Paranormal experiences, sensory-processing sensitivity, and the priming of pareidolia.

This investigation tested the effect of priming on pareidolia (the hearing of illusory words in ambiguous stimuli). Participants (41 women, 20 men, mean age 29.95 years) were assigned to primed (n = 30) or unprimed (n = 31) groups: the former were told the study was of 'purported ghosts voices', the latter 'voices in noisy environments.' Participants were assessed for perception of human voices within recordings of purported electronic voice phenomena (EVP), degraded human speech, normal human speech, and white noise. The primed group had significantly higher perception of voices within EVPs than in degraded speech, this difference was not found for unprimed participants. In contrast to the previous use of this design, the primed group did not have higher perception of voices in EVPs and degraded speech than did the unprimed group. The Aesthetic Sensitivity dimension of the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS) was associated with detection of degraded stimuli, but not with accuracy of stimulus identification. HSPS score was related to lifetime reporting of anomalous and paranormal experiences. This study partially replicates a paranormal priming effect and shows relationships between HSPS and detection of ambiguous stimuli and anomalous and paranormal experiences.

Connecting and connectivity: providing video consulting in care homes in Wales.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, care home residents and staff were identified as being at risk of infection. Their safety was important, but equally important was safe delivery of healthcare to those who needed it. The Welsh Government provided care homes with video consulting (VC) to deliver safe healthcare to the vulnerable, combat isolation and protect the residents and staff. METHODS: To understand the use, value, benefits and challenges of using VC in care homes across Wales, telephone interviews were conducted between September and November 2020. RESULTS: From 101 interviews, findings suggest that while care homes are responsive to VC, there is a need for further awareness, better training and support for care home staff. CONCLUSIONS: Interestingly, issues around connectivity, lack of equipment and technical literacy were highlighted as minimal barriers. VC should be encouraged as a long-term service to support the health and wellbeing of care home staff and residents.

Variance in Stallion Semen Quality among Equestrian Sporting Disciplines and Competition Levels.

Most stallions within breeding programmes are expected to breed and compete concurrently. The exercising of stallions with regards to training regimes during the breeding season is a controversial subject. Daily exercise at low intensities is important for the mental and reproductive well-being of the stallion, however higher intensities of exercise, as seen in competing stallions, may have detrimental effects on seminal quality. To calculate if competition does affect semen quality, this study investigated the effect that equestrian discipline and timing of competition had on a range of stallion semen characteristics. This was a retrospective study that evaluated the seminal data of 1130 stallion semen collections from two UK based stud farms between 2009 and 2016. Competing stallion semen quality was significantly lower with regards to concentration (p < 0.05) and progressive motility (p < 0.05) than non-competing stallions. Semen volume was higher in competing stallions (p < 0.05) than non-competing stallions. There was a significant difference in seminal attributes among disciplines and competition levels (p < 0.05). The difference in semen quality among competing and non-competing stallions, as well as the difference among disciplines suggests endocrinological and physiological changes occur in relation to training intensity and competition.