Text Questions Research Articles

Evaluation of the preclinical hospital visit programme with students' feedback at the University of Nottingham, UK.

Background . The General Medical Council's publication Tomorrow's Doctors recommends that medical students should attain professional awareness at an early stage of their education. Accordingly, in the University of Nottingham, basic science teaching is integrated with clinical practice, by attaching medical students to hospital specialty teams and general practices in the community, as regular timetabled 'hospital visits' from the beginning of their medical education. We evaluated the feedback forms of the preclinical (1st and 2nd years) medical students retrospectively based on their experience of the hospital-based clinical teaching programme over 2 years. The hospital visit programme was modified based on the student feedback following which the effectiveness of the modified programme was revaluated post-test. Methods . This study was based on a quasi-experimental design in which comparisons of pre-test and post-test feedbacks with 337 feedback forms in each group were analysed in the study period. Quantitative response questions in the feedback were statistically analysed using independent t-test, and free text questions were qualitatively analysed and grouped into themes. Results . Data analyses showed significant difference (p<0.001) between the pre- and post-test groups. The main feedback themes identified were number of the patients examined, organization of the visit, patient selection, introductory talk, and briefing and debriefing before and after the visit. Conclusion . The structure of the hospital visit programme was influenced by the available infrastructure, flexibility of access and delivery of clinical teaching. The programme helped build professional attitudes in both staff and students and encouraged independent learning.

The Postmodern Condition of Fragmentation in Githa Hariharan’s “Fugitive Histories”

Post -1980 is the period of postmodernism in Indian English Literature with the postmodern novelists featuring Indian tradition and history in a new light using new narrative strategies. Githa Hariharan as a postmodern writer has used the technique of rewriting myths and histories to liberate women. Lisa Tuttle defines feminist theory as asking “new questions of old texts”. Old texts are revisited to challenge the gender stereotypes embedded in myths that have fashioned this patriarchal society. Githa Hariharan, in her novel “Fugitive Histories” recalls the Gujarat riots that have left an indelible mark in the lives of the affected people who look out to some form of rehabilitation to keep going in this uncertain world. The female characters she depicts, are strong enough to combat the present situation though they face all kinds of suppression and the sense of resignation with which they bring peace into their life really takes Githa Hariharan to another level. She has tried her best to celebrate life amidst chaos that exists in modern society for she understands that there is no use lamenting over the loss of the past or the collapse of selfhood as Tim Woods rightly points out in his book “Beginning Postmodernism”. This paper analyses the postmodern condition of fragmentation in the novel “Fugitive Histories” and shows how women try to reconstruct their lives in the midst of the disparity that prevails in society based on religion and gender.

Technical specifications of dose management systems: An international atomic energy agency survey.

Dose management systems (DMS) have been introduced in radiological services to facilitate patient radiation dose management and optimization in medical imaging. The purpose of this study was to gather as much information as possible on the technical characteristics of DMS currently available, regarding features that may be considered essential for simply ensuring regulatory compliance or desirable to fully utilize the potential role of DMS in optimization of many aspects of radiological examinations. A technical survey was carried out and all DMS developers currently available (both commercial and open source) were contacted and were asked to participate. An extensive questionnaire was prepared and uploaded in the IAEA International Research Integration System (IRIS) online platform which was used for data collection process. Most of the questions (93%) required a "Yes/No" answer, to facilitate an objective analysis of the survey results. Some free text questions and comments' slots were also included, to allow participants to give additional information and clarifications where necessary. Depending on the answer, they were considered either as "Yes" or "No." Given the way that the questions were posed, every positive response indicated that a feature was offered. Thus, the percentage of positive responses was used as a measure of adherence. The percentages of positive answers per section (and sub-section) are presented in graphs and limitations of this type of analysis are discussed in detail. The results of this survey clearly exhibit that large differences exist between the various DMS developers. Consequently, potential end users of a DMS should carefully determine which of the features available are essential for their needs, prioritize desirable features, but also consider their infrastructure, the level of support required and the budget available before selecting a DMS.

Preliminary evidence supporting the use of equine science podcasts to bridge the gap between scientists and horse enthusiasts to improve horse welfare

SummaryBackgroundPodcasts have become a popular digital forum for discussing scientific information with peers, as well as with the non‐scientific community, often referred to as ‘edutainment’. It is unclear how science‐based podcasts can support the veterinary industry through, for example, supporting good husbandry practices.ObjectivesTo understand the influence of ‘edutainment’ on equine owners' husbandry decisions.Study designThe sample population were listeners of the Conversations in Equine Science (CES) podcast recruited to complete an online survey via a link promoted by the CES hosts. The survey contained Likert‐like questions assessing how listeners rated the importance of different forms of evidence when making husbandry decisions and questions relating to husbandry changes made.MethodsA mixed methods approach was used to analyse the data. The Likert package for R was used to explore importance ratings. Free text questions were analysed via a content analysis with a constructionist epistemological position.ResultsThe experience of veterinarians and scientific evidence were considered the most important forms of evidence that owners used when making decisions about their horse's management (93% agreed and 91% agreed they were important respectively). Additionally, 74% of respondents had made a change to the management or training principles prompted by an episode of CES, suggesting edutainment can be a prompt to management change. Of these, the majority (55%) had done so based on a joint discussion of the podcast and their own reading of the evidence.Main limitationsThis was an opportunistic sample of those already invested in the edutainment format and may not represent those owners with no interest in scientific evidence.ConclusionsPodcasts are an easy‐access, low‐cost medium to convey research and current trends in the equine/equitation science genre. They may be a valuable tool for the veterinary industry to employ to support horse welfare.

Student perceptions of handover diaries and reflective learning in an undergraduate MBChB anatomy course.

The time spent on basic sciences, including clinical anatomy, is decreasing in many medical curricula. While dissection is often seen as a cornerstone of medical education, there is increasing pressure to ensure time spent undertaking dissection is an efficient use of student time. As part of an MBChB clinical anatomy course , 1 st year students were asked to complete 'dissection handover diaries', designed through evidence-based pedagogy on reflection and engagement, which encouraged them to reflect on the dissection session and consider clinical applications of the anatomy covered in the session. Student engagement with an activity is important for it to be beneficial to their educational experience. This engagement is often increased when students perceive the activity to be useful to their learning. A survey was conducted, over two practical lab sessions on the final day of year one dissection in March 2023, using five Likert-type questions and one free-text question to evaluate student perceptions of the newly introduced dissection handover diaries. The survey was developed based on similar studies investigating student preference in dissection-based activities and questions were designed to elicit student perceptions on the usefulness of the diaries with respect to encouraging reflection, clinical application and student engagement in the sessions. Students were asked for constructive comments about the diaries in a free-text response question. Analysis was conducted using quantitative frequency distributions of survey responses as well as qualitative thematic analysis of the free text question. Of a total of 228 students, 64 participated in the survey, a response rate of 28%. The results were positive overall, with many respondents identifying the diaries as beneficial for reflection, consolidation, clinical application, and engagement. Students perceived the dissection handover diaries to be useful to their anatomical learning, as well as encouraging reflection and application of knowledge.

Supervisee perspectives on improving cultural responsivity in clinical supervision

Culturally responsive supervision has been shown to improve the supervisory relationship and supervision outcomes. This article considers the perspectives of 131 supervisees (trainee/qualified Clinical Psychologists, Counselling Psychologists and CBT Therapists) to better understand what may be required to improve culturally responsive supervisory practices. Supervisees completed an online survey and opted into responding to five free text questions. A qualitative approach was used to further explore their answers using thematic analysis. Five major themes were found from the data: integrating race/ethnicity into the profession, attending to the supervisory relationship, increasing cultural competence, addressing the power dynamic, and promoting cultural humility. It was proposed that the supervisor needs to initiate and lead cultural conversations safely and sensitively, particularly as supervisees may be at varying stages of their own cultural development. Supervisees also felt that supervisors should take responsibility to develop their personal and professional cultural identity due to the existing power dynamics inherent within the supervisory relationship. The responsibility of training programmes and professional bodies was also highlighted in integrating cultural responsivity into clinical training on a wider level.

Designing a Behaviour Change Wheel guided implementation strategy for a hypoxaemic respiratory failure and ARDS care pathway that targets barriers

BackgroundA significant gap exists between ideal evidence-based practice and real-world application of evidence-informed therapies for patients with hypoxaemic respiratory failure (HRF) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Pathways can improve...

Using GENFI participant engagement to inform observational research and clinical trials

AbstractBackgroundIt is vital that we include the views of individuals with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and their families in the design of clinical trials. This study aims to establish what types of trials and treatments individuals with familial FTD would like to participate in.Methods135 participants from the GENFI cohort of at‐risk genetic FTD family members (34% of whom were known mutation carriers) completed a structured online questionnaire about clinical trials via Qualtrics. There was a total of 27 questions with a mix of multiple choice and free text questions. Topics included willingness to participate, understanding about likely proximity to symptom onset, and willingness to undertake different methods of therapeutic drug delivery including gene therapies.Results54% of individuals were definitely willing to participate in clinical trials with 39% stating it would depend on what the specific trial involved. Only 6% said they would not take part in a trial. The presence of a placebo group was a factor in trial participation with 31% stating they would decline to take part if there was a chance they did not receive the active drug. In light of a recent study suggesting plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL) may be a marker of proximity to symptom onset, we asked people if they would be willing to find out their NfL level as part of the trial, and 85% said they would. Most individuals said they would be willing to have IV infusions or lumbar punctures as part of the trial, although this did depend on the frequency with which they were required. For trials where drug administration would require more invasive measures, e.g. injections directly into the cisterna magna or the brain itself, only about 50% of people said they would be willing to take part. Lastly, if participation in a gene therapy trial precluded an individual from participating in future studies, only 30% said they would definitely consider being involved.ConclusionsObservational studies and clinical trials are designed to make a difference to people’s lives, and it is important to consider patients and family members throughout the development pipeline of treatments.

Exploring UK sonographers’ views on the use of professional supervision in clinical practice – Stage one findings of a mixed method study

IntroductionProfessional Supervision has been described across multiple professional groups, however to date, minimal research has been conducted exploring the use of professional supervision within the United Kingdom (UK) sonographer workforce. MethodsAn online self-administered survey was conducted to explore UK sonographers views on the use of professional supervision in practice. The survey was open to sonographers, consultant or clinical specialist sonographers, ultrasound managers and professional body officers. Multiple choice questions were utilised to obtain quantitative data on the provision of support mechanisms, with free text questions allowing qualitative data to be elicited further to explore thoughts of participants. ResultsA total of 112 participants completed the survey in full and response rates varied across the subgroups. Varying support mechanisms were in place for sonographers. However only 55.4 % of sonographers felt supported in the clinical workplace. Thematic analysis of qualitative data highlighted that workload pressures, staffing and retention of sonographers, were key concerns that professional supervision could improve. It was highlighted that time to undertake professional supervision could be challenging, however if training for professional supervision was in place then this could provide improved quality of care and staff support. ConclusionParticipants highlighted the challenges faced by UK sonographers and the positive impact that professional supervision could have on retention and staff support. There are limited support mechanisms in place for UK sonographers and this is impacting on how participants felt they were being supported in the workplace. Stage 2 of this research project will explore sonographers’ views in more detail. Implications for practiceThe approach to support mechanisms for sonographers should be considered to support improvement of professional wellbeing and retention of the sonographic workforce.

A blended learning approach for teaching thoracic radiology to medical students: a proof-of-concept study

IntroductionThe best way to impart knowledge to medical students is still unclear. Therefore, we designed a blended learning course in thoracic radiology including both “traditional” in-class time as well as online learning modules. The aims were (1) to investigate students’ attitudes toward this blended learning approach; and (2) to test whether it improved their knowledge about thoracic radiology.MethodsA prospective study was conducted at the local medical center; 156 fourth-year medical students completed this study. Before and after the course, students had to complete (1) questionnaires to investigate their attitudes (7-point Likert scale); and (2) an objective test to assess their knowledge (multiple-choice/free text questions; results as % of correct answers).ResultsRegarding (1), the course led to an improvement in all items compared to baseline, exemplary: interest in thoracic radiology (precourse 4.2 vs. 5.4 postcourse) and the fulfillment of students’ expressed requirements regarding the teaching content (4.5 precourse vs. 6.2 postcourse). Furthermore, the great majority (88%) of our participants wished for more online learning offerings in the future. Regarding (2), the course led to improved knowledge on the objective test (precourse: 40% vs. postcourse: 63% correct answers).ConclusionThis feasibility study showed the successful design and implementation of a blended learning approach in thoracic radiology. Furthermore, it revealed medical students’ positive attitudes toward this approach and showed an increased knowledge in thoracic radiology. Thus, such approaches might be used to enrich the teaching armamentarium in medical education and to further enhance interest and knowledge in thoracic diseases among medical students.

Incorporating co-design principles and social media strategies to enhance cross-sectional online survey participation: The Birth Experience Study.

To use co-design principles to design a nationwide maternity experiences survey and to distribute the survey through social media. A co-designed, cross sectional, and national online survey. Using co-design principles from study design and throughout the research process a cross-sectional, online, national survey of Australian women's experiences of maternity care was designed. Four validated survey instruments were included in the survey design. An extensive social media strategy was utilized, which included paid advertising, resulting in 8804 surveys for analysis and 54,896 comments responding to open text questions. The inclusion of co-design principles contributed to a well-designed survey and consumer involvement in distribution and support of the online survey. The social media distribution strategy contributed to high participation rates with overall low marketing costs. Maternity services should be designed to provide woman-centered, individualized care. This survey was co-designed with maternity users and maternity organizations to explore women's recent experiences of maternity care in Australia. The outcomes of this study will highlight the factors that contribute to positive and negative experiences in maternity services. As a co-designed study, there was consumer engagement from the design of the study, throughout the research process.

Variable Practice, Variable Results: Impact of Postinterview Communication Practices Among Critical Care Medicine/Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Applicants and Program Directors

BackgroundWhile post-interview communication (PIC) guidelines exist, adherence is voluntary. There are no studies of PIC practices in Critical Care Medicine (CCM) and Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) fellowship recruitment. Research QuestionWhat is the frequency, format, goals, and content of PIC between CCM/PCCM applicants and program directors (PD)? What is the impact of PIC on applicant and program rank order lists (ROL)? Study Design and MethodsCCM/PCCM applicants and PDs were separately surveyed after the 2022-2023 National Resident Matching Program Specialty Match. Surveys included multiple-choice, Likert-scale, and two free text questions. Thematic content analysis of free text responses was performed. ResultsOne-third of eligible participants responded (applicants: n=373, 34%; PDs: n=86, 32%). Applicant respondents applied to CCM (19%), PCCM (69%), or both (12%). PDs represented CCM (17%), PCCM (57%), or both (26%) programs. Applicant (66%) and PD (49%) respondents reported initiating PIC. PIC did not impact ROL decision for most applicants (73%) or PDs (83%), though 21% of applicants and 17% of PDs moved programs or applicants up on their ROL in response to PIC. A quarter (23%) of applicants strongly agreed or agreed that PIC was helpful in creating their ROL, 27% strongly disagreed or disagreed, and 29% were neutral. PIC challenges identified by both groups included time, lack of uniformity, peer pressure, misleading language, and uncertainty about motives, rules, and response protocols. InterpretationPIC is common among CCM/PCCM applicants and PDs. About 50% of applicants and 20% of PDs share ranking intentions via PIC. While PIC did not impact ROL for most applicants and PDs, a minority of applicants and PDs moved programs up on their ROL after receiving PIC from the other party. Applicants have mixed perspectives on PIC value. Applicants and PDs alike desire clear guidance on PIC to minimize ambiguous and misleading communication.

Abstract 16401: Optimizing ChatGPT to Detect VT Recurrence From Complex Medical Notes

Introduction: Large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, have remarkable ability to interpret natural language using text questions (prompts) applied to gigabytes of data in the world wide web. However, the performance of ChatGPT is less impressive when addressing nuanced questions from finite repositories of lengthy, unstructured clinical notes (Fig A). Hypothesis: The performance of ChatGPT to identify sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) or fibrillation after ablation from free-text medical notes is improved by optimizing the question and adding in-context sample notes with correct responses (‘prompt engineering’). Methods: We curated a dataset of N = 125 patients with implantable defibrillators (32.0% female, LVEF 48.9±13.9%, 61.7±14.0 years), split into development (N = 75) and testing (N = 50) sets of 307 and 337 notes, with 256.8±95.1 and 289.8±103 words, respectively. Notes were deidentified. Gold standard labels for recurrent VT (Yes, No, Unknown) were provided by experts. We applied GPT-3.5 to the test set (N=337 notes), using 1 of 3 prompts (“Does the patient have sustained VT or VF after ablation” or 2 others), systematically adding 1-5 “training” examples, and repeating experiments 10 times (51,561 inquiries). Results: At baseline, GPT achieved an F1 score of 38.6%±19.4% (mean across 3 prompts; Fig B). Increasing the number of examples progressively improved mean accuracy and reduced variance. The optimal result was the illustrated prompt plus 5 in-context examples, with an F1 score of 84.6%±6.4% (p&lt;0.05). Conclusions: ChatGPT can accurately identify VT recurrence from small numbers of complex medical notes with optimal prompt engineering. Future studies should define optimal context for different medical questions and domains. These findings pave the way for automated analysis of large medical repositories to broadly improve decision making.

Utilizing Virtual Reality for Gender-Affirming Voice Training: Surveying the Attitudes and Perspectives of Potential Consumers.

Undertaking voice and communication training is an important part of the gender-affirming journey for many trans, gender-diverse and non-binary individuals. Training supports the alignment of voice with gender identity helping to reduce gender dysphoria as individuals are better able to connect with their voices. However, for training to be effective, regular practice is needed and the demands of training can often be difficult to meet. To investigate the interest, attitudes and perspectives on the use of immersive virtual reality (VR) to support gender-affirming voice and communication training by transgender, gender non-binary and gender-diverse people, and speech-language pathologists providing gender-affirming voice and communication training. A mixed-methods survey (i.e., collecting quantitative data through multiple-choice question and qualitative data through free text questions) was hosted online from 23 August to 21 September 2021. A total of 17 questions asked about technology use, and attitudes and perspectives towards VR. The survey included video examples of three different voice-activated VR applications to prompt participant responses about the technology. A total of 70 survey responses were included in the analysis. All participants had previous experience using smart phones, but only 27.2% had previously used VR. Four key themes were identified relating to potential uptake of VR in gender-affirming voice and communication training: (1) general audience appeal, (2) perceived therapeutic value, (3) exposure to or protection from harm and (4) relatability to real life. VR games may represent a viable option to support practice of voice exercises. Gamification through VR is likely to motivate some to increase frequency of practice. VR applications that are used in voice training need to be fit-for-purpose, and detailed co-design is necessary to build appropriate applications for future use. This study provides a foundation to inform the design, development and implementation of VR applications to be used in gender-affirming voice training. What is already known on the subject? Speech-language pathologists work closely with transgender and gender-diverse individuals to help them achieve gender congruent voice and communication. Clients need to undertake regular and ongoing practice outside of training sessions to achieve and maintain their ideal voice. Motivation and adherence to regular practice sessions remain an ongoing challenge. What this study adds to the existing knowledge This study explores the use of immersive VR technologies to create safe, motivating and enjoyable environments to encourage regular practice of gender-affirming voice and communication exercises. It engages stakeholders in an early-stage participant-involved design to gauge interest in, and perspectives on, VR and technology-based training support tools. The results suggest that voice-activated VR applications would highly motivate some individuals if they were appropriately designed but would not be ideal for all. What are the actual and clinical implications of this work? Immersion in VR can be a highly motivating tool to enhance adherence to practice schedules for some individuals. However, tools need to be specifically designed with outcomes in mind to be fit-for-purpose, to support individual goals and to minimize the risk of harm. The few existing VR voice-activated applications that are available require further assessment, and redesign through co-design with users to functionally and safely support gender-affirming voice and communication training.

A64Preparing prequalifying health-care students to deliver collaborative, patient-centred care for those with mental health difficulties

Collaborative, patient-centred care delivered by interprofessional clinical teams is known to improve healthcare efficiency, as well as patient and staff satisfaction [1]. Therefore, inclusion of interprofessional education as an accredited element within prequalifying healthcare programmes is growing [2]. The use of simulation-based learning may provide an effective method of delivering high quality, safe and effective interprofessional education in challenging but transferable settings like caring for patients presenting with mental health difficulties. A half-day simulation course consisting of three scenarios was designed. Actors trained in the portrayal of mental health difficulties by service users were workshopped into the scenarios, with representation from each professional group to enhance authenticity. Each scenario was followed by a facilitated debrief that allowed for whole group learning, using a debrief model [3]. Effective interprofessional collaboration and professional representation was modelled by an interprofessional faculty. Facilitators were encouraged to reflect on their own biases around other professions, recognizing the impact these may have on their debriefing choices. During debriefing, participants were encouraged to consider the impact that collaborative practice has on patient-centred care. Facilitators were encouraged to draw out unconscious biases and highlight issues that can inhibit the successful delivery of collaborative, patient-centred care. Staff development was supported through mentorship and faculty debriefing. The pilot programme ran four times for 72 nursing and medical students. 50 of the 72 (69%) participants provided anonymous feedback via a mixed methods questionnaire. Of these, 54% were medical students and 46% were nursing students. On a Likert scale (1 = poor, 10 = excellent), all participants rated the experience 7/10 or above, with 74% rating it 9 or 10/10. Likert scale questions regarding applicability, course design elements and perceived learning were also highly rated. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the free text questions by two discrete researchers. The results were broadly categorized into learner experience and learning outcomes. Participant perspectives of the benefits of the simulation training on aspects of interprofessional collaboration can be seen in Participant perspectives of the benefits of the simulation training on aspects of interprofessional collaboration This pilot demonstrates that interprofessional education can be successfully delivered in this way, and has been adopted into the medical and nursing student curricula. The next run includes 300 students from medical, nursing and allied health programmes across two institutions, and will be re-evaluated. A qualitative research study to explore the learning that higher educational institutions can gain by delivering interprofessional learning using simulation is also underway. Authors confirm that all relevant ethical standards for research conduct and dissemination have been met. The submitting author confirms that relevant ethical approval was granted, if applicable.

A49Five Year Review of Paediatric Multidisciplinary In-Situ Simulation on a General Paediatric Ward

In the United Kingdom, trainee doctors rotate through different specialities during their training. They are often unfamiliar with systems, environments, and personnel. Working on a general paediatric ward in a district general hospital can be anxiety inducing for those new to paediatrics. Fortnightly low-fidelity simulation scenarios are embedded in our local teaching schedule to improve confidence amongst the medical and nursing team. These are performed on the ward addressing varied scenarios, aiming to increase confidence with clinical cases, improve local environment and systems awareness, and enhance communication between professionals. Fortnightly 30-minute simulation sessions are run by the paediatric simulation team on the paediatric ward at our trust. The wider multidisciplinary team are invited, including nurses and health care assistants. The emergency buzzer from a bed space is pulled, and those involved attend and a scenario is undertaken. The scenario is structured to involve the wider team to improve interdisciplinary working and non-technical skills, as well as address clinical outcomes. Equipment is provided using a grab bag. Once the scenario has ended, a debrief is performed involving candidates and observers of all disciplines, to discuss technical and non-technical skills. Post session feedback was collected on each occasion with quantitative data via Likert scales and qualitative data by free text questions. In-situ simulation has been part of the departmental paediatric teaching rota since 2009 but has been a regular fortnightly occurrence since 2018. This is because it has been rostered into our working hours before the medical team assume clinical duties. We have collected feedback since September 2018. We have had 616 participants and delivered 82 scenarios in the clinical environment. This includes during the Covid pandemic. The weighted average confidence recorded by candidates pre-scenario was 2.51 with confidence post-scenario recorded as 3.69. 83% reported improved confidence following the scenario. This is an important finding as 45% had never encountered the scenario before in their practice. Thematic analysis has highlighted key aspects including communication, escalation, teamwork and available resources. In-situ, low fidelity simulation is an effective tool to improve human factors amongst the multidisciplinary team on a paediatric ward. By regularly simulating clinical practice in their daily working environment, all candidates have demonstrated improved clinical confidence and better familiarity with the ward environment. Additionally, the fortnightly in-situ simulation has improved working relationships through recognition of the roles of the ward multidisciplinary team, communication skills and team and leaderships skills. Authors confirm that all relevant ethical standards for research conduct and dissemination have been met. The submitting author confirms that relevant ethical approval was granted, if applicable.

Cross-modality Multiple Relations Learning for Knowledge-based Visual Question Answering

Knowledge-based visual question answering not only needs to answer the questions based on images but also incorporates external knowledge to study reasoning in the joint space of vision and language. To bridge the gap between visual content and semantic cues, it is important to capture the question-related and semantics-rich vision-language connections. Most existing solutions model simple intra-modality relation or represent cross-modality relation using a single vector, which makes it difficult to effectively model complex connections between visual features and question features. Thus, we propose a cross-modality multiple relations learning model, aiming to better enrich cross-modality representations and construct advanced multi-modality knowledge triplets. First, we design a simple yet effective method to generate multiple relations that represent the rich cross-modality relations. The various cross-modality relations link the textual question to the related visual objects. These multi-modality triplets efficiently align the visual objects and corresponding textual answers. Second, to encourage multiple relations to better align with different semantic relations, we further formulate a novel global-local loss. The global loss enables the visual objects and corresponding textual answers close to each other through cross-modality relations in the vision-language space, and the local loss better preserves semantic diversity among multiple relations. Experimental results on the Outside Knowledge VQA and Knowledge-Routed Visual Question Reasoning datasets demonstrate that our model outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.

MatChat: A large language model and application service platform for materials science

The prediction of chemical synthesis pathways plays a pivotal role in materials science research. Challenges, such as the complexity of synthesis pathways and the lack of comprehensive datasets, currently hinder our ability to predict these chemical processes accurately. However, recent advancements in generative artificial intelligence (GAI), including automated text generation and question–answering systems, coupled with fine-tuning techniques, have facilitated the deployment of large-scale AI models tailored to specific domains. In this study, we harness the power of the LLaMA2-7B model and enhance it through a learning process that incorporates 13878 pieces of structured material knowledge data. This specialized AI model, named MatChat, focuses on predicting inorganic material synthesis pathways. MatChat exhibits remarkable proficiency in generating and reasoning with knowledge in materials science. Although MatChat requires further refinement to meet the diverse material design needs, this research undeniably highlights its impressive reasoning capabilities and innovative potential in materials science. MatChat is now accessible online and open for use, with both the model and its application framework available as open source. This study establishes a robust foundation for collaborative innovation in the integration of generative AI in materials science.

How and to what extent did the Coventry City of Culture ‘City Host’ volunteer programme affect the volunteers’ mental wellbeing? A qualitative study

BackgroundA team of volunteers, known as City Hosts, were recruited to support UK City of Culture 2021 awarded to Coventry. City Hosts held various roles facilitating cultural event delivery and promoting a positive experience for visitors. This study aimed to (i) understand how and to what extent the volunteering programme impacted volunteer subjective wellbeing, and (ii) explore the mechanisms of change and intermediate outcomes between volunteering and subjective wellbeing.MethodsThis qualitative study comprised inductive and deductive analysis of data collected through semi-structured interviews, conducted between December 2021–May 2022 with City Hosts. This was complimented with secondary qualitative analysis of free text responses within Monitoring and Evaluation data collected from City Hosts in surveys conducted in August and November 2021, and April 2022.ResultsApproximately 180 City Hosts responded to the free text questions in each survey and 27 completed interviews. Analysis of data collected from City Hosts suggested positive wellbeing impacts from volunteering and supported theorised pathways to improved wellbeing. Strengths of the City Host programme included (i) facilitating the full range of mechanisms of change that mediate improved volunteer wellbeing, particularly promoting social connections and developing a strong role and group identity and (ii) flexibility around what volunteers do, how much, and how often.ConclusionsThis study offers lessons for others designing volunteering programmes who wish to promote wellbeing among associated volunteers. We also offer evidence that exposure to culture may be one mechanism by which volunteering can improve wellbeing.

Efficacy and limitations of ChatGPT as a biostatistical problem-solving tool in medical education: a descriptive study.

This study aimed to assess the performance of ChatGPT (GPT-3.5 and GPT-4) as a study tool in solving biostatistical problems and to identify any potential drawbacks that might arise from using ChatGPT in medical education, particularly in solving practical biostatistical problems. ChatGPT was tested to evaluate its ability to solve biostatistical problems from the Handbook of Medical Statistics by Peacock and Peacock in this descriptive study. Tables from the problems were transformed into textual questions. Ten biostatistical problems were randomly chosen and used as text-based input for conversation with ChatGPT (versions 3.5 and 4). GPT-3.5 solved five practical problems in the first attempt, related to categorical data, cross-sectional study, measuring reliability, probability properties, and the t-test. GPT-3.5 failed to provide correct answers regarding ANOVA, the chi-square test, and sample size within 3 attempts. GPT-4 also solved a task related to the confidence interval in the first attempt and solved all questions within 3 attempts, with precise guidance and monitoring. The assessment of both versions of ChatGPT performance in 10 biostatistical problems revealed that GPT-3.5 and 4's performance was below average, with correct response rates of 5 and 6 out of 10 on the first attempt. GPT-4 succeeded in providing all correct answers within 3 attempts. These findings indicate that students must be aware that this tool, even when providing and calculating different statistical analyses, can be wrong, and they should be aware of ChatGPT's limitations and be careful when incorporating this model into medical education.