Cognitive Characteristics Research Articles

Predictors of consistent condom use among male construction workers who have engaged in concurrent sex with regular sex partners, casual sex partners, and sex workers over a 3-month period

ABSTRACT This study investigates the predictors of consistent condom use among male construction workers in South Africa who reported concurrent sexual relationships with regular partners, casual partners, and sex workers over a 3-month period. A cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from a convenience sample of 450 male workers across 18 construction work sites in the Western Cape province. Of these, 245 (54%) indicated that they had engaged in sex with all three partner types during the 3-month study period. Hierarchical multiple linear regression was then used to assess consistent condom use as a function of demographic, experiential, behavioural and cognitive characteristics. Three statistically significant predictors of consistent condom use were identified: perceived control over condom use (β = 0.252, p < 0.001), positive attitude toward condom use (β = 0.154, p < 0.05) and fear of HIV infection (β = 0.121, p < 0.05). These findings highlight the high prevalence of sexual concurrency among study participants. It also suggests that amid declining condom use, interventions which focus on enhancing an individuals’ condom application skills and efficacy, that foster positive attitudes toward condom use and that strategically incorporate fear-based messaging within a multilevel framework may potentially increase condom use among individuals in concurrent sexual relationships.

Clinical and cognitive features associated with psychosis in Parkinson's disease: a longitudinal study

BackgroundParkinson's disease psychosis (PDPsy) is associated with increased nursing home placement and mortality and is closely linked with cognitive dysfunction.ObjectiveAssess the clinical and cognitive features associated with PDPsy in patients without dementia.MethodsWe prospectively recruited people with Parkinson's disease (PwP) without dementia for a 3-year, longitudinal study at an outpatient movement disorders clinic. Participants completed annual visits involving assessment of motor and non-motor symptoms including neuropsychological testing. PDPsy was defined as the recurring presence of visual illusions, sense of presence, hallucinations, or delusions for at least 1 month. Using generalized estimating equations, we conducted two sets of analyses to separately assess the clinical and the cognitive predictors of PDPsy.ResultsWe enrolled 105 participants. At baseline, mean age was 67.8 (SD = 8.0), median disease duration was 4.9 years (IQR: 3.4–7.7), and mean MoCA was 24.8 (SD = 2.3). Prevalence of PDPsy increased over 3 years from 31% (n = 32) to 39% (n = 26). Forty-five participants (43%) experienced PDPsy. Visual illusions were most common (70%, n = 84), followed by hallucinations (58.3%, n = 70). In multivariate analysis, of the clinical variables, only depressive symptoms [OR 1.09, 95% CI: (1.03, 1.16), p = 0.004] increased the odds of PDPsy; of the cognitive variables, only Trail Making Test B-A scores [OR 1.43, 95% CI: (1.06, 1.93), p = 0.018] significantly increased the odds of PDPsy.ConclusionsIn PwP without dementia, depressive symptoms were associated with increased risk of PDPsy. Executive/attentional dysfunction was also associated with PDPsy and may mark the transition from isolated minor hallucinations to more complex psychotic symptoms.

Plasma neurofilament light chain in fibromyalgia: A case control study exploring correlation with clinical and cognitive features.

Plasma neurofilament light chain (NFL) has been measured as a biomarker of neuronal damage in various neurological disorders. Elevated tau and β-amyloid levels have been found in patients with fibromyalgia (FM). The aim of the present study was to compare plasma neurofilament levels in fibromyalgia patients with normal controls and to investigate the correlation with clinical features and cognitive tests. Plasma NFL levels were assessed in 33 FM patients and compared with 22 age-matched controls. All patients were also assessed with clinical scales examining fibromyalgia disability, sleep quality and duration, fatigue, anxiety, and depression, and a neuropsychological battery examining executive function, verbal short-term memory, and working memory, as well as attentional executive function and selective attention, interference sensitivity, and inhibition of automatic responses. NFL levels were higher in FM patients (controls 6.19± 1.92; FM 17.28± 15.94 pg/mL ANOVA p 0.002). Working memory was the most impaired cognitive function significantly correlated with high NFL scores (Pearson p 0.034). Short sleep times also correlated with higher NFL scores (Pearson p 0.02) and poorer working memory performance (Pearson p 0.02). No correlation was found with indices of disease severity and duration. Plasma NFL levels are elevated in fibromyalgia patients, suggesting neuronal damage and correlating with a slight decrease in working memory and short sleep duration. Plasma neurofilament levels are elevated in patients with fibromyalgia, regardless of disease severity and duration. Neurofilament levels are higher in patients with mild working memory impairment and sleep disorders. Subgroups of patients with primary neuronal damage phenomena could be individualized for prospective evaluation with regard to the possible development of cognitive decline and sleep disturbances, which would justify a tailored therapeutic approach.

Transhumanism, Human Moral Enhancement, and Virtues

Moral transhumanism is a project that aims to enhance human beings by using modern technology in a morally beneficial way. This article discusses the problems and ethical dilemmas raised by transhumanism, notably whether (moral) virtues may be enhanced in the proposed manner. To achieve this end, moral transhumanism primarily proposes the use of genetic technology and pharmacology. Regarding moral virtues, the article suggests that sensitivity to reasons is a fundamental feature of human moral cognition. Enhancing moral virtues would diminish this sensitivity or assign it a superfluous role while jeopardizing the person’s autonomy and self-determination.

DAAO Mutant Sites among Different Mice Strains and Their Effects on Enzyme Activity.

Previous studies reported that D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) activity was closely associated with neuropathic pain, cognitive characteristics of schizophrenia and so on. To determine DAAO mutant sites in different strains of mice and their effects on enzyme activity, we successfully constructed a prokaryotic expression system for heterologous expression of DAAO in vitro. There were total five nucleotide mutations distributed in exons 2, 8, 9, 10 of C57 mice. Three mutations located on exons 8 and 9 were synonymous mutations and had no variation on the encoded amino acid. The remaining two mutations in exons 2 (V64A) and 10 (R295H) were non-synonymous mutations, which might affect enzymatic activity and protein structure of mDAAO. Based on the determination of the kinetic constants and IC50 of mDAAO mutants in vitro, the differences in amino acid levels at these two sites (V64A, R295H) increased the affinity of C57 DAAO with substrate and enhanced its catalytic efficiency. Besides, the IC50 value of C57 DAAO was less than that of Balb/c and other DAAO mutants (SUN: reducted by about 11.9%; CBIO: reducted by about 26.5%), which meant that the affinity of C57 DAAO with CBIO was higher.

Cognition-related connectome gradient dysfunctions of thalamus and basal ganglia in drug-naïve first-episode major depressive disorder

BackgroundSubcortical functional abnormalities are believed to contribute to clinical symptoms and cognitive impairments in major depressive disorder (MDD). By introducing functional gradient mapping, the present study evaluated subcortical gradients in MDD patients and their association with cognitive features. MethodsOrganization patterns and between-group differences in the principal subcortical gradient were investigated in 145 never-treated first-episode MDD patients and 145 healthy controls (HCs) across limbic, thalamic, and basal ganglia (BG) systems and their structural and functional subregions. We also assessed the associations between significant gradient alterations and clinical characteristics and neuropsychological functioning. ResultsOverall, MDD patients showed a relatively compressed and disturbed gradient organization than HCs, with limbic and BG regions located at the two extreme ends of the principal gradient. Specifically, MDD patients had lower principal gradient values in thalamus and limbic system but higher values in BG than HCs. These gradient alterations, associated with intrinsic Euclidian distance and functional connectivity patterns, manifested as spatial rearrangements of gradient values within each respective subregion. Lower gradient values in thalamic subregion projecting to default mode network were associated with higher principal gradient values in BG subregion projecting to ventral attention network, and these gradient alterations were correlated with poorer episodic memory performance in MDD patients. LimitationsThe specific neuropathological mechanisms driving the gradient alterations still require further investigation. ConclusionsOpposing gradient alterations in the thalamic and BG regions synergistically impact episodic memory performance in MDD, revealing an internally differentiated and cognition related pattern of subcortical gradient dysfunction in MDD.

Ideology: Psychological Similarities and Differences Across the Ideological Spectrum Reexamined.

A key debate in the psychology of ideology is whether leftists and rightists are psychologically similar or different. A long-standing view holds that left-wing and right-wing people are meaningfully different from one another across a whole host of basic personality and cognitive features. Scholars have recently pushed back, suggesting that left-wing and right-wing people are more psychologically similar than distinct. We review evidence regarding the psychological profiles of left-wing and right-wing people across a wide variety of domains, including their dispositions (values, personality, cognitive rigidity, threat-sensitivity, and authoritarianism), information processing (motivated reasoning and susceptibility to misinformation), and their interpersonal perceptions and behaviors (empathy, prejudice, stereotyping, and violence). Our review paints a nuanced picture: People across the ideological divide are much more similar than scholars sometimes appreciate. And yet, they differ-to varying degrees-in their personality, values, and (perhaps most importantly) in the groups and causes they prioritize, with important implications for downstream attitudes and behavior in the world.

The Relationship Between Cognitive Deficits and Clinical Characteristics in Patients with Schizophrenia

Introduction: Schizophrenia is an endogenous psychotic disorder with a chronic course, which is characterized by dysfunction in multiple domains: perceptions, thinking, emotions, and cognition.

Acceleration in multilingual children: the case of French

ABSTRACT The acquisition of the null-subject property has received much attention. Languages differ as to whether they allow (pronominal) subjects to be unexpressed. French is generally assumed to be a language not allowing null-subjects, while languages like Italian and European Portuguese are treated as null-subject languages. The present study locates these language types within the null-argument hierarchy. This hierarchy “emerges” through the interaction of (non-language specific) cognitive strategies and linguistic features. In such a hierarchy, Italian and European Portuguese are less marked than French. The study of the longitudinal data of three Italian/Portuguese-French bilingual children between the age of 1;0 to 5;0 shows that bilingual children can reach the French target grammar more quickly than monolingual French-speaking children, even if they have a “weak” language. The children are accelerated with respect to (pronominal) subject realizations and target-like inflection of finite verbs. The findings indicate that bilingual children are not statistical learners, but they can rely on prior knowledge attained in their respective other, radically different, and less marked language. Consequently, educational programs with a focus on multilingualism (like pedagogical translanguaging) which aim to activate prior linguistic knowledge can be effective to compensate for disadvantages related to critical periods.

Axial rotation affects the cognitive characteristics of spatial ability

PurposeTo test spatial ability in athletes with different axial rotation experience and analyze their behavioral data to explain the cognitive mechanisms of spatial ability in athletes.MethodsExperiment 1: A total of 147 athletes were selected for the paper-and-pencil mental rotation test (MRT). The athletes were separated according to three sport types: open high-spatial (OH) sport, closed high-spatial (CH) sport, closed low-spatial (CL) sport. Spatial ability testing with a two-factor mixed experimental design of 3 (sport type) × 2 (stimulus type). Experiment 2: In this study, 47 players were selected for computerized mental rotation test, with a three-factor mixed experimental design of 3 (sport type) × 2 (angle: 45°, 90°) × 3 (rotational axis: left–right axis, up–down axis, and front–back axis). Repeated-measures ANOVA was performed to evaluate the data.Results(1) The CH group and OH group outperformed the CL group in the non-embodied task (all ps &amp;lt; 0.003) and the CH group was better than the other groups in the embodied and tasks (all ps &amp;lt; 0.008). (2) Under 45° rotational conditions, the reaction time (RT) for the left–right (LR) and up–down (UD) axes were shorter than that for the front-back (FB) axis (all ps &amp;lt; 0.026). However, under 90° conditions, the RT for FB &amp;lt; LR &amp;lt; UD, with superior accuracy and rotational speed for the FB axis than for the LR and UD axes (all ps &amp;lt; 0.034). (3) Male players from the CH and CL groups had shorter RTs than did those from the OH group at both angles (all ps &amp;lt; 0.047). For female players, the CH group presented a shorter RT than the OH and CL groups did at 90° (all ps &amp;lt; 0.006). (4) No sex difference was found for paper and pencil MRTs, but a male advantage existed only in the CL group for computerized MRTs (p = 0.005).ConclusionThe motor skills associated with axial rotation could promote mental rotation performance and compensate for sex differences in mental rotation ability.

Technology-assisted instruction with teacher prompts on fraction multiplication word problems: A single-case design with visual analysis and Bayesian multilevel modeling

ABSTRACT This study examines the effects of technology-assisted instruction with teacher prompts on the ability to visualize and solve fraction multiplication word problems for four middle school students with learning disabilities. A multiple-probe design across participants, a type of single-case design, showed a functional relationship between the intervention and the targeted mathematical outcomes. Although there were some fluctuations over time, students demonstrated improvements from the baseline to intervention phases (Tau ranged from 0.76 to 1.00 for visualization and was 1.00 for problem-solving). Researchers employed Bayesian cumulative link mixed effects models to examine the moderating effects of word problem question types. Students showed greater maintenance effects on problem-solving than on visualization tasks, as reflected in changes in level (logit coefficient = 2.6) and trend (logit coefficient = 0.22). Students and teachers perceived vocabulary and multiplication fact practices, as well as the cognitive and metacognitive features embedded in the technology-assisted intervention, to be useful in learning targeted mathematics concepts. This study underscores the role of technology integration in enhancing teachers’ instructional approach and in aiding students’ acquisition and retention of mathematical concepts and skills.

Technology of creating an innovative textbook for teacher education system

The transformation of education, caused by the constantly changing demands of society and the avalanche growth of information, necessitates the search for new means of training future teachers, focused on the formation of universal qualities of a specialist. The creation of psycho-pedagogical classes requires expanded research into ways to improve pedagogical training with continuity at all levels, starting from school. Considering the focus on professional training, it is important to model the structure and content of educational tools that allow forming not only subject knowledge but also the readiness of future teachers to “learn to teach” adequately to the cognitive characteristics of modern students and the trends in the formation of digital content.The aim of the article is to substantiate the method of creating end-to-end inversion textbooks that allow forming and developing the readiness to learn to teach in students planning their future professional activities in the educational field (by the example of studying the topic of the informatics course “Information and information processes”).The literature analysis allowed us to identify three tools for modeling the format of presentation and structuring of the textbook content: the “inverted” or inversion (question-task) format of the structural composition of educational content; the end-to-end or vertical selection of educational content according to the principle of “vertical lever”, the principle of “transparent” box” based on structural mental diagrams for visualizing all components of educational material (theory, tasks, control methods). Using the example of the topic “Information and information processes”, the article shows the technology of applying these tools in compiling of innovative teaching resources is shown.An expert assessment of the created textbook confirmed the possibility and feasibility of its use in psycho-pedagogical classes and pedagogical universities for training, self-study, and self-control of students.

A Comparative Analysis of Neurocognitive Function in Community- and Hospital-Based Patients With Schizophrenia.

The study compared differences in various neurocognitive characteristics across treatment modalities among schizophrenia patients recruited in one city between July 2020 and June 2023 who were on regular medication. Of the 151 participants, 113 were included in the analysis. Participants were divided into community-based and hospital-based groups, and their demographics and clinical characteristics, including insight, quality of life, positive and negative symptoms, and personal and social functioning, were examined. In addition, several aspects of cognition were assessed using neurocognitive assessments such as the Trail Making Test (TMT), Stroop test, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). After adjusting for age differences between groups, the final analysis included data from 42 participants in the community-based group and 33 participants in the hospital-based group. Hospital-based group participants completed Stroop-W more rapidly, excelled in Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test recall and recognition, and incurred fewer TMT Part B (TMT-B) and Stroop-C errors. Additionally, they outperformed in WCST total, non-persistent errors, and categories completed. Contrastingly, community-based group participants showed superior outcomes in WCST persistent responses and errors, suggesting specific neurocognitive strengths. We found differences in neurocognitive characteristics between the two groups. These differences were consistent across a range of cognitive domains, including attention, visual discrimination, memory, and executive functioning. Further large-scale study is needed to generalize cognitive characteristics across treatment modalities.

Human risk recognition and prediction in manned submersible diving tasks driven by deep learning models

The complexity of human cognition is increased by the multiple and interactive information clusters brought about by the application of advanced intelligent information technologies. Especially in systems operating in extreme regions far from society, human errors are more pronounced than ever before. Prolonged social isolation, extreme weightless or overweight environments, stressful atmospheres, and lack of situational awareness are all added potential elements contributing to human risk. Although the development of human reliability analysis methods and their variants continues to mature, accurately predicting the potential risk of dynamic human behavior from sparse and discrete events remains a great challenge. We focus on deep learning computational architectures that are similar to the cognitive processes and mechanisms of the brain, and build neural networks that match the perceptual activation and memory cycling of the cognitive features of the brain. This study focuses on investigating the ability of the joint SNN-ITLSTM network to predict human error behavior and the clusters of performance shaping factors that effectively characterize the far-social nature. Combining the bionic properties of SNN and the temporal update mechanism of LSTM in the form of hierarchical events constitutes a computationally efficient network architecture. Our results show that the joint model proposed in this study has the performance to strengthen temporal influences and characterize cognitive features of the brain.

Identification of Relationship between Meta Cognition and Misconceptions

This study investigates the complex interplay between meta cognition and misconceptions within the educational context, focusing on implications for effective teaching and learning strategies. Aligning with India's National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which advocates for a transition from rote memorization to in- depth understanding, this research explores the concurrent presence of misconceptions and meta cognition in elementary science education. Meta cognition, the process of reflecting on one's cognitive processes, and misconceptions, or predefined notions that impede authentic learning, are analyzed through influential frameworks, including those developed by Flavell and Nelson and Narens. The MASRL model by Efklides is also incorporated to understand the interplay of meta cognitive knowledge, control strategies, experiences, task characteristics, and learning outcomes. The study highlights the impact of misconceptions as cognitive barriers and their influence on meta cognition, emphasizing the need for effective educational strategies. The literature review explores existing research on meta cognition and misconceptions, showcasing how meta cognition acts as a cognitive mirror, enabling learners to navigate and rectify misconceptions. This research has significant educational implications, highlighting the importance of cultivating self-directed learning, critical thinking, and evidence- based study strategies to enhance academic outcomes. The study concludes by emphasizing the dynamic interplay between meta cognition and misconceptions, offering insights for educators and researchers to design interventions fostering accurate conceptual understanding in learners.

Exploring the mechanism of sustained consumer trust in AI chatbots after service failures: a perspective based on attribution and CASA theories

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) technology has been widely employed in brand customer service. However, the inherent limitations of computer-generated natural language content occasionally lead to failures in human-computer interactions, potentially damaging a company’s brand image. Therefore, it is crucial to explore how to maintain consumer trust after AI chatbots fail to provide successful service. This study constructs a model to examine the impact of social interaction cues and anthropomorphic factors on users’ sustained trust by integrating the Computers As Social Actors (CASA) theory with attribution theory. An empirical analysis of 462 survey responses reveals that CASA factors (perceived anthropomorphic characteristics, perceived empathic abilities, and perceived interaction quality) can effectively enhance user trust in AI customer service following interaction failures. This process of sustaining trust is mediated through different attributions of failure. Furthermore, AI anxiety, as a cognitive characteristic of users, not only negatively impacts sustained trust but also significantly moderates the effect of internal attributions on sustained trust. These findings expand the research domain of human-computer interaction and provide insights for the practical development of AI chatbots in communication and customer service fields.

Invisible Rituals

Dimitris Xygalatas’s Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living (2022) provides a much-needed ethnographically informed cognitive science of rituals. Among other things, the book tries to outline common cognitive grounds for such diverse practices as the calm Japanese tea ceremony and the emotionally arousing, physically painful Thaipusam ritual in Mauritius. Acknowledging the hallmark features of prototypical rituals discussed by Xygalatas, this paper further discusses the common grounds. Specifically, I suggest that prototypical rituals are continuous with cultural models. That is, much of the internalized cultural models contain the same cognitive features of ritualized behaviour and are the source of silent rituals of everyday life. More specifically, at its deeper cognitive core lies normative cognition, which might be a source of much of the compulsive urge to act properly and in a scripted, rigid manner. To illustrate the point, an ethnographic example from Mongolia will be briefly described.

Attitudes and preferences of the Chinese public towards products made from recycled materials: A text mining approach

Products made from recycled materials, as an environmentally friendly option, have attracted public attention. Understanding public attitudes and preferences towards such products is crucial for their market development. In order to explore the Chinese residents’ attitude and emotional tendency, we analyzed public discussions and topics on products made from recycled materials from Sina Weibo. Meanwhile, LDA and BERT deep learning models were employed to assess the level of public attention, hot topics, and sentiment tendencies in China. Results show a significant upward trend in public interest in products made from recycled materials. Although the fact that most people have a positive attitude towards the environmental concept of products made from recycled materials and support such products, there is not a significant demand for products made from recycled materials, i.e., there is a green attitude-behaviour gap. Results further reveal that factors such as the price of products made from recycled materials, branding, and public skepticism about the sustainability of the products are the main reasons for the gap between environmental awareness and consumer behaviour. By analyzing the public's cognitive structure and psychological characteristics regarding products made from recycled materials through social media data, this paper can help recycling manufacturers understand consumers' needs and expectations, as well as assist policymakers in formulating better circular economy policies.

Social cognition in adults with neurofibromatosis type 1.

Adult patients with the genetic disease neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) frequently report social difficulties. To date, however, only two studies have explored whether these difficulties are caused by social cognition deficits, and these yielded contradictory data. The aim of the present study was to exhaustively assess social cognition abilities (emotion, theory of mind, moral reasoning, and social information processing) in adults with NF1, compared with a control group, and to explore links between social cognition and disease characteristics (mode of inheritance, severity, and visibility). We administered a social cognition battery to 20 adults with NF1 (mean age = 26.5 years, SD = 7.4) and 20 healthy adults matched for sociodemographic variables. Patients scored significantly lower than controls on emotion, theory of mind, moral reasoning, and social information processing tasks. No effects of disease characteristics were found. These results appear to confirm that adults with NF1 have a social cognition weaknesses that could explain, at least in part, their social difficulties, although social abilities are not all impaired to the same extent. Regarding the impact of the disease characteristics, the patient sample seemed slightly insufficient for the power analyses performed. Thus, this exploratory study should form the basis of further research, with the objective of replicating these results with larger and more appropriately matched samples.

Autonomous intelligent additive manufacturing of continuous fiber-reinforced composites: data-enhanced knowledgebase and multi-sensor fusion

ABSTRACT Additive manufacturing (AM) are an emerging technique to generate complex structures of composite. However, the instability of the AM process leads to adverse manufacturing effects, including dimensional inaccuracies and poor mechanical performance in CFRP composites. Online monitoring and adaptive control based on autonomous cognition are suggested to ensure the accuracy of as-fabricated parts and enhance their quality upon manufacturing. In this study, a method of online monitoring and self-adaptive control based on multi-sensor fusion is proposed to predict and adjust the process parameters during AM of CFRP. The force sensor, visual camera, and thermal camera are employed to obtain the multiple signals upon manufacturing and then realize the autonomous perception, cognition, and decision features. Herein, the quantitative correlations between local defects and multi-sensing features are established to guide the decision-making of closed-loop adjustment. Besides, an empirical surrogate model between the misalignment of fiber bundles and input parameters is built to predict the proper parameters. Moreover, the temperature difference and contact force are selected as the controlled features, which are acquired using a thermal camera and a force sensor. The proposed system offers a novel framework for bolstering both the stability of the AM process and the quality of fabricated components.