Descriptive Labels Research Articles

Schizophrenia: Transcending old world shadows

Schizophrenia, as currently operationalized, is a serious public health concern everywhere in the globe. Occurring at a rate of approximately 4.6 per 1000 population at any point of observation and between 3.0 and 6.0 per 1000 over the lifetime, the condition is responsible for 7% of disability adjusted live years caused by mental and substance use disorders. The impact of the disorder on affected persons and communities across the world is thus considerable. In Africa, where schizophrenia is seen as the prototypical “mental disorder” by the lay public, it constitutes a major cause of human rights abuses as well as experienced stigma and discrimination. The delineation of the disorder, including its construct validity and cultural applicability, is of interest not only to researchers but also to mental health practitioners and policy makers. Studies conducted on the continent have demonstrated that the construct of schizophrenia, as described in the global classificatory systems, is recognizable and applicable in the African settings. But such studies have been largely designed from an etic perspective leaving open the question of whether the diagnostic construct has sufficient cultural and social fit as well as salience to African populations. This commentary seeks to highlight ways in which existing gap in knowledge can be addressed in providing an African perspective on the future status of schizophrenia as a diagnostic construct and as a descriptive label of a clinical state.

Applicability and future status of schizophrenia as a construct in Africa

Schizophrenia, as currently operationalized, is a serious public health concern everywhere in the globe. Occurring at a rate of approximately 4.6 per 1000 population at any point of observation and between 3.0 and 6.0 per 1000 over the lifetime, the condition is responsible for 7% of disability adjusted live years caused by mental and substance use disorders. The impact of the disorder on affected persons and communities across the world is thus considerable. In Africa, where schizophrenia is seen as the prototypical “mental disorder” by the lay public, it constitutes a major cause of human rights abuses as well as experienced stigma and discrimination. The delineation of the disorder, including its construct validity and cultural applicability, is of interest not only to researchers but also to mental health practitioners and policy makers. Studies conducted on the continent have demonstrated that the construct of schizophrenia, as described in the global classificatory systems, is recognizable and applicable in the African settings. But such studies have been largely designed from an etic perspective leaving open the question of whether the diagnostic construct has sufficient cultural and social fit as well as salience to African populations. This commentary seeks to highlight ways in which existing gap in knowledge can be addressed in providing an African perspective on the future status of schizophrenia as a diagnostic construct and as a descriptive label of a clinical state.

IDENTIFIKASI PARASETAMOL DALAM JAMU PEGAL LINU YANG DIPEROLEH DARI DEPOT JAMU DI KOTA DENPASAR

The use of traditional medicine in the form of herbal medicine is in great demand by the people of Indonesia, one of that is pegal linu herb. Based on PERMENKES No. 006/Menkes/Per/V/2012 articles 33 and 37 states that traditional medicine may not contain medicinal chemical. Medicinal chemical that is often added into herbal medicine for pegal linu herb is paracetamol.This study aims to determine the presence of paracetamol in pegal linu herb depots in Denpasar city. The research method used an exploratory descriptive method and samples of herbal medicine were taken by purposive sampling, 14 samples of herbal medicine of various brands that was sold at depots in Denpasar City. The research was conducted at the chemical laboratory of Bali International University in July 2021. After preparation, the fourteen samples of herbal medicine were identified using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) with selection mobile phase ethanol p.a, detection with UV light 254 nm and 0.05 M H2SO4 sprayer. Completeness identification was also carried out descriptive labeling of herbal products containing paracetamol. Positive samples contain paracetamol if the Rf value and spot color are similar to the paracetamol comparison standard. The Rf results obtained that samples with codes F, I, K, and L were 0.68; 0.68; 0.68 and 0.68 which are the similar as the standard Rf for comparison of paracetamol and positive control which is 0.69. The conclusion of the research is that there are various brands of pegal linu herb sold in Indonesia that are suspected to contain 4 brands of paracetamol. Research suggestions for consumers who consume a brand of traditional herbal medicine are expected to be more selective in choosing herbal medicine by first checking the product registration number.

Schizophrenia as a categorical diagnosis: A view from the neural risk architecture

Schizophrenia, as currently operationalized, is a serious public health concern everywhere in the globe. Occurring at a rate of approximately 4.6 per 1000 population at any point of observation and between 3.0 and 6.0 per 1000 over the lifetime, the condition is responsible for 7% of disability adjusted live years caused by mental and substance use disorders. The impact of the disorder on affected persons and communities across the world is thus considerable. In Africa, where schizophrenia is seen as the prototypical “mental disorder” by the lay public, it constitutes a major cause of human rights abuses as well as experienced stigma and discrimination. The delineation of the disorder, including its construct validity and cultural applicability, is of interest not only to researchers but also to mental health practitioners and policy makers. Studies conducted on the continent have demonstrated that the construct of schizophrenia, as described in the global classificatory systems, is recognizable and applicable in the African settings. But such studies have been largely designed from an etic perspective leaving open the question of whether the diagnostic construct has sufficient cultural and social fit as well as salience to African populations. This commentary seeks to highlight ways in which existing gap in knowledge can be addressed in providing an African perspective on the future status of schizophrenia as a diagnostic construct and as a descriptive label of a clinical state.

Effects of digital Just-In-Time nudges on healthy food choice – A field experiment

Novel digital applications enable intervening in health behavior at moments hitherto impossible. Handheld self-scanning solutions in supermarkets allow providing nudges immediately in response to the product choice. While a nudge presented at this moment, in the optimal state of vulnerability/opportunity and receptivity, may serve as a cue to action and trigger healthier choices, post-choice biases instead predict that changing decisions is challenging. We investigated whether visibility nudges (product suggestions) and descriptive and evaluative nutritional labeling nudges provided immediately in response to choice can stimulate healthier food choices. Experimental manipulations were integrated in the self-scanning function of a smartphone application that allowed scanning and purchasing products in the physical supermarket. We compared: 1) a control version without adaptations, 2) a visibility nudge version in which after scanning an unhealthy product a pop-up with a healthier alternative appeared, 3) a version similar to version 2 but with additionally a descriptive nutritional label nudge denoting the healthiness of the alternative, and 4) a version similar to version 2 but with additionally an evaluative nutritional label nudge denoting the healthiness of the alternative. Sales data were collected during a 5-week period. The percentage of healthier products purchased was significantly higher for the visibility nudge version in which the healthier alternative was suggested without any additional nudge (37.7% healthier) compared to the control condition (29.9%), and the versions with an additional descriptive (30.0%) or evaluative nutritional label nudge (28.2%). The findings imply that saliently suggesting a healthier alternative stimulates healthier purchasing behavior but that an additional nudge emphasizing health may cancel this effect out.

Realistic visualizations can aid transfer performance: Do distinctive shapes and descriptive labels contribute towards learning?

AbstractBackgroundRealistic visualizations have been associated with benefits in retention performance, but also with disadvantages in transfer tasks. Realistic details are considered to be helpful for the initial learning of content, but not for the generalization to other domains and tasks.ObjectivesThe contradictory nature of previous evidence needed to be tested in a situation in which both the retention of concrete surfaces as well as the transfer to different shapes is necessary.MethodsThree experiments were conducted to assess whether transfer tasks in which knowledge of surfaces needed to be transferred to variations can benefit from realism, shape distinctness, and descriptive labels. In Experiment 1, participants learned skull anatomy either in a schematic or a realistic style and completed near and far transfer tests. In Experiment 2, the realism and shape distinctness of a fictional bone model was varied. Subjective cognitive load, retention performance, and transfer scores were measured. Experiment 3 compared how distinct and less distinct shapes of another fictional bone model affect learning in combination with label texts of differing semantic descriptiveness.Results and ConclusionsIn Experiment 1, performance in an anatomy learning task was raised by learning with a realistic visualization across near and far transfer tests. Experiment 2 revealed that extraneous cognitive load is increased for realistic visualizations when the depicted shapes lack distinctness. Experiment 3 suggests that when realistic visualizations feature less distinct shapes, learners struggle with descriptive labels in retention tests and benefit from similarly unspecific labels.

Schizophrenia: More data, less debate

Schizophrenia, as currently operationalized, is a serious public health concern everywhere in the globe. Occurring at a rate of approximately 4.6 per 1000 population at any point of observation and between 3.0 and 6.0 per 1000 over the lifetime, the condition is responsible for 7% of disability adjusted live years caused by mental and substance use disorders. The impact of the disorder on affected persons and communities across the world is thus considerable. In Africa, where schizophrenia is seen as the prototypical “mental disorder” by the lay public, it constitutes a major cause of human rights abuses as well as experienced stigma and discrimination. The delineation of the disorder, including its construct validity and cultural applicability, is of interest not only to researchers but also to mental health practitioners and policy makers. Studies conducted on the continent have demonstrated that the construct of schizophrenia, as described in the global classificatory systems, is recognizable and applicable in the African settings. But such studies have been largely designed from an etic perspective leaving open the question of whether the diagnostic construct has sufficient cultural and social fit as well as salience to African populations. This commentary seeks to highlight ways in which existing gap in knowledge can be addressed in providing an African perspective on the future status of schizophrenia as a diagnostic construct and as a descriptive label of a clinical state.

Increased expression of complement components in tuberous sclerosis complex and focal cortical dysplasia type 2B brain lesions.

ObjectiveIncreasing evidence supports the contribution of inflammatory mechanisms to the neurological manifestations of epileptogenic developmental pathologies linked to mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway dysregulation (mTORopathies), such as tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) and focal cortical dysplasia (FCD). In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression pattern and cellular distribution of the complement factors C1q and C3 in resected cortical tissue of clinically well‐characterized patients with TSC and FCD2B.MethodsWe applied immunohistochemistry in TSC (n = 29) and FCD2B (n = 32) samples and compared them to autopsy and biopsy controls (n = 27). Furthermore, protein expression was observed via Western blot, and for descriptive colocalization studies immunofluorescence double labeling was performed.ResultsProtein expression for C3 was significantly upregulated in TSC and FCD2B white and gray matter lesions compared to controls. Staining of the synaptic vesicle protein synaptophysin showed a remarkable increase in the white matter of both TSC and FCD2B. Furthermore, confocal imaging revealed colocalization of complement factors with astroglial, microglial, neuronal, and abnormal cells in various patterns.SignificanceOur results demonstrate that the prominent activation of the complement pathway represents a common pathological hallmark of TSC and FCD2B, suggesting that complement overactivation may play a role in these mTORopathies.

Psychosis and fever revisited

Schizophrenia, as currently operationalized, is a serious public health concern everywhere in the globe. Occurring at a rate of approximately 4.6 per 1000 population at any point of observation and between 3.0 and 6.0 per 1000 over the lifetime, the condition is responsible for 7% of disability adjusted live years caused by mental and substance use disorders. The impact of the disorder on affected persons and communities across the world is thus considerable. In Africa, where schizophrenia is seen as the prototypical “mental disorder” by the lay public, it constitutes a major cause of human rights abuses as well as experienced stigma and discrimination. The delineation of the disorder, including its construct validity and cultural applicability, is of interest not only to researchers but also to mental health practitioners and policy makers. Studies conducted on the continent have demonstrated that the construct of schizophrenia, as described in the global classificatory systems, is recognizable and applicable in the African settings. But such studies have been largely designed from an etic perspective leaving open the question of whether the diagnostic construct has sufficient cultural and social fit as well as salience to African populations. This commentary seeks to highlight ways in which existing gap in knowledge can be addressed in providing an African perspective on the future status of schizophrenia as a diagnostic construct and as a descriptive label of a clinical state.

On risk-based active learning for structural health monitoring

A primary motivation for the development and implementation of structural health monitoring systems, is the prospect of gaining the ability to make informed decisions regarding the operation and maintenance of structures and infrastructure. Unfortunately, descriptive labels for measured data corresponding to health-state information for the structure of interest are seldom available prior to the implementation of a monitoring system. This issue limits the applicability of the traditional supervised and unsupervised approaches to machine learning in the development of statistical classifiers for decision-supporting SHM systems.The current paper presents a risk-based formulation of active learning, in which the querying of class-label information is guided by the expected value of said information for each incipient data point. When applied to structural health monitoring, the querying of class labels can be mapped onto the inspection of a structure of interest in order to determine its health state. In the current paper, the risk-based active learning process is explained and visualised via a representative numerical example and subsequently applied to the Z24 Bridge benchmark. The results of the case studies indicate that a decision-maker’s performance can be improved via the risk-based active learning of a statistical classifier, such that the decision process itself is taken into account.

(2841) Proposal to conserve Lechea verticillata (Bergia ammannioides) (Elatinaceae) with a conserved type

(2841) Proposal to conserve <i>Lechea verticillata</i> (<i>Bergia ammannioides</i>) (<i>Elatinaceae</i>) with a conserved type

Matching institutionalized expertise with global needs: Boundary organizations and hybrid management at the science-policy interfaces of soil and land governance

In environmental governance, the role of expertise is regarded as a crucial support to decision-making. Yet, in intergovernmental settings, studies aimed at understanding the relation between science and policy have predominantly focused on the fields of climate change and biodiversity. Through a fieldwork-based study of the Science-Policy Interface (SPI) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS) of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), this paper investigates the role of scientific expertise in the global governance of soil and land degradation. Drawing upon the concepts of boundary organization and hybrid management, the study shows that analytical tools deriving from the Science and Technology Studies (STS) tradition provide valuable understandings of science-policy dynamics at the intergovernmental level. The results of the analysis reveal that science-policy organizations match the definition of boundary organization to different degrees and that hybrid management strategies occur with different magnitudes, with significant implications for each organization's capacity to bridge science and policy. This implies that such STS concepts should not be regarded as purely descriptive labels, but as resources that can serve broad analytical purposes in the study of global environmental governance. In this respect, the study contributes to an on-going theoretical dialogue between STS and International Relations (IR), claiming that IR scholars should consider the adoption of relevant STS theoretical tools for the analysis of global environmental institutions.

On psychosocial pathomorphosis of depression

IntroductionThe concept of depression has long been a matter of controversy. Sociocultural factors greatly influence the phenomenology of depression and the meaning that patients assign to their symptoms.ObjectivesThe aim is to determine the changes in the phenomenology of depression over the past decades.MethodsTo compare the proportions of biologically mediated symptoms of typical recurrent melancholic depression with the ideator components of the depressive syndrome and a depressive decrease in reactivity. We compared the archival data of one of the authors (V.N.K.) obtained in the study of depression: 1980-1987 (first group) and 2014-2020 (second group). The groups are age-comparable (21-64 y.o.). The Hamilton Depression Scale has been used to assess depression (score of 21–32, in both groups).ResultsBasic, i.e., biologically mediated symptoms, were not statistically different in the study groups. Whereas symptoms associated with emotional reactivity, the patient’s introspective abilities and capacity to identify and verbalize feelings - in the second group, were statistically rare, except for anhedonia, which, on the contrary, came to the fore. Based on some longitudinal studies of the dangers of excessive reliance on computer-mediated communication, one could foresee such contrasting phenomenology changes, which were especially clearly manifested in young patients.ConclusionsOver the past decades, there are changes in the phenomenology of depression. The same underlying disorder can produce different clinical presentations, and agreement on a pathological entity does not necessarily mean deal with a descriptive label.

Ten women’s decision-making experiences in threatened preterm labour: Qualitative findings from the EQUIPTT trial

BackgroundClinical triage of women in threatened preterm labour (TPTL) could be improved through utilising the QUiPP App, as symptoms alone are poor predictors of early delivery. As most women in TPTL ultimately deliver at term, they must weigh this likelihood with their own personal considerations, and responsibilities. The importance of personal considerations was highlighted by the 2015 Montgomery ruling, and the significance of shared decision-making. AimsThrough qualitative interviews, the primary aim was to explore women’s decision-making experiences in TPTL through onset of symptoms, triage, clinical assessment, and discharge. MethodsQualitative interviews were undertaken as part of the EQUIPTT study (REC: 17/LO/1802) using a semi-structured interview schedule. Descriptive labels of the coding scheme were applied to the raw transcript data. This coding scheme was then increasingly refined into key themes and allowed parallels to be made within and between cases. ResultsTen ethnically diverse women who presented at six different London hospitals sites in TPTL were interviewed. Three final themes emerged from the data incorporating 10 sub-themes, ‘Seeking help’, ‘Being “assessed” vs making clinical decisions together’, and ‘End result.’ ConclusionWomen described their busy lives and the need to juggle their commitments. Participants drew comparisons between their TPTL symptoms and ‘period pain,’ contrasting to typical medical terminology. Shared decision-making and the clinician-patient relationship could be improved through clinicians utilizing terminology women understand and relate to.Women used language that highlighted the clinician-patient power balance. While not fully involved in shared decision-making, women were overall satisfied with their care.

A common model for the breathlessness experience across cardiorespiratory disease.

Chronic breathlessness occurs across many different conditions, often independently of disease severity. Yet, despite being strongly linked to adverse outcomes, the consideration of chronic breathlessness as a stand-alone therapeutic target remains limited. Here we use data-driven techniques to identify and confirm the stability of underlying features (factors) driving breathlessness across different cardiorespiratory diseases.Questionnaire data on 182 participants with main diagnoses of asthma (21.4%), COPD (24.7%), heart failure (19.2%), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (18.7%), other interstitial lung disease (2.7%), and “other diagnoses” (13.2%) were entered into an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Participants were stratified based on their EFA factor scores. We then examined model stability using 6-month follow-up data and established the most compact set of measures describing the breathlessness experience.In this dataset, we have identified four stable factors that underlie the experience of breathlessness. These factors were assigned the following descriptive labels: 1) body burden, 2) affect/mood, 3) breathing burden and 4) anger/frustration. Stratifying patients by their scores across the four factors revealed two groups corresponding to high and low burden. These two groups were not related to the primary disease diagnosis and remained stable after 6 months.In this work, we identified and confirmed the stability of underlying features of breathlessness. Previous work in this domain has been largely limited to single-diagnosis patient groups without subsequent re-testing of model stability. This work provides further evidence supporting disease independent approaches to assess breathlessness.

Does rehearsal matter? Left anterior temporal alpha and theta band changes correlate with the beneficial effects of rehearsal on working memory

Rehearsal during working memory (WM) maintenance is assumed to facilitate retrieval. Less is known about how rehearsal modulates WM delay activity. In the present study, 44 participants completed a Sternberg Task with either intact novel scenes or phase-scrambled scenes, which had similar color and spatial frequency but lacked semantic content. During the rehearsal condition participants generated a descriptive label during encoding and covertly rehearsed during the delay period. During the suppression condition participants did not generate a label during encoding and suppressed (repeated “the”) during the delay period. This was easy in the former (novel scenes) but more difficult in the later condition (phase-scrambled scenes) where scenes lacked semantic content. Behavioral performance and EEG delay activity was analyzed as a function of maintenance strategy. Performance during WM revealed a benefit of rehearsal for phase-scrambled but not intact scenes. Examination of the absolute amplitude revealed three underlying sources of activity for rehearsal, including the left anterior temporal (ATL) and left and midline parietal regions. Increases in alpha and theta activity in ATL were correlated with improvement in performance on WM with rehearsal only when labeling was not automatic (e.g., phase-scrambled scenes), which may reflect differences in labeling and rehearsal (i.e., semantic associations vs. shallow labels). We conclude that rehearsal only benefits memory for visual stimuli that lack semantic information, and that this is correlated with changes in alpha and theta rhythms.

The display’s the thing: A successful interactive, analog community college library display

One of the first things you see when you enter the Kurt R. Schmeller Library on the Queensborough Community College campus are three display cases arranged in a horseshoe, accented with a poster display case on a stand. This prime floor space often serves as a waiting space as students read their texts or wait for friends to join them in the library. Historically, the displays featured rotated content, generally heritage months and other broad topics, with the cases packed full of books (in varying states of repair and condition), artifacts, and matted description and information labels and captions. According to everyone, the displays were routinely ignored.

Importance of sensory quality signals in consumers’ food choice

The widest application of sensory marketing can be found in the wine market where varieties, sensory descriptions, and interpretive sensory labels are extensively used as sensory quality signals (extrinsic sensory cues). Sensory marketing for other food products such as fruits and vegetables is quite limited. Extrinsic sensory cues bring numerous advantages to consumers (e.g. empower choice), to producers (e.g. increase consumer loyalty), and to the environment (e.g. reduce food waste). For this reason, the ensuing question is whether the adaption of existing sensory marketing techniques from wine marketing to fruits and vegetables would be profitable. Therefore, the aim of this study was to measure the influence of sensory quality signals on purchase decisions for three product categories (wine, tomatoes, and apples) in a comparative design. Choice experiments were conducted in Germany (N = 924), and the data were analysed using hierarchical bayes estimation to ascertain if consumers value specific sensory quality signals (variety, sensory description, and interpretive sensory label). Moreover, latent class analyses were performed to determine how different consumer segments take sensory quality signals into account when making food choices. The results revealed that sensory quality signals are important and that sensory descriptions are preferred over the names of the varieties or interpretive sensory labels. Furthermore, the results denoted that similar consumer segments exist for tomatoes and apples, with one segment (32% and 38%, respectively) each paying particular attention to sensory quality signals. For wine, two corresponding segments are identified, which indicates the more advanced stage of development in sensory marketing.

Facing Immersive “Post-Truth” in AIVR?

In recent years, prevalent global societal issues related to fake news, fakery, misinformation, and disinformation were brought to the fore, leading to the construction of descriptive labels such as “post-truth” to refer to the supposedly new emerging era. Thereby, the (mis-)use of technologies such as AI and VR has been argued to potentially fuel this new loss of “ground-truth”, for instance, via the ethically relevant deepfakes phenomena and the creation of realistic fake worlds, presumably undermining experiential veracity. Indeed, unethical and malicious actors could harness tools at the intersection of AI and VR (AIVR) to craft what we call immersive falsehood, fake immersive reality landscapes deliberately constructed for malicious ends. This short paper analyzes the ethically relevant nature of the background against which such malicious designs in AIVR could exacerbate the intentional proliferation of deceptions and falsities. We offer a reappraisal expounding that while immersive falsehood could manipulate and severely jeopardize the inherently affective constructions of social reality and considerably complicate falsification processes, humans may neither inhabit a post-truth nor a post-falsification age. Finally, we provide incentives for future AIVR safety work, ideally contributing to a future era of technology-augmented critical thinking.

U.S. health insurance marketplace taxonomy and the influence of labeling on consumer perception of plan suitability

AbstractThis study investigates whether metal categories used in the health insurance marketplace established by the Affordable Care Act influence consumer choice in plan selection. Participants (N = 598) were randomly assigned to a marketplace environment containing either neutral terminology, metal categories, or descriptive labels. Respondents were asked to choose the most appropriate plan for low‐, average‐, and high‐use cases of health care consumption. Despite the bronze plan possessing the lowest estimated cost across each use case, the use of precious metal categories (compared to a neutral control) resulted in lower frequency selection of the gold plan in a low‐use case, higher frequency selection of the silver plan in an average‐use case, and higher frequency selection of the gold plan in a high‐use case. Furthermore, this study finds that beliefs equating more insurance with better health care and normative beliefs regarding the relationship between income and insurance are important predictors of plan selection.