Poor Skills Research Articles

Management of Village Owned Enterprises (BUMDES) in Increasing Village Economic Income in Banyumas Regency, Indonesia

In general, signs of BUMDES' success include steadily rising revenues and assets, a widening customer base, staff members who are able to do their jobs, and a positive influence on local communities. BUMDES that are constructed sporadically assist the community. This is brought on by persistent management system shortcomings, unsolved capital-related barriers, and the requirement to boost the caliber of human resources. This study employs a descriptive qualitative methodology and the Donald van Metter and Carl van Horn theory of A Model of Policy Implementation. In the Indonesian province of Banyumas, the study included a sample of 80 BUMDES. Observation, interviews, and documentation studies were the data gathering methods employed. Purposive sampling was performed as part of the informant selection process. The findings suggested that the BUMDES initiative may have been implemented more effectively. The village side anticipates an increase in local income as a result of the development of BUMDES. However, adopting it faces several challenges, including a lack of socialization of BUMDES work, widespread coverage, the managers' poor managerial skills, and little understanding of BUMDES management.

Repeat testing enhances long-term verbal memory in children with epilepsy

ABSTRACT To (i) determine whether accelerated long-term forgetting (ALF) can be found using standardized verbal memory test materials in children with genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE) and temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), and (ii) to establish whether ALF is impacted by executive skills and repeat testing over long delays. One hundred and twenty-three children aged 8 to 16, (28 with GGE, 23 with TLE, and 72 typically developing; TD) completed a battery of standardized tests assessing executive functioning and memory for two stories. Stories were recalled immediately and after a 30-min delay. To examine whether repeat testing impacts long-term forgetting, one story was tested via free recall at 1-day and 2-weeks, and the other at 2-weeks only. Recognition was then tested for both stories at 2-weeks. Children with epilepsy recalled fewer story details, both immediately and after 30-min relative to TD children. Compared to TD children, the GGE group, but not the TLE group, showed ALF, having significantly poorer recall of the story tested only at the longest delay. Poor executive skills were significantly correlated with ALF for children with epilepsy. Standard story memory materials can detect ALF in children with epilepsy when administered over long delays. Our findings suggest that (i) ALF is related to poor executive skills in children with epilepsy, and (ii) repeated testing may ameliorate ALF in some children.

Word-level reading skills of Brazilian children with developmental language disorder

ABSTRACT Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) show a wide range of impairments, including poor pre-reading skills and decoding difficulties due to phonological deficits and such difficulties have significant repercussions on the acquisition of written language. However, evidence about reading processes and development is mainly available for English-speaking children with DLD, limiting our understanding of this process in a cross-linguistic manner. The orthographic characteristics of languages significantly influence the learning process of written code. Unlike English, Brazilian Portuguese has a transparent decoding system and its orthography presents a set of consistent, univocal grapheme-phoneme relations. The present study investigated whether the challenges reported in decoding for children with DLD in opaque languages hold for children with DLD who are speakers of Brazilian Portuguese and whether the length and type of stimuli influence the decoding skills of children with DLD differently than when compared to children with typical language development (TLD). Sixteen children with DLD between seven and ten years of age who are monolingual speakers of Brazilian Portuguese and 64 controls with TLD matched by gender, age, and socioeconomic status, with the children with DLD in a 4:1 ratio; participated in the study. All children performed a computerized task where they were asked to decode a linguistically balanced list of words and nonwords designed according to Brazilian Portuguese decoding rules. The present study provides substantial evidence that children with DLD who are speakers of Brazilian Portuguese have deficits in the acquisition of decoding and that the decoding profile of children with DLD is subject to multiple influences, not only with relation to the length and type of stimuli but also characteristics of the languages these children are being literate in, highlighting the multifactorial nature involved in the development of decoding.

Experiences of patients’ primary caregivers with tracheostomy suctioning before discharge

PurposeThis study aimed to determine the experiences of primary caregivers of patients with tracheostomies on the tracheostomy suctioning procedure. MethodsThis is a semi-structured qualitative study of 11 primary caregivers of patients with tracheostomies in one university hospital in a province in northwest Turkey. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview technique with the primary caregivers of the patients and interviews were audio-recorded. The content of the audio recordings obtained during each interview was evaluated by the researchers using the content analysis method. The data were categorized, coded, and analyzed by creating themes and sub-themes. ResultsThe experiences of primary caregivers with tracheostomy suctioning before discharge were classified under three themes and 11 sub-themes. The study's main themes were emotional reactions, information needs, and caring responsibility. Caregivers showed either positive or negative emotions when performed tracheostomy suctioning on their patients. Insufficient information on the patient care and recovery process were mostly emphasized topic by caregivers. Such that they express the knowledge deficiency on tracheostomy suctioning and counseling provided either by nurses/physicians. Thus compete with difficulties ends up with feelings of pressure and avoidance of caring responsibility. ConclusionCaregivers lack of knowledge and poor skills on tracheostomy suctioning ends up with fear, anxiety, and obstacles on patient caring. Implementing individualized education, supporting patients and their caregivers on tracheostomy suctioning, and following up on caregivers’ abilities are valuable interventions.

Learning to swim in Finland: practices and experiences

Aquatic skills have been defined as important life-saving skills in Finland, because of it’s thousands of lakes. Finnish national core curriculum includes objectives for pupils’ swimming skills and, therefore national survey is implemented regularly. The latest survey implemented in spring 2022 to measure 6th graders (n = 1798) and preschoolers (n = 222) perception of their swimming skills. The results revealed decline in 6th graders’ skills. There were approximately 55% of 6th graders reporting to be able to swim 200 m, including 50 m swimming on the back. Moreover, the survey revealed gender differences showing that 60% of boys, 51% of girls and 40% of non-binary genders achieved the 200 m criteria. These gender differences have not found earlier. In 2022 survey included preschoolers (6 yrs) first time. The results showed that preschoolers have positive attitude towards water, and they perceive their aquatic competence positively. This starting point should be utilized in swimming lessons by including swimming already as part of preschool curriculum. The Covid pandemic reduced the amount of swimming lessons. Therefore, it can be assumed that a new generation of pupils with poor swimming skills is now growing. There is need to ensure water safety by compensating the lack of swimming skills. Practically it could mean starting annual swimming lessons from preschool.

Sources of predictability of synoptic‐scale rainfall during the West African summer monsoon

AbstractNumerical‐model‐based forecasts of precipitation exhibit poor skill over northern tropical Africa when compared with climatology‐based forecasts and with other tropical regions. However, as recently demonstrated, purely data‐driven forecasts based on spatio‐temporal dependences inferred from gridded satellite rainfall estimates show promise for the prediction of the 24‐hr precipitation occurrence rate in this region. The present work explores this potential further by advancing the statistical model and providing meteorological interpretations of the performance results. Advances include (a) the use of a recently developed correlation metric, the Coefficient of Predictive Ability (CPA), to identify predictors, (b) forecast evaluation with robust reliability diagrams and score decompositions, (c) a study domain over tropical Africa nested in a considerably enlarged spatio‐temporal domain to identify coherent propagating features, and (d) the introduction of a novel coherent‐linear‐propagation factor to quantify the coherence of propagating signals. The statistical forecast is compared with a climatology‐based benchmark, the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) operational ensemble forecast, and a statistically postprocessed ensemble forecast. All methods show poor skill within the main rainbelt over northern tropical Africa, where differences in Brier scores between the different approaches are hardly statistically significant. However, the data‐driven forecast outperforms the other methods along the fringes of the rainbelt, where meridional rainfall gradients are large. The coherent‐linear‐propagation factor, in concert with metrics of convective available potential energy and convective instability, reveals that high stochasticity in the rainbelt limits predictability. At the fringes of the rainbelt, the data‐driven approach leverages coherent precipitation features associated with propagating tropical weather systems such as African Easterly Waves.

Left-hand muscle contractions improve novel metaphor comprehension among adolescents

For people to understand metaphors that require the creation of associations between remote concepts, both the diffuse spread of activation in semantic networks in the right hemisphere (coarse semantic coding) and the tight and focused spread of activation in the left hemisphere (fine semantic coding) are required. During adolescence, the dynamic between the left and right hemispheres that enables the processing of metaphors is not yet established. Thus, the present study aimed to (1) test whether left-hand muscle contractions that activate the right hemisphere's sensory-motor regions can boost metaphor comprehension in adolescents; (2) compare conventional and novel metaphor processing (with no muscle contractions) in adolescents and adults. For the first goal, 83 adolescents between the ages of 14–16 squeezed a rubber ball with either their right hands, left hands, or not at all (control group) while presented with two-word expressions of four types: literal expressions, conventional metaphors, novel metaphors, and unrelated expressions. Results showed that left-hand muscle contractions led to more accurate processing of literal expressions and conventional and novel metaphors. However, the over-activation of the right hemisphere led to a decreased ability to process unrelated expressions. For the second goal, the adolescent control group was compared with an adult group of participants. Results revealed that despite a general disadvantage in language processing (including conventional metaphors), adolescents were more accurate in processing novel metaphors. Our findings suggest that adolescents' left lateralization for language is not yet established, resulting in over-reliance on coarse semantic coding. In addition, our results demonstrate the effectiveness of a simple, non-invasive technique for enhancing metaphor comprehension in adolescents. This technique may especially benefit adolescents who struggle with metaphor comprehension, such as adolescents with autistic spectrum disorders or with poor social skills.

Frequency of Anxiety During Exam / Assessments among Medical Students

Background: The phenomenon of severe anxiety and self-doubt experienced by individuals prior to taking exams or assessments can significantly impair their performance, potentially leading to poor outcomes. Research on the prevalence and contributing factors of assessment-related anxiety among medical students in Pakistan is scarce. Objective: The aim of this study was to ascertain the prevalence of exam-related anxiety among medical students and identify its associated factors. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Settings: Allama Iqbal Medical College/ Jinnah Hospital Lahore Pakistan. Duration: Six months from 09-12-2022 to 09- 06-2023. Methods: After approval of the study proposal and attaining the informed consent of the medical students, they were explained the purpose of study. After inclusion, all the students were asked questions as per PHCC test anxiety questionnaire to determine presence as well as healthy or unhealthy nature of stress. All these students with anxiety were assessed for factors related to this stress including female gender, 1st year of medical college, oral exam, poor time management skills and pre-existing psychological distress. All data was collected in a self- made pro forma. Results: Total of 135 students, mean age was 23.30±2.48 years. Frequency of anxiety was 51.1% (n=69). Frequency of female gender factors in students with anxiety versus without anxiety was 52.3%% (n=56) versus 47.7% (n=51), 1st year in medical college 87.9% (n=58) versus 12.1% (n=8), oral exam 79.7% (n=59) versus 20.3% (n=15), poor time management skills 95.6% (n=43) versus 4.4% (n=2) and pre-existing psychological distress was 92.3% (n=24) versus 7.7% (n=2). Conclusion: The results indicate that a considerable proportion of medical students experience significant exam anxiety, with 51.1% affected. The study further revealed a notable correlation between anxiety and factors such as being in the first year of medical college, facing oral exams, inadequate time management skills, and pre-existing psychological distress. Given its prevalence, the issue of problematic exam anxiety among medical students warrants increased attention.

Statistical evaluation of different surface precipitation-type algorithms and its implications for NWP prediction and operational decision making

Abstract Several new precipitation-type algorithms have been developed to improve NWP predictions of surface precipitation type during winter storms. In this study, we evaluate whether it is possible to objectively declare one algorithm as superior to another through comparison of three precipitation-type algorithms when validated using different techniques. The apparent skill of the algorithms is dependent on the choice of performance metric – algorithms can have high scores for some metrics and poor scores for others. It is also possible for an algorithm to have high skill at diagnosing some precipitation types and poor skill with others. Algorithm skill is also highly dependent on the choice of verification data/methodology. Just by changing what data is considered “truth,” we were able to substantially change the apparent skill of all algorithms evaluated herein. These findings suggest an objective declaration of algorithm “goodness” is not possible. Moreover, they indicate the unambiguous declaration of superiority is difficult, if not impossible. A contributing factor to algorithm performance is uncertainty of the microphysical processes that lead to phase changes of falling hydrometeors, which are treated differently by each algorithm thus resulting in different biases in near-0°C environments. These biases are evident even when algorithms are applied to ensemble forecasts. Hence, a multi-algorithm approach is advocated to account for this source of uncertainty. Though the apparent performance of this approach is still dependent on the choice of performance metric and precipitation type, a case-study analysis shows it has the potential to provide better decision support than the single-algorithm approach.

Analyzing University Entrance Exam Physics Questions using Physics Problems Taxonomy for Cognitive Processes

University students often find physics challenging due to physical and mathematical obstacles, poor mathematical skills, and inadequate problem-solving abilities. This perception affects their interest and performance in the subject. High school students also struggle with numerical problems and understand curricular topics that lack concrete examples and require mathematical manipulations or visualization. Analyzing physics problems is crucial for guiding curriculum development, contributing to physics education, identifying students' difficulties in understanding and solving problems, and improving the process of physics education at all educational levels. Taxonomies are hierarchical frameworks used in education to classify educational learning goals or objectives according to their complexity. Bloom's Taxonomy, Anderson and Krathwohl's revised taxonomy, Lee Shulman's learning grid, Marzano's New Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (NTEO), and the Taxonomy of Introductory Physics Problems (TIPP) are all essential tools for understanding and improving educational learning outcomes. The study adapted the TIPP taxonomy into Turkish and analyzed 7 physics questions in the 2023 BPT. Results showed 3 questions were at recall, 1 at comprehension, and 3 at analysis, with no question at using knowledge. The study demonstrates that TIPP is a useful taxonomy for teachers to plan, apply, and evaluate knowledge and algorithms in solving physics problems, identifying students' needs. This taxonomy allows educators to create questions that engage students at all cognitive levels, promoting cognitive engagement. Researchers can analyze physics questions in the TYT and AYT in earlier years.

Impact of Gratitude Meditation on Happiness

Recent past it has been observed that the research on the concept of happiness increased quite substantially. Many positive psychologists are digging into to search for a formula that is ef-fective and sustainable to keep level of happiness most of the time. Past research suggests that by applying gratitude in the lifestyle may be effective to increase and sustain the level of happiness. Research on happiness focussing upon the working-class people are less as compared to other cate-gory of people in India. Working class people due to lack of time, awareness, and many other day-to-day challenges along with poor work life balance skills, are more prone to have decreased level of happiness in their life. This research is focussed on those categories of people and the objective of this research is to study the impact of gratitude mediation as intervention on happiness among the working-class people in the age group of 30-45 years living in the city of Delhi and NCR region. The Pre-Test and Post-Test experimental research was conducted to find out the impact of a 90days Gratitude Meditation program in improving Happiness level of the participants. Scores measured using Oxford Happiness Questionnaire and Gratitude Questionnaire-6 (GQ-6) (McCullough & Emmons, 2002). Study showed that the Gratitude Meditation had a statistically significant effect on improvement in happiness. Participants suggests that it has helped them to become more self-aware, acceptance, life satisfaction, fulfilment and contentment which is major factor of Happiness and wellbeing. Research confirms the efficacy of the Gratitude Mediation program have positive impact on happiness of working-class people.

Research on the Cultivation of Kindergarten Soccer Teachers in the Context of Industry-Education Integration

The main force of kindergarten soccer teachers tends to be younger, which is a good status quo for kindergartens. For primary and secondary schools, the older the teacher's teaching experience will be richer, how to control the students' emotions, the more effective for students to receive knowledge have more scientific methods. Through visiting kindergartens, it is not difficult to find that for kindergarten soccer teachers, young teachers have a lot of energy and vitality in teaching and can create teaching activities that cater to children's preferences. Especially in soccer teaching activities, young kindergarten teachers are better than their older counterparts in terms of demonstration, infectiousness, and flexibility. The desire for new things is higher, the speed of accepting new knowledge is faster, and the effect will be better in the subsequent continuing education and training. As for the older teachers, they have been teaching for a long time and have a fixed teaching mode. Relatively speaking, they are more traditional and lack innovation and vitality in teaching. However, most of the young kindergarten teachers are just entering the workplace, are relatively inexperienced, poor organizational skills, for the emergence of unexpected situations can not be dealt with patiently, timely, and effectively. Older teachers, because of their longer working hours, and children in the teaching and after-school life of a longer period, can more accurately determine what kind of soccer teaching activities are more suitable for children, and will not appear in the classroom out of control, chaotic scenes. Therefore, kindergartens should strengthen the training of new and old teachers, older teachers can not only pass on their rich teaching experience to new teachers but also learn innovative soccer activities that are in line with the development of the times and meet the preferences of young children.

Private Student's Junior High School and Their Numeracy Literacy Competency

Numerical literacy is an important aspect of schooling. Students must be able to count, relate, and perform arithmetic. The purpose of this study is to know deeply the numeracy literacy competency of private student’s junior high school. The following findings are the result of research employing tests as a data collection instrument. There are two students in the high category, five in the medium group, and nineteen in the low category. Based on these findings, it is possible to conclude that children at the research school have poor literacy skills. Furthermore, it is envisaged that schools will seek alternate learning techniques capable of concretizing numeracy literacy principles. Numerical literacy is an important part of the world of education. Students are expected to understand and acquire the competency of numeracy.

What Are the Prospects of Sustainable Aquaculture in the Niger Delta, Nigeria?

Globally, the wild capture fishery is declining, and aquaculture is expanding to help fill the gap, especially in Asia and developing countries. However, the sustainability of the aquaculture sector is raising questions, and answering those questions requires the adoption of new technologies and better management practices. Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in Nigeria where aquaculture generally means catfish, the most farmed species of which is clarias garipinus because it is a native species, and it plays an important role in the average Nigerian diet. However, small-scale catfish aquaculture businesses are affected by various challenges that threaten the sustainability of the sector. Prominent among these challenges are: poor management skills; lack of good quality fish seed supply; high cost of fish feed; inconsistency in government policy and limited regulations; lack of consideration about the impacts of aquaculture practice on the environment causing water pollution and environmental degradation, and insecurity of investment against natural disasters such as floods. This research investigated these challenges in eight sites in two states (Delta and Bayelsa) in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Data were gathered from a survey questionnaire, key informant interviews, personal observations, and published literature. Key findings showed that the sustainable development of the small-scale catfish farming industry in Delta and Bayelsa states is vulnerable to several threats that prevent it from fulfilling its undoubted potential to grow into a much larger sector, which could significantly reduce Nigeria’s reliance on fish imports, as well as relieve pressure on the overfished marine catch sector. Nevertheless, despite the threats, most catfish farmers are committed to their work and deserve the support of the government to enable them to succeed.

Obstetrics and gynecology clerkship directors’ experiences advising residency applicants

The evolving landscape of application processes for obstetrics and gynecology residency applicants poses many challenges for applicants and advisors. The lack of data coordination among national groups creates crucial gaps in information for stakeholder groups. This study aimed to identify the current state of the advising milieu for obstetrics and gynecology residency applicants and their career advisors, the annual Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics survey focused on US clerkship directors' experiences advising students through these processes. A 23-item anonymous survey was developed that asked respondents about demographics and outcomes for the students that they advised through the 2021 application process and their experiences with dual applicants and students not matching. The survey was sent electronically to all obstetrics and gynecology clerkship directors with active Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics memberships in April 2021. Of 224 total clerkship directors, 143 (63.8%) responded to the survey, Of the 143 respondents, almost all (136 [95.1%]) served as career advisors, and 50 (35.0%) were aware of students dual applying. Furthermore, obstetrics and gynecology was rarely the backup to a more competitive specialty. For the 2021 application cycle, 79 of 143 respondents (55.2%) reported having students not successfully match into obstetrics and gynecology, with "academic concerns" followed by "poor communication skills" as the primary reasons cited for students not matching. This snapshot of clerkship directors' experiences advising students in the residency application process reveals notably high rates of dual applicants and students not matching into obstetrics and gynecology. This work fills key gaps in our knowledge of current processes and highlights the importance of career advising at multiple points during the application process.

The Soil Moisture–Surface Flux Relationship as a Factor for Extreme Heat Predictability in Subseasonal to Seasonal Forecasts

Abstract Thresholds of soil moisture exist below which the atmosphere becomes hypersensitive to land surface drying, inducing thermal feedbacks that can exacerbate heatwaves. Realistic representation of threshold transitions in forecast models could improve extreme heat predictability and understanding of the role of land–atmosphere coupling. This study evaluates the performance of several forecast models from the Subseasonal Experiment (SubX) and several prototype versions of the Unified Forecast System (UFS) in their representation of threshold transitions by validation against reanalysis data. A metric of skill (true skill score) is applied to soil moisture breakpoint values, which mark the transition to heatwave hypersensitivity for drying soils. Forecast models have poor skill at being initialized on the correct side of the breakpoint, but show improvement when normalized to account for deficiencies in their soil moisture climatologies. Regionally, models performed best in the U.S. Northwest and worst in the Southwest. They effectively capture the tendency of western regions to spend more summer days in the hypersensitive regime than the eastern United States. Models represent well extreme heat as a consequence of atmospheric initial state for the first week of the forecast, but struggle to represent the soil moisture feedback regime. Forecast models generally perform better at extreme heat prediction when they are already dry and in the hypersensitive regime, even when erroneously so, implying that errors or biases exist in model parameterizations. Nevertheless, composite analysis shows encouraging model performance of the “hit” category, suggesting that an improvement in soil moisture initialization could further improve extreme heat forecast skill.

Study to determine the factors related to patient and surgical procedures influencing the rate of postoperative surgical wound infections

Wound infections continue to be a substantial contributor to postoperative morbidity, responsible for around one-fourth of all nosocomial infections. The human bacteria from the endogenous organ microflora and the extrinsic environment continue to have a role in the development of wound infections. The development of postoperative wound infection has been linked to several different perioperative variables that have been studied in detail. Numerous studies have shown that several surgical procedures are more susceptible to postoperative infection complications because of individual risk factors. The majority of patient- and procedure-related variables have been identified to influence the likelihood of surgical site infections in univariate or multivariate analysis. Preexisting infection, older age, and other dangerous pathogens, smoking, and diabetes is also possible patient-related variables. Procedure-related variables include the length of the surgery, the quality of preoperative skin preparation and poor surgical skill. The goal of this study was to recognize the incidence of postoperative surgical wound infections, which is influenced by patient and surgical technique parameters.

Improved communication as a catalyst for the minibus taxi industry’s changed negative image and increased profits in South Africa: Drivers’ views

The South African taxi industry has a negative image that is associated with violence and disrespect for its clients. This has led to it losing many of its clients to other industry players leading to more violence as taxi owners lose profits. The issue of communication as a possible solution to the challenges the taxi industry experiences, from the perspectives of the taxi drivers, has not been explored. Hence, this paper sought to gather the views of drivers on the role of improved communication to bringing about peace and good relations with passengers. A qualitative approach was adopted as a form of data collection in which 12 participants were interviewed in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in South Africa. The participants were selected among the taxi drivers who were asked to share their communication challenges and strategies. The findings revealed that poor communication skills and language can be a barrier to communication between drivers and passengers and between taxi associations. Effective communication strategies can contribute to economic freedom and peace. A further finding from the study is that taxi drivers, acting on their own agency, can tackle communication challenges in the eThekwini taxi industry and contribute to change.

Digital divide: accessing digital technologies for firms in BOP countries

PurposeDigital technologies (DTs) are key and essential in firms and communities. Countries in low-income areas, such as Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) contexts, struggle with digital development. To understand how firms in BOP countries access DTs, a qualitative study was conducted to provide insight into how firms in these contexts access DTs and the challenges they face while accessing these technologies.Design/methodology/approachAn in-depth qualitative study was done, which included semi-structured interviews with digital enterprises. In total, 12 chief executive officers (CEOs) and owners of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) from Ghana and Nigeria were interviewed. NVivo 12 Pro was used for thematic analysis.FindingsFour main findings were identified as follows: (1) how firms in BOP contexts access DTs, (2) the challenges in accessing DTs, (3) factors considered when selecting a technological provider in BOP contexts and (4) solutions and recommendations to the challenges identified. From the results, cost, low technological infrastructure, high transaction costs, regulatory issues, lack of trust, poor digital skills and lack of support were among the barriers to accessing DTs in BOP contexts.Research limitations/implicationsGovernments and stakeholders of firms in BOP contexts need to be intentional with their digitalization development to ensure digital inclusion.Originality/valueThe study developed a synopsis of the factors involved in accessing DTs in BOP contexts and is the first to conceptualize firm digital access in BOP contexts.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-05-2023-0213

White matter abnormalities mediate the association between masticatory dysfunction and cognition among older adults.

Masticatory parameters, such as reduced number of teeth and posterior contacts, have been shown to be associated with reduced cognitive status. The underlying mechanisms that affect these associations, are however, not well understood. The study aims to investigate the association between masticatory dysfunction and cognition and explore the mediating effect of brain structure. In this cross-sectional study, 45 older adults with subjective masticatory dysfunction (mean age 72.3 ± 4.0 years) were included. Mini-Mental State Examination score <25, brain trauma, neurological disease, neurodegenerative disorders, depression or poor Swedish language skills were criteria for exclusion. Cognitive functions (executive function and episodic memory) and masticatory dysfunction defined by functional occluding status (FOS; the number of occluding units and number of remaining teeth) were analysed with partial correlation models. Structural magnetic resonance imaging was performed on 28 feasible participants. Multiple regression analyses were performed to evaluate the predictive value of brain structure and white matter hypointensities (WM-hypo) on cognitive functions. A mediation analysis was applied to assess significant predictor/s of the association between FOS and cognition. Both episodic memory and executive functions were positively correlated with FOS. WM-hypo predicted cognitive status (executive function, p ≤ .01). WM-hypo mediated 66.6% (p = 0.06) of the association between FOS and executive functions. Associations between FOS and cognitive functions are reported, where FOS, a potential modifiable risk factor, was related to both episodic memory and executive functions. The mediating effect of WM-hypo on the association between FOS and executive functions highlights the impact of the vascularisation of the brain on the link between mastication and cognition. The present study provides increased knowledge that bridges the gap between masticatory dysfunction and cognition.