Group Comparison Study Research Articles

Evaluating mental health decision units in acute care pathways (DECISION): a quasi-experimental, qualitative and health economic evaluation.

People experiencing mental health crises in the community often present to emergency departments and are admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Because of the demands on emergency department and inpatient care, psychiatric decision units have emerged to provide a more suitable environment for assessment and signposting to appropriate care. The study aimed to ascertain the structure and activities of psychiatric decision units in England and to provide an evidence base for their effectiveness, costs and benefits, and optimal configuration. This was a mixed-methods study comprising survey, systematic review, interrupted time series, synthetic control study, cohort study, qualitative interview study and health economic evaluation, using a critical interpretive synthesis approach. The study took place in four mental health National Health Service trusts with psychiatric decision units, and six acute hospital National Health Service trusts where emergency departments referred to psychiatric decision units in each mental health trust. Participants in the cohort study (n = 2110) were first-time referrals to psychiatric decision units for two 5-month periods from 1 October 2018 and 1 October 2019, respectively. Participants in the qualitative study were first-time referrals to psychiatric decision units recruited within 1 month of discharge (n = 39), members of psychiatric decision unit clinical teams (n = 15) and clinicians referring to psychiatric decision units (n = 19). Primary mental health outcome in the interrupted time series and cohort study was informal psychiatric hospital admission, and in the synthetic control any psychiatric hospital admission; primary emergency department outcome in the interrupted time series and synthetic control was mental health attendance at emergency department. Data for the interrupted time series and cohort study were extracted from electronic patient record in mental health and acute trusts; data for the synthetic control study were obtained through NHS Digital from Hospital Episode Statistics admitted patient care for psychiatric admissions and Hospital Episode Statistics Accident and Emergency for emergency department attendances. The health economic evaluation used data from all studies. Relevant databases were searched for controlled or comparison group studies of hospital-based mental health assessments permitting overnight stays of a maximum of 1 week that measured adult acute psychiatric admissions and/or mental health presentations at emergency department. Selection, data extraction and quality rating of studies were double assessed. Narrative synthesis of included studies was undertaken and meta-analyses were performed where sufficient studies reported outcomes. Psychiatric decision units have the potential to reduce informal psychiatric admissions, mental health presentations and wait times at emergency department. Cost savings are largely marginal and do not offset the cost of units. First-time referrals to psychiatric decision units use more inpatient and community care and less emergency department-based liaison psychiatry in the months following the first visit. Psychiatric decision units work best when configured to reduce either informal psychiatric admissions (longer length of stay, higher staff-to-patient ratio, use of psychosocial interventions), resulting in improved quality of crisis care or demand on the emergency department (higher capacity, shorter length of stay). To function well, psychiatric decision units should be integrated into the crisis care pathway alongside a range of community-based support. The availability and quality of data imposed limitations on the reliability of some analyses. Psychiatric decision units should not be commissioned with an expectation of short-term financial return on investment but, if appropriately configured, they can provide better quality of care for people in crisis who would not benefit from acute admission or reduce pressure on emergency department. The systematic review was registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews as CRD42019151043. This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: 17/49/70) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research; Vol. 11, No. 25. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.

Decision making and its correlates in recurrent depressive disorder.

Decision-making (DM) is simply choosing among alternatives or defining one's course of action. A depressed individual does not perceive himself as a decision-maker as ruminations reinforce dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs and poor executive functioning. The aim was to study and compare the relationship among DM, metacognition, and executive functioning in those with recurrent depressive disorder (RDD) and in healthy controls (HCs). A cross-sectional comparative group study design was used with a sample size of 40, with 20 participants in each group. The tools used were Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, General Health Questionnaire, Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire, Metacognitive Questionnaire, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and Controlled Oral Word Association Test. The RDD group had significantly higher scores on buck-passing (BP), procrastination (PR), hypervigilance, and dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs, and poor performance on executive functioning than HC. PR was inversely correlated with executive functioning and dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs in the RDD group, whereas in the HC group, BP was positively correlated with executive functioning and dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs. DM has a significant relationship with executive functions and dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs; therefore, changes in any one variable contribute to changes in the other two. The altered attentional and executive control due to dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs leads to poor DM, resulting in psychosocial dysfunction. The underlying metacognitive beliefs and executive functioning play a crucial role in DM, the process determining psychosocial functioning.

Comparative Study of Self-Concept, Reference Group, Marketing Strategy, and Online Buying Behavior Accros Generation

Comparative Study of Self-Concept, Reference Group, Marketing Strategy, and Online Buying Behavior Accros Generation

Unveiling the Signature of Halal Leather: A Comparative Study of Surface Morphology, Functional Groups and Thermal Characteristics

Unveiling the Signature of Halal Leather: A Comparative Study of Surface Morphology, Functional Groups and Thermal Characteristics

Sleep deprivation increases pain sensitivity following acute muscle soreness

ObjectiveThe aim of this cross-sectional group comparison study was to investigate whether sleep disturbance facilitates pain sensitivity caused by an acute muscle injury. MethodsThirty-six healthy individuals were included and randomly assigned to one of three groups in a non-balanced manner: a control group (n = 11) and two groups who performed eccentric exercise for quadriceps to cause delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS). The difference between the DOMS groups was that one followed their habitual sleep pattern (Sleep group, n = 12) and the other had their sleep withdrawn for one night (No-Sleep group, n = 13). The level of DOMS was indicated using a 6-point Likert Scale and pain sensitivity was assessed using Pressure Pain Thresholds (PPT) at the lower legs and shoulder at baseline (Day-1) and after 48 h (Day-3). Additionally, pain distribution following suprathreshold pressure stimulation (STPS) on the quadriceps muscle was assessed on the same days. ResultsPPTs were significantly reduced at Day-3 compared with Day-1 in both DOMS groups. The relative change between days was larger in the No-Sleep group compared with controls (P<0.05) whilst no significant change was seen in the Sleep group compared with controls. Furthermore, no significant differences were found between groups nor days for the subjective perception of DOMS (Likert Scale) and the size of the area of STPS. ConclusionsThe loss of sleep further increases pain sensitivity following an acute soft tissue injury, demonstrating a potential causative role of the lack of sleep on complex pain states following musculoskeletal injuries.

Intensive and explicit derivational morphology training in school-aged children: an effective way to improve morphological awareness, spelling and reading?

Morphological awareness has been shown to contribute to the acquisition of literacy in various languages. The current study focuses on an explicit derivational morphology training program in French-speaking fourth graders with the aim of measuring direct effects on morphological awareness and transfer effects on spelling and reading. The intensive training given in class consisted of (1) learning how to segment words into smaller units and (2) understanding the meaning of affixes in relation to words. Thirty-six children received the morphology training and 34 age-matched participants followed an alternative visuo-semantic training matched for intensity. The results of this pre-post group comparison study show a significant Group by Time interaction: Substantial progress in morphological awareness is observed for the group trained in morphology, on both trained as well as on untrained items. A similar gain was observed for the spelling of morphologically derived words, for trained and untrained words. Both roots and affixes were spelled more accurately. For reading however, we found a learning effect in speed and accuracy on trained words, but no generalization to untrained words. All effects were maintained four months after training. These results highlight the role that morphology plays in children’s literacy development.

Moral emotions and justifying beliefs about meat, fish, dairy and egg consumption: A comparative study of dietary groups

Meat eaters and meat abstainers differ in their beliefs and moral emotions related to meat consumption alongside gender differences. Few studies have investigated beliefs and moral emotions in pescatarians and vegans. Little is known about differences in moral emotions and beliefs regarding dairy, eggs, and fish or about speciesist beliefs within and between specific dietary groups. To address this gap, we investigated moral emotions (consumption-related disgust and guilt), attitudes towards animals (Animal Attitudes Scale) and justifying beliefs related to meat (Carnism Inventory), dairy, egg, and fish consumption in omnivores (n = 167), pescatarians (n = 110), vegetarians (n = 116), and vegans (n = 149). Results showed that people who consumed animal-derived products reported lower disgust and guilt and held stronger justifying beliefs about consumption of these products, than those who did not consume animal products. All dietary groups significantly differed from each other in their attitudes about using animals for human benefit, with omnivores showing the least positive attitudes towards animals, followed by pescatarians and vegetarians, and with vegans showing the most positive attitudes towards animals. Women experienced greater moral emotions and held fewer justifying beliefs than men within groups where animal products were consumed and this was related to the animal-based products they consume (i.e., fish for pescatarians and eggs/dairy for vegetarians). These findings emphasise the importance of considering a wider range of animal products, and dietary groups in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the psychological underpinnings of animal product consumption. The results highlight differences between dietary groups in attitudes and moral concern towards animals, which may be important to consider when designing interventions to reduce animal product consumption.

Comparative differential study of comorbid symptomatic groups associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) make up a diagnosis characterized by a multifunctional neurocognitive disorder, based on a limited structure to perform nodal-synaptic interrelationships between the contents of learning. Likewise, this disorder may be associated with a set of comorbid symptom groups, which, regarding their intensity, may border with ASD main diagnosis and lead to basic errors that affect subsequent social- educational treatment. This study analyses most recurrent associated comorbid groups, as well as, if the presence of symptomatic comorbid groups is differential regarding group shape: normotypical and ASD groups. A total of 390 children participated in this study, 128 belonged to normotypical group and 262 did it to experimental group, subdivided into three levels of ASD. Results found through multivariate- test indicate that the whole dimension significantly affects group way intersection, age and sex (sig: .00). The post-hoc test analysis indicates this influence was differential regarding to the group type for the following dimensions: cognition, behaviour, psychoaffectivity, language and psychomotor disorder, while relative differences were not observed in specific- clinical dimension, where only epilepsy showed a differential result: no differences were found in general- clinic dimension. Lay abstract ASD´ diagnosis and treatment shows, to date, many weak points that need to be improved. Previous studies have shown how important is the psycho-educational component regarding ASD treatment, therefore it is necessary to understand the specific characteristics of the nuclear ASD diagnosis, in order to work out a specific therapy according to every single case. In the current study, we examined and analysed ASD patients as well as participants showing comorbid symptoms such as epilepsy, in order to show how these comorbidities can reach a very high level, leading to a confused and wrong ASD nuclear diagnosis. Therefore, it is essential to gain more insight into the specific diagnosis process, defining the ASD symptoms very precisely in order to develop more accurate and specific educational programs. This study contributes to the improvement in ASD diagnosis, providing a large number of participants in order to study the relation between several comorbid symptoms and its reliability as ASD indicative factors or not.

Promoting mental health in Latina immigrant women: Results from the Amigas Latinas Motivando el Alma intervention trial

IntroductionLatina immigrants are at increased risk of depression and anxiety and limited access to mental health care. This study evaluated the effectiveness of Amigas Latinas Motivando el Alma (ALMA), a community-based intervention to reduce stress and promote mental health among Latina immigrants. MethodsALMA was evaluated using a delayed intervention comparison group study design. Latina immigrants (N = 226) were recruited from community organizations in King County, Washington from 2018 to 2021. Although originally developed to be delivered in-person, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the intervention was adapted mid-study to be delivered online. Participants completed surveys to assess changes in depression and anxiety post-intervention and at a two-month follow-up. We estimated generalized estimating equation models to assess differences in outcomes across groups, including stratified models for those receiving the intervention in-person or online. ResultsIn adjusted models, participants in the intervention group had lower levels of depressive symptoms than the comparison group post-intervention (β = −1.82, p = 0.01) and at two-month follow-up (β = −1.52, p = 0.01). Anxiety scores decreased for both groups, and there were no significant differences post-intervention or at follow-up. In stratified models, participants in the online intervention group had lower levels of depressive (β = −2.50, p = 0.007) and anxiety (β = −1.86, p = 0.02) symptoms than those in the comparison group, but there were no significant differences among those that received the intervention in-person. ConclusionsCommunity-based interventions can be effective in preventing and reducing depressive symptoms among Latina immigrant women, even when delivered online. Further research should evaluate the ALMA intervention among larger more diverse Latina immigrant populations.

Insights into social communication following traumatic brain injury sustained in older adulthood.

There is a lack of evidence relating to cognitive-communication difficulties following traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained in older adulthood. A prominent area in which post-TBI cognitive-communication difficulties manifest is at the level of social communication. An investigation of social communication focusing on comparison of those injured in older and younger adulthood is a practical starting point for age-related cognitive-communication outcome comparison. The overall objective of this study was to explore the social communication of individuals who sustained severe TBI in an early period of older adulthood (50-70 years) compared to younger adulthood (18-40 years), as informed by self and close other reports. This exploratory controlled group comparison study involved analysis of self-reported and close other reported La Trobe Communication Questionnaire data for 22 adults with severe TBI (11 older at injury; 11 younger at injury) and 22 control participants (11 older; 11 younger). TBI participants were matched for injury variables and participant groups were matched for sex, age and education. The close others of the older and younger adults with TBI reported them to have significantly more frequent difficulty with social communication than the close others of age-matched control groups. Older adults with TBI reported significantly more frequent difficulty with social communication than uninjured older adults. In contrast, younger adults with TBI and uninjured younger adults reported a similar frequency of difficulty with social communication. No age-based difference in the frequency of social communication difficulty was evident when comparing the self or close other reports of older and younger adults with TBI. Awareness of social communication difficulty, as indexed by comparing self and close other perceptions, showed a different pattern across the TBI groups. The older TBI group rated themselves as having significantly less frequent social communication difficulty than was perceived by their close others. In contrast, no statistically significant difference was evident between the self and close other social communication ratings of the younger TBI group. Where possible clinicians need to work with close communication partners to understand the nature and degree of social communication difficulty following severe TBI. This may be especially important when working with people who sustain TBI in older adulthood if future research shows that this population have greater difficulty with self-awareness of social communication difficulty. What is already known on the subject Cognitive-communication difficulties are a common consequence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) that can have long-term impact on everyday functioning. These challenges have primarily been investigated in individuals who sustained TBI in younger adulthood. What this paper adds to existing knowledge Individuals who sustain severe TBI in early older adulthood have a higher frequency of reported social communication difficulty to non-injured adults of a similar age, albeit they may underreport such difficulties potentially in the context of reduced self-awareness. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Social communication difficulty is an issue for people who sustain severe TBI in early older adulthood. However, a poorer overall social communication outcome in comparison to those injured in younger adulthood should not be assumed. Clinical service delivery for these challenges is most optimally delivered in a collaborative manner with the individual and their close others. Future research is required to investigate the identified trends from this study.

Knowledge, attitude, perceived effectiveness and self-practice of complementary and alternative medicine: a cross-sectional comparison between medical and non-medical students of Bangladesh

BackgroundBangladesh’s population commonly utilizes Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to treat their health issues. Despite the increasing interest in CAM, it has been excluded from conventional medical training in Bangladesh for many years. Therefore, this study assessed and compared the knowledge level, attitude, perceived effectiveness, and self-practice of CAM among undergraduate students of Bangladesh.MethodsThis cross-sectional group comparison study was conducted among undergraduate (both medical and non-medical) students of Bangladesh between November and December 2021. Data was collected using a self-reported pretested semi-structured online questionnaire. The questionnaire contained questions regarding background information, knowledge regarding CAM, source of CAM knowledge, attitude towards CAM, interest in attaining CAM knowledge, perceived effectiveness of CAM, perceived adverse effects of CAM, self-practice of CAM, and whether would they refer CAM to others. A total of 576 students responded and the data gathered allowed for the following: (1) an overview of the study groups, (2) respondents’ general perception and knowledge regarding CAM, and (3) a comparison of respondents’ CAM knowledge, general perception, and usage by area of study. Data were analyzed using STATA (v.16) and descriptive statistics, Pearson’s chi-square test, and Mann-Whitney U test were performed.ResultsA total of 329 medical students and 247 non-medical students participated in the study. The mean age of the participants was 21.57 ± 1.8 years and 56.2% of them were male. The most known CAM among medical (M) students was homeopathy (44.6%) and among non-medical (NM) students were herbal medicine (45.7%). Non-medical students had significantly better knowledge about nine out of twelve CAM modalities included in the study, and no significant differences were present for the rest of the modalities. Medical (81.1%) and non-medical students (86.2%) perceived traditional Chinese medicine and homeopathy to be the most effective respectively. “Incorporating CAM with conventional medicine would result in increased patient satisfaction” showed the most statistically significant (p = 0.0002) difference among both groups. Yoga was the most often practiced modality among medical students and homeopathy among non-medical students.ConclusionMedical students have a lacking of knowledge and a positive attitude towards CAM, despite its very common practice among the people of Bangladesh. Therefore, emphasis should be put on the inclusion of CAM modules in medical training.

When there is no air, the cradle will fall: A narrative review of tobacco-related content across infant safe sleep interventions.

Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) from sleep-related causes is a leading cause of infant mortality worldwide. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is one of the primary causes of SUID attributed to one or more environmental or behavioral determinants surrounding safe sleep practices among infants. The focus of many interventions on mitigating sleep-related infant deaths have addressed visible determinants pertaining to bed sharing, safe sleep surfaces, and removal of blankets, toys and other choking or strangulation hazards. Tobacco reduction and cessation have not been at the heart of any infant safe sleep interventions although addressing tobacco exposure is one of the primary safe sleep recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics. To date, there has not been a comprehensive review published on tobacco-related components across safe sleep interventions to reduce the risk of SIDS and SUID as the basis to contribute towards decreasing the rate of infant mortality. This review synthesizes the best practices, strategies, education, and additional interventions centered on addressing tobacco exposure as a risk factor for sleep-related infant deaths. Ten peer-reviewed studies were identified between 1995 and 2021 and integrated into this narrative review. There were three cross-sectional studies, three campaigns, one multi-center case control study, two randomized controlled trials, and two group comparison studies. Strengths and limitations of each approach are delineated followed by recommendations for future campaign, research, program, and practice endeavors to account for the totality of pertinent modifiable risk factors that contribute towards heightened infant mortality from sleep-related causes.

Effectiveness of accelerated reader on children's reading outcomes: A meta-analytic review.

Accelerated reader (AR) is a computerized reading program commonly used in schools. The program aims to enhance students' reading achievement and encourage students to read more through goal setting and frequent reading practice. A meta-analytic review of the AR was conducted to analyse its effectiveness as an evidence-based intervention for improving student reading achievement, attitude, and motivation. This study investigated potential moderating variables, including publication type, participant, and study characteristics that impact student reading outcomes. A total of 44 studies from peer-reviewed journal articles and dissertations met the inclusion criteria. Participants included 16,653 students enrolled in elementary, middle, and high school. Hedges' g effect sizes measures suggest pretest-posttest one-group AR studies have moderate effects (g=0.541) while comparison group AR studies have marginal effects (g=0.278). A meta-regression model of six potential categorical moderators of comparison group studies indicted no significant moderators. Implications and the need for further research regarding evidence-based and culturally appropriate reading interventions are discussed.

Effect of hearing aids on cognitive functions in middle-aged and older adults with hearing loss: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The study aimed to examine the effects of hearing aids on cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults with hearing loss. PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase were searched for studies published before 30 March 2022. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized studies of interventions (NRSIs) were included in the search. Restriction was set on neither types, severity, or the time of onset of hearing impairment nor cognitive or psychiatric statuses. Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed the study quality of RCTs. Cognitive function outcomes were descriptively summarized and converted to standardized mean difference (SMD) in the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis was conducted in RCTs. Sub-group analyses were conducted by cognitive statuses, psychiatric disorders, and cognitive domains. A total of 15 studies met the inclusion criteria, including five RCTs (n = 339) and 10 NRSIs (n = 507). Groups were classified as subjects without dementia or with normal global cognition, subjects with AD or dementia, and subjects with depressive symptoms. For subjects without dementia, improvements were found in global cognition, executive function, and episodic memory. For subjects with depressive symptoms, improvements were found in immediate memory, global cognition, and executive function. No improvement was found in subjects with AD or dementia. In total, four RCTs were included in the meta-analysis. For subjects without dementia (SMD = 0.11, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.15-0.37) and those with AD, no significant effect was found (SMD = -0.19, 95% CI: -0.65-0.28). For subjects without dementia, no significant effect was found in language (SMD = 0.14, 95% CI: -0.30-0.59) or general executive function (SMD = -0.04, 95% CI: -0.46-0.38). Further sub-group analysis found no significant effect in executive function (SMD = -0.27, 95% CI: -0.72-0.18) or processing speed (SMD = -0.02, 95% CI: -0.49-0.44). Hearing aids might improve cognitive performance in domains such as executive function in subjects without dementia. The effects on subjects with depressive symptoms remained unclear. No improvement was found in subjects with AD or dementia. Long-term RCTs and well-matched comparison-group studies with large sample sizes are warranted. https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier: CRD42022349057.

Family Relationships in Selective Mutism-A Comparison Group Study of Children and Adolescents.

Selective mutism (SM) mostly develops early in childhood and this has led to interest into whether there could be differences in relationships in families with SM compared to a control group without SM. Currently, there are merely few empirical studies examining family relationships in SM. A sample of 28 children and adolescents with SM was compared to 33 controls without SM. The groups were investigated using self-report questionnaires (Selective Mutism Questionnaire, Child-Parent Relationship Test-Child Version) for the assessment of SM and family relationships. Children with SM did not report a significantly different relationship to their mothers compared with the control group without SM. However, the scores in respect to the relationship to their fathers were significantly lower in cohesion, identification and autonomy compared with children without SM. Relationships in families with SM should be considered more in therapy.

Neuropsychological profile of executive functions in autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia spectrum disorders: a comparative group study in adults

As assessed by numerous neuropsychological tasks, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) have similar impairments related to executive functions (EFs). The neuropsychological profile of these two conditions was examined using the three-component EFs’ framework of Miyake and Friedman (Cogn Psychol 41(1):49-100, 2000). This approach assesses Inhibition (suppression of unwanted and irrelevant information/responses), Updating (use and control of contents of working memory), and Shifting (disengagement between activities or mental tasks) using nine different tasks. In line with previous research, we expected greater performance deficits in ASD in all three components compared to SSD, as well as faster responses for the SSD group. A self-paced task format allowed us to examine whether unlimited time given for a task would lead to better performance. The sample was constituted by the control group (N = 25), ASD group (N = 24), and SSD group (N = 12). Groups did not differ on Inhibition performance. In Updating, individuals with SSD performed poorer than the other groups. As for Shifting, both groups demonstrated poorer performance compared to controls, with the SSD group presenting the greatest difficulties. In terms of reaction time (RT), SSD participants’ RT were the slowest on Inhibition and Shifting tasks. There was a positive correlation between performance and time spent on Inhibition and Shifting only for the SSD group, which demonstrates that their performance improves when there are no time constraints. Our work provides a better understanding of spared and impaired EFs, which could be useful for designing strategies aimed at improving specific EFs in each group.

Quantitative Characterization of Oxygen-Containing Groups on the Surface of Carbon Materials: XPS and NEXAFS Study

The results of the comparative quantitative study of oxygen-containing groups adsorbed on the surface of carbonized sponge scaffold (CSS), highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), fullerite C60 and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) introduced into a high vacuum from the atmosphere without any pre-treatment of the surface are discussed. The studied materials are first tested by XRD and Raman spectroscopy, and then quantitatively characterized by XPS and NEXAFS. The research results showed the presence of carbon oxides and water-dissociation products on the surfaces of materials. It was shown that main source of oxygen content (~2%) on the surface of HOPG, MWCNTs, and C60 powder is water condensed from the atmosphere in the form of an adsorbed water molecule and hydroxyl group. On the CSS surface, oxygen atoms are present in the forms of carbon oxides (4–5%) and adsorbed water molecules and hydroxyl groups (5–6%). The high content of adsorbed water on the CSS surface is due to the strong roughness and high porosity of the surface.

Vocal Habits, Dysphonia Severity Index, and Voice-Related Quality of Life in Indian Primary School Teachers

Context: Only a handful of studies have explored the relationship between vocal habits, Dysphonia Severity Index (DSI) scores, and Voice-Related Quality of Life (VRQOL), especially among Indian primary school teachers. Aims: We aimed to document the factors affecting DSI and VRQOL scores among Indian primary school teachers and to study the correlation between these measures in Indian teachers with and without dysphonia. Settings and Design: This was a retrospective standard group comparison study. Subjects and Methods: A total of 90 primary school teachers (33 males and 57 females) were administered a vocal health questionnaire, and based on the questionnaire responses, participants were classified into two groups. Group 1 consisted of 33 participants without any self-reported symptoms of voice problems. Group 2 included 57 participants with self-reported symptoms of voice problems. Further, the phonation samples were recorded, and DSI scores were calculated. Participants were also instructed to fill out the VRQOL questionnaire. Statistical Analysis Used: Shapiro-Wilk test, the Mann-Whitney U-test, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient were carried out as a part of statistical analyses. Results: Teachers with self-reported vocal symptoms exhibited more frequent habits such as consumption of beverages, intake of spicy and oily food, less time interval between intake of meals and sleep, coughing, speaking at uncomfortable volumes, and frequent screaming or yelling or cheering. There was a significant positive correlation between VRQOL and the DSI values. Conclusion: Future studies can be carried out to discern the impact of the classroom's size, population, background noise, and amplification equipment on teachers.

성인 지체장애인의 디지털 역량 및 디지털 조력이 사회자본에 미치는 영향과 모바일 정보활용의 매개효과

This research examined whether and how the digital competence and digital assistance of adults with physical disabilities affect their social capital with a special focus on the role of mobile device use as its medium. A group comparison study was conducted between the elderly and young adults since that the above process would be different for these two age groups of the physically handicapped. The subjects of analysis were 1232 adults with physical disabilities, which were extracted from the respondents of the 2020 Information Gap Survey. First, according to the structural equation model analysis, the bridging social capital of adults with disabilities was directly affected by their Internet use ability and digital assistance, but also indirectly affected through the use of mobile information. The multi-group comparison model analysis revealed that the effect of digital assistance on the use of mobile information and the effect of the Internet use ability on bridging social capital were significantly greater for the elderly thatn for the young. These results suggest that informatization education for the physically disabled should consider the characteristics of the elderly with disabilities. This study emphasizes the need to help the local community digitally to promote the use of mobile information by people with physical disabilities, while considering strategies that can enhance the bridging social capital of the elderly with physical disabilities.

Musical Training and Its Association With Age-Related Changes in Binaural, Temporal, and Spatial Processing.

This article aimed to assess the relationship between musical training and age-related changes in binaural, temporal, and spatial processing abilities. A standard group comparison study was conducted involving both musicians and nonmusicians. The effect of musical training was assessed using a battery of psychoacoustical tests (interaural time and level difference thresholds: ITD & ILD, binaural gap detection threshold, and virtual auditory space identification test) and subjective ratings (Spatial-Hearing subsection of Speech, Spatial, and Quality of Hearing scale in Kannada). A total of 60 participants, between 41 and 70 years, were divided into three groups of 20 each, based on their age (41-50, 51-60, and 61-70 years). Each of these three groups was subdivided into two, one comprising 10 musicians (vocalists practicing South-Indian classical music) and the other comprising 10 nonmusicians. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed that musicians performed significantly better (p < .001) than nonmusicians in all the tests. Analyses of variance showed that whereas age had no effect (p > .05) on performance in any of the tests in musicians, age affected the performance of nonmusicians significantly in terms of ITD (p = .02) and ILD (p = .01) thresholds. Musical training appears to have the potential to slow down age-related decline in binaural, temporal, and spatial processing.