against COVID-19 were examined using a multivariable linear regression analysis model. The results revealed that caregivers' perceived familial support for vaccination, the perceived value of vaccination, and autonomy to vaccinate elder family members were positively correlated with caregivers' intention to vaccinate elderly family members with MNDs, whereas elderly family members' age was negatively correlated with caregiver intentions. This study demonstrated that caregiver factors (perceived familial support, value of vaccination, and autonomy) and elderly family members' age were correlated with caregiver intention. These factors should be considered in developing interventions to enhance caregivers' intentions to vaccinate their elderly family members with MNDs against COVID-19.

Internet Altruistic Behaviors in Adolescents: Roles of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Impulsiveness, and Perceived Social Support.

This study examined the associations of an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis, impulsivity, and perceived social support with Internet altruistic behaviors (IABs) in adolescents and the associations of IABs with depression, suicidality, and nonsuicidal self-injury in this group. In total, 176 adolescents aged between 11 and 18 years with ADHD and 173 adolescents without ADHD (matched with the ADHD group by sex and age) participated in this study. The adolescents rated their IABs on the Internet altruistic behavior scale, impulsivity on the Barratt impulsiveness scale version 11, and perceived family and peer support on the family and social relationship domains of the Taiwanese quality of life questionnaire for adolescents. The associations of ADHD, impulsivity, and social support with IABs and the associations of IABs with depression, suicidality, and nonsuicidal self-injury were examined through multivariable linear regression analysis. The present study found that more time spent on the Internet (p < 0.001), greater perceived peer support (p < 0.001), greater impulsiveness characterized by a lack of self-control and perseverance (p < 0.001), poorer ability to plan and look ahead (p < 0.001), and an ADHD diagnosis (p = 0.003) were significantly associated with a higher level of IABs. IABs were not significantly associated with severe depression, suicidality, or nonsuicidal self-injury (all p > 0.05). The results of this study indicated that multiple individual and social factors were associated with IABs in adolescents. IABs were not significantly associated with severe depression, suicidality, or nonsuicidal self-injury in adolescents.

Parenting stress, anxiety, and sources of acquiring knowledge in Taiwanese caregivers of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

BACKGROUND: This survey study investigated the types of sources other than medical professionals (e.g., social media) that the caregivers of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) use to acquire knowledge about ADHD and investigated the association between the use of such information sources and caregiver parenting stress and anxiety in Taiwan. METHODS: A total of 213 caregivers of children with ADHD participated in this study. The sources that the caregivers used to acquire knowledge about ADHD other than medical professionals were investigated. Caregiver parenting stress was assessed using the Parenting Stress Index, and caregiver anxiety was assessed using the Beck Anxiety Inventory. The associations of the types of sources used and total number of source use with caregiver parenting stress and anxiety were investigated using multivariate linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The most common source of knowledge other than medical professionals was teachers (55.4%), followed by social media (52.6%), traditional media (50.7%), friends (33.8%), caregivers of other children (21.1%), and family members (18.3%). The caregivers' mean total number of using sources of knowledge about ADHD other than medical professionals was 2.32. Acquiring knowledge about ADHD from social media was significantly associated with caregiver parenting stress. Additionally, acquiring knowledge about ADHD from caregivers of other children was significantly associated with caregiver parenting stress and anxiety, as was the frequency of using sources of knowledge about ADHD other than medical professionals. CONCLUSION: The caregivers of children with ADHD acquired knowledge about ADHD from multiple sources. Acquiring knowledge about ADHD from social media was significantly associated with caregiver parenting stress. The number of sources of knowledge about ADHD was significantly associated with caregiver parenting stress and anxiety.

Impact of quality and transparency in scientific writing on the reduction of animal usage in experimental protocols: a review based in pertinent literature.

The irreproducibility in scientific research has become a critical issue. Despite the essential role of rigorous methodology in constructing a scientific article, more than half of publications, on average, are considered non-reproducible. The implications of this irreproducibility extend to reliability problems, hindering progress in technological production and resulting in substantial financial losses. In the context of laboratory animal research, this work emphasizes the importance of choosing an appropriate experimental model within the 3R's principle (Refine, Reduce, Replace). This study specifically addresses a deficiency in data specification in scientific articles, revealing inadequacies in the description of crucial details, such as environmental conditions, diet, and experimental procedures. For this purpose, 124 articles from journals with relevant impact factors were analyzed, conducting a survey of data considered important for the reproducibility of studies. Important flaws in the presentation of data were identified in most of the articles evaluated. The results of this study highlight the need to improve the description of essential information, standardizing studies, and ensuring the reproducibility of experiments in areas such as metabolism, immunity, hormones, stress, among others, to enhance the reliability and reproduction of experimental results, aligning with international guidelines such as ARRIVE and PREPARE.

Prospective and Cross-Sectional Factors Predicting Caregiver Motivation to Vaccinate Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder against COVID-19: A Follow-Up Study.

Adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have higher risks of contracting COVID-19 and worse outcomes compared with adolescents without ADHD. The most effective method of preventing infection is vaccination. This follow-up study explored the prospective and cross-sectional factors influencing caregiver willingness to vaccinate children with ADHD against COVID-19. Baseline data on caregiver demographics, affiliate stigma, parenting stress, emotional difficulties, beliefs regarding the causes of ADHD, and ADHD symptoms were collected prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan. At follow-up, the study assessed caregiver willingness to vaccinate children with ADHD, the challenges caregivers faced in parenting during the pandemic, and ADHD symptoms. The results revealed that caregiver age at baseline was positively associated with a willingness to vaccinate children against COVID-19 at follow-up. By contrast, the belief that ADHD resulted from failures in parental discipline at baseline was negatively associated with caregiver willingness to vaccinate. Parenting challenges were also negatively associated with caregiver willingness to vaccinate. Therefore, the age of caregivers, beliefs about the causes of ADHD, and parenting challenges during the pandemic should be considered when developing interventions to enhance caregiver willingness to vaccinate children with ADHD.

Radiation hazards of the Ukraine nuclear power plants: how can international blood and marrow stem cell transplant societies help?

Any conflict in countries that process nuclear power plants raises concerns of the potential radiation injuries to the people in that region and beyond such as the current conflict in Ukraine. International healthcare organizations and societies should prepare for the potential scenarios of nuclear incidents. The Worldwide Network for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (WBMT) and its members, have recent experience preparing for this type of events such as the Fukushima incident in 2011. In this article, we discuss the risks of radiation exposure, current guidelines, and scientific evidence on hematopoietic support, including the role of hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) for those exposed to nuclear radiation, and the role that the WBMT and other global BMT societies can play in triaging and managing people suffering from radiation injuries.

Psychological distress and related factors among caregivers of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The present study examined the relationships of caregiver factors (including caregivers' age, sex and educational year), child-family interactions (caregivers' difficulties in managing children's protective behaviors against COVID-19, learning and daily performance, children's conflict with elders and siblings, and parenting styles), and children's factors (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] and oppositional defiant disorder [ODD] symptoms) with psychological distress of the caregivers of children with ADHD in the COVID-19 pandemic. This study recruited 252 caregivers of children with ADHD to participate and complete a questionnaire collecting their psychological distress in the COVID-19 pandemic, demographics, difficulties in managing children's protective behaviors against COVID-19, learning and daily performance, and parenting styles as well as children's conflict with elders and siblings, and the ADHD and ODD symptoms. Hierarchical regression models were constructed to examine the factors related to psychological distress among caregivers. Factors across caregiver, child, and child-family interaction dimensions, including children's conflict levels with elders and siblings, inattention symptoms, and caregivers' difficulties in managing children's protective behaviors against COVID-19, learning and daily performance, female sex, and younger age were significantly associated with psychological distress among caregivers in various hierarchical regression models. Health professionals should take the relevant factors identified in this study when developing an intervention to relieve caregivers' psychological distress in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Comparative Study of Plan Robustness for Breast Radiotherapy: Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Plans with Robust Optimization versus Manual Flash Approach.

A previous study investigated robustness of manual flash (MF) and robust optimized (RO) volumetric modulated arc therapy plans for breast radiotherapy based on five patients in 2020 and indicated that the RO was more robust than the MF, although the MF is still current standard practice. The purpose of this study was to compare their plan robustness in terms of dose variation to clinical target volume (CTV) and organs at risk (OARs) based on a larger sample size. This was a retrospective study involving 34 female patients. Their plan robustness was evaluated based on measured volume/dose difference between nominal and worst scenarios (ΔV/ΔD) for each CTV and OARs parameter, with a smaller difference representing greater robustness. Paired sample t-test was used to compare their robustness values. All parameters (except CTV ΔD98%) of the RO approach had smaller ΔV/ΔD values than those of the MF. Also, the RO approach had statistically significantly smaller ΔV/ΔD values (p < 0.001-0.012) for all CTV parameters except the CTV ΔV95% and ΔD98% and heart ΔDmean. This study's results confirm that the RO approach was more robust than the MF in general. Although both techniques were able to generate clinically acceptable plans for breast radiotherapy, the RO could potentially improve workflow efficiency due to its simpler planning process.

Microstimulation of human somatosensory cortex evokes task-dependent, spatially patterned responses in motor cortex.

The primary motor (M1) and somatosensory (S1) cortices play critical roles in motor control but the signaling between these structures is poorly understood. To fill this gap, we recorded - in three participants in an ongoing human clinical trial (NCT01894802) for people with paralyzed hands - the responses evoked in the hand and arm representations of M1 during intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) in the hand representation of S1. We found that ICMS of S1 activated some M1 neurons at short, fixed latencies consistent with monosynaptic activation. Additionally, most of the ICMS-evoked responses in M1 were more variable in time, suggesting indirect effects of stimulation. The spatial pattern of M1 activation varied systematically: S1 electrodes that elicited percepts in a finger preferentially activated M1 neurons excited during that finger's movement. Moreover, the indirect effects of S1 ICMS on M1 were context dependent, such that the magnitude and even sign relative to baseline varied across tasks. We tested the implications of these effects for brain-control of a virtual hand, in which ICMS conveyed tactile feedback. While ICMS-evoked activation of M1 disrupted decoder performance, this disruption was minimized using biomimetic stimulation, which emphasizes contact transients at the onset and offset of grasp, and reduces sustained stimulation.

Efficient Multiple Channels EEG Signal Classification Based on Hierarchical Extreme Learning Machine.

The human brain can be seen as one of the most powerful processors in the world, and it has a very complex structure with different kinds of signals for monitoring organics, communicating to neurons, and reacting to different information, which allows large developments in observing human sleeping, revealing diseases, reflecting certain motivations of limbs, and other applications. Relative theory, algorithms, and applications also help us to build brain-computer interface (BCI) systems for different powerful functions. Therefore, we present a fast-reaction framework based on an extreme learning machine (ELM) with multiple layers for the ElectroEncephaloGram (EEG) signals classification in motor imagery, showing the advantages in both accuracy of classification and training speed compared with conventional machine learning methods. The experiments are performed on software with the dataset of BCI Competition II with fast training time and high accuracy. The final average results show an accuracy of 93.90% as well as a reduction of 75% of the training time as compared to conventional deep learning and machine learning algorithms for EEG signal classification, also showing its prospects of the improvement of the performance of the BCI system.

Bidirectional associations between hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and strabismus, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children: a national population-based cohort study

Objectives: The present study analyzed the reciprocal relationships between four common pediatric ophthalmic diseases (i.e., hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and strabismus) and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. Methods: This study enrolled 86,028 children with ADHD and 1,798,673 children without ADHD in the Taiwan Maternal and Child Health Database who were born at any time from 2004 to 2017. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the bidirectional relationships of the four ophthalmic diseases with ADHD in children after adjusting for age, sex, and gestational age at birth. Survival curves for time-to-event variables were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the log-rank test was used to compare the curves. Results: The results indicated that ADHD significantly predicted the occurrence of hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and strabismus. Furthermore, hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and strabismus significantly predicted the occurrence of ADHD. The time between enrollment and ADHD diagnosis was shorter for patients with ophthalmic diseases than for the control group, and the time between enrollment and ophthalmic disease diagnosis was also shorter for ADHD patients than for the control group. Sex differences were found in the associations between ADHD and ophthalmic diseases. Conclusion: Clinicians should monitor children with ADHD for hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and strabismus to ensure appropriate treatment, and vice versa.

Bidirectional associations between hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and strabismus, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children: a national population-based cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: The present study analyzed the reciprocal relationships between four common pediatric ophthalmic diseases (i.e., hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and strabismus) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. METHODS: This study enrolled 86,028 children with ADHD and 1,798,673 children without ADHD in the Taiwan Maternal and Child Health Database who were born at any time from 2004 to 2017. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the bidirectional relationships of the four ophthalmic diseases with ADHD in children after adjusting for age, sex, and gestational age at birth. Survival curves for time-to-event variables were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the log-rank test was used to compare the curves. RESULTS: The results indicated that ADHD significantly predicted the occurrence of hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and strabismus. Furthermore, hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and strabismus significantly predicted the occurrence of ADHD. The time between enrollment and ADHD diagnosis was shorter for patients with ophthalmic diseases than for the control group, and the time between enrollment and ophthalmic disease diagnosis was also shorter for ADHD patients than for the control group. Sex differences were found in the associations between ADHD and ophthalmic diseases. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should monitor children with ADHD for hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and strabismus to ensure appropriate treatment, and vice versa.

Efficient and Automatic Breast Cancer Early Diagnosis System Based on the Hierarchical Extreme Learning Machine.

Breast cancer is the leading type of cancer in women, causing nearly 600,000 deaths every year, globally. Although the tumors can be localized within the breast, they can spread to other body parts, causing more harm. Therefore, early diagnosis can help reduce the risks of this cancer. However, a breast cancer diagnosis is complicated, requiring biopsy by various methods, such as MRI, ultrasound, BI-RADS, or even needle aspiration and cytology with the suggestions of specialists. On certain occasions, such as body examinations of a large number of people, it is also a large workload to check the images. Therefore, in this work, we present an efficient and automatic diagnosis system based on the hierarchical extreme learning machine (H-ELM) for breast cancer ultrasound results with high efficiency and make a primary diagnosis of the images. To make it compatible to use, this system consists of PNG images and general medical software within the H-ELM framework, which is easily trained and applied. Furthermore, this system only requires ultrasound images on a small scale, of 28×28 pixels, reducing the resources and fulfilling the application with low-resolution images. The experimental results show that the system can achieve 86.13% in the classification of breast cancer based on ultrasound images from the public breast ultrasound images (BUSI) dataset, without other relative information and supervision, which is higher than the conventional deep learning methods on the same dataset. Moreover, the training time is highly reduced, to only 5.31 s, and consumes few resources. The experimental results indicate that this system could be helpful for precise and efficient early diagnosis of breast cancers with primary examination results.

Sources of Information about COVID-19 Vaccines for Children and Its Associations with Parental Motivation to Have Their Children Vaccinated in Taiwan.

Pediatric COVID-19 vaccines have been developed to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 and subsequent hospitalization in children. Few studies have examined whether different sources of information regarding pediatric COVID-19 vaccines and parents' trust in the information have different effects on parental motivation to have their child vaccinated. No study has examined parental demographic factors related to the sources of information and the trust of parents in these sources. Understanding the sources of information on pediatric COVID-19 vaccines, parents' trust in the information, and related factors can contribute to the development of strategies for promoting the knowledge and acceptance of pediatric vaccination among parents. This study examined the sources of information regarding pediatric COVID-19 vaccines used by parents, their level of trust in these information sources, the demographic factors that influence this trust, and the associations of such information sources with parental motivation to get their child vaccinated against COVID-19. In total, 550 parents (123 men and 427 women) completed a questionnaire that was used to collect information regarding the information sources and to measure the parents' trust in these information sources. Parental motivation to get their child vaccinated was measured using the Motors of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance Scale for Parents. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to examine two associations, namely the associations of the parents' sources of information and their trust in these sources with their motivation to have their child vaccinated and the associations of the parents' demographic factors with their sources of information and their trust in these sources. For the parents, traditional mass media and medical staff in healthcare settings were the most common sources of information regarding pediatric COVID-19 vaccines. The parents rated medical staff in healthcare settings as the most trustworthy source of information. Obtaining information from acquaintances through social media and obtaining information from medical staff in healthcare settings were significantly associated with parental motivation to get their child vaccinated against COVID-19. Trust in the information provided by medical staff in healthcare settings and coworkers was significantly associated with the motivation of parents to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. Compared with fathers, mothers were more likely to obtain information from medical staff in healthcare settings and from acquaintances through social media. Parents with a higher education level were more likely to obtain information from medical staff in healthcare settings. Compared with the fathers, the mothers were more trusting of information obtained from coworkers. Health professionals should consider the sources of information used by parents and related factors when establishing strategies to increase parental motivation to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19.

Tessellation of artificial touch via microstimulation of human somatosensory cortex.

When we interact with objects, we rely on signals from the hand that convey information about the object and our interaction with it. A basic feature of these interactions, the locations of contacts between the hand and object, is often only available via the sense of touch. Information about locations of contact between a brain-controlled bionic hand and an object can be signaled via intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) of somatosensory cortex (S1), which evokes touch sensations that are localized to a specific patch of skin. To provide intuitive location information, tactile sensors on the robotic hand drive ICMS through electrodes that evoke sensations at skin locations matching sensor locations. This approach requires that ICMS-evoked sensations be focal, stable, and distributed over the hand. To systematically investigate the localization of ICMS-evoked sensations, we analyzed the projected fields (PFs) of ICMS-evoked sensations - their location and spatial extent - from reports obtained over multiple years from three participants implanted with microelectrode arrays in S1. First, we found that PFs vary widely in their size across electrodes, are highly stable within electrode, are distributed over large swaths of each participant's hand, and increase in size as the amplitude or frequency of ICMS increases. Second, while PF locations match the locations of the receptive fields (RFs) of the neurons near the stimulating electrode, PFs tend to be subsumed by the corresponding RFs. Third, multi-channel stimulation gives rise to a PF that reflects the conjunction of the PFs of the component channels. By stimulating through electrodes with largely overlapping PFs, then, we can evoke a sensation that is experienced primarily at the intersection of the component PFs. To assess the functional consequence of this phenomenon, we implemented multichannel ICMS-based feedback in a bionic hand and demonstrated that the resulting sensations are more localizable than are those evoked via single-channel ICMS.

A Parent Version of the Motors of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance Scale for Assessing Parents' Motivation to Have Their Children Vaccinated.

Parents' motivation to vaccinate their children against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) plays a crucial role in the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among children. The Motors of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance Scale (MoVac-COVID19S) is a valuable tool for assessing individuals' vaccination-related attitudes and the factors influencing their decision to be vaccinated against COVID-19. This study adapted the MoVac-COVID19S to create a parent version (P-MoVac-COVID19S) and examined the psychometric soundness of two P-MoVac-COVID19S versions (a 9-item version (P-MoVac-COVID19S-9) and a 12-item version (P-MoVac-COVID19S-12)) for assessing parents' motivation to vaccinate their children. A total of 550 parents completed the P-MoVac-COVID19S and a questionnaire assessing the factors that impact parents' intention to allow their children to receive the COVID-19 vaccine using a vaccine acceptance scale. We enquired about the level of parental worry regarding the adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines on children's health and the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses received by parents. The factor structures of the P-MoVac-COVID19S-9 and P-MoVac-COVID19S-12 were examined using confirmatory factor analysis. The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity of the P-MoVac-COVID19S were also examined. The results revealed that the P-MoVac-COVID19S-12 has a four-factor structure, which aligns well with the theoretical framework of the cognitive model of empowerment; the P-MoVac-COVID19S-9 has a one-factor structure. Both the P-MoVac-COVID19S-9 and P-MoVac-COVID19S-12 had good internal consistency and test-retest reliability and acceptable concurrent validity. The results of this study demonstrated that the P-MoVac-COVID19S is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing parent's motivation to vaccinate their children against COVID-19.