Sustained Information Research Articles

Patient perceptions of osteoporosis management: a qualitative pilot study by a patient advisory group

SummaryThe management of osteoporosis even after a fracture is declining. Our pilot study in patients with osteoporosis confirms a large ignorance of the disease and major fears and uncertainties about the treatments. Complete and sustained medical information seems essential to counteract the contradictory information, which are exclusively negative.PurposeThe management of osteoporosis (OP) even after a fracture has declined over recent years despite the actions of the medical societies concerned with this disease. The objective of this pilot study was to investigate patients’ perceptions of OP, their treatment pathways, and how information is obtained.MethodsThe Association Française de Lutte Anti-Rhumatismale (AFLAR) constituted an advisory group of 7 French patients (mean age 63.7 years [54–74 years]), with various stages of OP and duration of disease. A qualitative, anonymized study was conducted with an open-ended semi-structured questionnaire, with a contribution of the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) and the “Groupe de Recherche et Informations sur les Ostéoporoses” (GRIO).ResultsThe onset of OP was often sudden, with the fracture occurring in a context of deep misunderstanding of OP by both the public and physicians. The patients have confidence in the physician, mostly a rheumatologist, who informs about OP and initiates the treatment. The main cause of non-adherence being major fears and uncertainties about efficacy and safety of treatments. Medical information is considered as insufficient, or poorly understood. Negative information has the highest impact, even if the sources seem unreliable, such as media. There is no trust in pharmaceutical companies and the ethics of physicians are in question.ConclusionThis IOF/GRIO/AFLAR Patient Advisory Group pilot study illustrates the numerous barriers to effective OP management. Complete and sustained medical information, especially at the time of diagnosis and initiation of treatment, seems essential to counteract the contradictory information, which are exclusively negative.

Building a digital supportive supervision system for improving health service delivery in Low- and Middle-Income countries through the collaborative requirements development methodology (CRDM): Experience from Tanzania

Background Supportive supervision is pivotal for both health service providers and managers to improve the quality of services and health outcomes. Tanzania's digital supportive supervision system is called Afya Supportive Supervision System (AfyaSS ®). The latter was designed and developed using a human-centered approach called Collaborative Requirements Development Methodology (CRDM). This paper describes the experiences of building the digital supportive supervision system through CRDM in Tanzania, a transition from the paper-based supportive supervision system. Methods In 2018, with the support of PATH, the government of Tanzania adopted a participatory human-centered design by carrying out desk reviews of existing guidelines and tools, field visits, stakeholder workshops, and user advisory groups to gather information for developing a digital supportive supervision system. The gathered information was analyzed with the lens of identifying the common challenges and system requirements. Results AfyaSS was successfully developed using CRDM and deployed in all regions across the country. It has consolidated multiple checklists for distinct health domains, and dashboard functionalities to track progress toward health system indicators, objectives, and action plans. As part of the deployment, several resources were developed to aid in the deployment process, such as a comprehensive user manual, facilitator's guide, training slides, and video tutorials. Health workers and managers can be empowered and motivated to implement comprehensive and coherent supportive supervision by using the lessons learned from this digitalization process to transform the current supervision processes to improve the quality of care by offering instruments that promote evidence-based actions. Conclusion A human-centered approach has been shown to be useful in developing digital tools for use in Tanzania’s health system. Tanzania's lessons can be applied in other low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) with similar contexts when considering implementing digital health interventions. While using the human-centered approach, it is crucial to establish a system development roadmap, conduct appropriate training, provide sustained information and communication technology, and management support for unforeseen issues, and ensure ongoing maintenance.

Comprehensive Assessment of Factors Affecting Malaria Prevalence among Pregnant Women in Nyabubare Health Centre III, Bushenyi District, Uganda: Implications for Public Health Intervention

Malaria remains a significant global health burden, particularly among pregnant women, with adverse outcomes such as maternal mortality and low birth weight. This study comprehensively investigates the multifaceted factors influencing malaria prevalence among pregnant women attending Nyabubare Health Centre III in Bushenyi District, Uganda. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, data were collected through structured interviews and documentary review from a sample of 86 respondents, including 80 pregnant women and 6 health workers. Descriptive analysis revealed poverty, deficiency in malaria control measures, low education levels, environmental factors such as swamps and floods, age, limited access to health facilities, and climatic changes as major determinants of malaria prevalence among pregnant women. Despite a relatively low malaria prevalence, knowledge gaps regarding malaria prevention were identified. The findings underscore the urgent need for targeted public health interventions, including subsidies for preventive equipment, sustained information campaigns, and improvements in healthcare services to enhance malaria prevention and control among pregnant women in the region. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers and healthcare practitioners to develop effective strategies to mitigate the impact of malaria on maternal and child health in resource-limited settings. Keywords: Prevalence of malaria, pregnant women, and knowledge

An integrative control theory perspective on consciousness.

An integrative account of consciousness should have a number of properties. It should build upon a framework of nonconscious behavior in order to explain how and why consciousness contributes to, and addresses the limitations of, nonconscious processes. It should also encompass the primary (phenomenal), secondary (access), and tertiary (self-awareness) aspects of consciousness. A number of accounts have proposed a role for consciousness in the prediction of sensory input, yet these proposals do not address how organisms deal with multiple, unpredictable, disturbances to maintain control. According to perceptual control theory (PCT), purposiveness is the control of hierarchically organized perceptual variables via changes in output that counteract disturbances which would otherwise increase error between the current value and the reference value (goal state) of each perceptual variable. In PCT, reorganization is the process required for the adaptive modification of control systems in order to reduce the error in intrinsic systems that control essential, largely physiological, variables. The current article proposes that primary consciousness emerges from this system, and is sustained as secondary consciousness through a number of processes including the control of the integration rate of novel information via exploratory behavior, attention, imagination, and altering the mutation rate of reorganization. Tertiary consciousness arises when internally sustained perceptual information is associated with specific symbols that form a parallel, propositional system for the use of language, logic, and other symbolic systems. The hypotheses and initial research designs to test this account are provided. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring the dynamics of corruption perceptions in sustained anti-corruption campaigns: a survey experiment in China

Evidence increasingly shows that anti-corruption investigations generate negative perceptions in the short run and lead to perceptions of reduced corruption in the long run. However, there is a lack of research on the effects of anti-corruption investigations on corruption perceptions within sustained anti-corruption campaigns. In certain nations, anti-corruption campaigns can be relentless. In such sustained campaigns, can fluctuations in the annual number of investigations affect corruption perceptions? This study aims to address the gap by conducting a survey experiment in China. The findings indicate that corruption perceptions are formed in an online evaluation fashion rather than a memory-based one. Individuals spontaneously form and revise their perceptions by integrating new information into their existing evaluations. Corruption perceptions are positively correlated with both the past trend in the annual number of investigations and recent investigations. Unexpected recent investigations can reverse people’s corruption perceptions that are based on past trends. These findings are applicable to other nations in which anti-corruption campaigns are sustained and anti-corruption information is publicly accessible.

Pandemic Protesters on Telegram: How Platform Affordances and Information Ecosystems Shape Digital Counterpublics

This study analyzes how platform affordances, their appropriation by movement actors, and these actors’ leveraging of information ecosystems—in combination—helped form a digital counterpublic during the COVID-19 pandemic. It draws on public communication data sent by more than 300 Telegram channels and group chats affiliated with the Querdenken movement over a 2-year period, and combines automated and manual text classification with network analysis. The study demonstrates how Telegram afforded connective and collective action in distinct ways that reflected the movement’s organizational structure and aims, as well as the impact of individual information-sharing on the process of movement-building itself. Accounting for time-dependent dynamics, the study also found that different parts of the counterpublic latched onto and sustained distinct information ecosystems to articulate their claims and mobilize contentious action.

Investigating users' sustained information seeking on academic social networking sites

PurposeThis study aims to investigate motivators, mediator and moderator of users' sustained information seeking on academic social networking sites (ASNSs).Design/methodology/approachDrawing upon the expectancy–value theory and related information-seeking literature, the study developed a theoretical model to explain why and how users intend to continue seeking information on ASNSs. Thereafter, a field survey with 385 participants was conducted to test the model. Finally, a content analysis of participants' post-survey feedback was performed to complement the model test results by showing more fine-grained findings.FindingsResults suggest that information usefulness and information adoption (IA) are significant to users' sustained information seeking on ASNSs, while users' satisfaction with ASNSs may play a mediating role in the relationship between information usefulness and sustained information seeking. Additionally, self-efficacy for critical thinking (SCT) weakens the impact of IA on users' satisfaction with ASNSs. The post-survey feedback analysis indicates that information usefulness is more critical to sustained information seeking for users with high SCT, whereas IA becomes more crucial to users' satisfaction with ASNSs and sustained information seeking for users with low SCT.Originality/valueAlthough the extant literature has distinguished between information seeking and sustained information seeking, empirical research into users' sustained information seeking on ASNSs is limited. The study fills this gap by proposing and validating relevant factors and the boundary condition of users' sustained information seeking.

Overly broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment of wild-type Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in relation to the EUCAST new definition of susceptibility testing categories, a retrospective multicentre cohort study.

ObjectivesEUCAST changed the definition of the ‘intermediate’ (I) category in 2019, now defined as ‘susceptible, increased exposure’. This new definition could lead to an increased prescription of antibiotics still reported as ‘S’, compared with those now reported as ‘I’. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of this definition on the use of overly broad-spectrum antibiotics for the treatment of infections caused by WT Pseudomonas aeruginosa.MethodsA retrospective observational multicentre study was conducted, involving five hospitals. Two 15 month study periods were defined, before and after the implementation of the new definition. All patients with an infection caused by WT P. aeruginosa treated by β-lactams were included. The main endpoint was the proportion of patients treated by an overly broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment by meropenem or ceftolozane/tazobactam.ResultsTwo hundred and ninety-one patients were included. No difference between groups was found, in terms of infection, microbiology or demographic characteristics. Two overly broad-spectrum antibiotic treatments by meropenem or ceftolozane/tazobactam were observed in Period 1 (1.2%), versus 13 in Period 2 (10.8%; P < 0.001). No overly broad-spectrum treatment was observed when the antimicrobial stewardship team had given advice.ConclusionsThis new definition can cause a negative impact on the use of overly broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment due to misunderstanding by clinicians. Its successful implementation requires adaptation of software for reporting antibiotic susceptibility, a sustained strong information campaign by microbiologists and support by an antimicrobial stewardship team.

Neural correlates of expectations-induced effects of caffeine intake on executive functions

Placebo effects are defined as the beneficial subjective or behavioral outcomes of an intervention that are not attributable to its inherent properties; Placebo effects thus follow from individuals’ expectations about the effects of the intervention. The present study aimed at examining how expectations influence neurocognitive processes.We addressed this question by contrasting three double-blinded within-subjects experimental conditions in which participants were given decaffeinated coffee, while being told they had received caffeinated (condition i) or decaffeinated coffee (ii), and given caffeinated coffee while being told they had received decaffeinated coffee (iii).After each of these three interventions, performance and electroencephalogram was recorded at rest as well as during sustained attention Rapid Visual Information Processing task (RVIP) and a Go/NoGo motor inhibitory control task.We first aimed to confirm previous findings for caffeine-induced enhancement on these executive components and on their associated electrophysiological indexes (The Attention-P3 component, response conflict NoGo-N2 and inhibition NoGo-P3 components (ii vs iii contrast); and then to test the hypotheses that expectations also induce these effects (i vs ii), although with a weaker amplitude (i vs iii).We did not confirm any of our hypotheses for caffeine-induced behavioral improvements and thus did not test the effect of caffeine-related expectations. At the electrophysiological level, however, we confirmed that caffeine increased the Attention-P3 and NoGo-P3 components amplitude but did not confirm an effect on the response-conflict N2 component. We did not confirm that expectations influence any of the investigated electrophysiological indices, but we confirmed that the Attention-P3 Global Field Power values were larger for the caffeine compared to the expectations conditions.We conclude that previously identified behavioral effect size of caffeine and of the related expectations for sustained attention and inhibitory control may have been overestimated, and that caffeine primarily influences the cognitive processes and brain areas supporting attention allocation. Finally, we confirm that caffeine-related expectations induce smaller effects than the substance itself.

Interest development, self-related information processing, and practice

ABSTRACT Educators have a critical stake in supporting the development of interest—as the presence of interest benefits sustained engagement and learning. Neuroscientific research has shown that interest is distinct from, but overlapping with, self-related information processing, the personally relevant connections that a learner makes to content (e.g., mathematics). We propose that consideration of self-related information processing is critical for encouraging interest development in at least two ways. First, support for learners to make self-related connections to content may provide a basis for the triggering of their interest. Triggered interest encourages individuals to search for more information, and to persevere in understanding material that otherwise might feel meaningless. Second, for learners who already have an initial interest in the content, self-related connections can further promote the deepening of interest through sustained engagement and information search. Background regarding both interest and self-related information processing is provided, and implications for practice are suggested.

Experimental Study on Photodiode Array Sensor Aided MEMS Fine Steering Mirror Control for Laser Communication Platforms

Line-of-sight laser communication application scenarios are numerous including land, mobile, maritime, airborne and space platforms for conventional and tactical utilization. However, beam pointing and stabilization are complicated in dynamic systems such as orbiting satellite to ground receiver, drones, aircrafts and metropolitan free-space optical links vulnerable to natural and artificial disturbances. Small Satellite platforms such as CubeSats are even more challenging due to their limited size and on-board resources. This paper presents an experimental study on a feedback photodiode array sensor assisted control of a one-axis micro-electromechanical (MEMS) fine steering mirror stabilizing a laser communication link on an optical bench in the laboratory. Disturbance profiles similar to vibrations on dynamic platforms are induced into the setup using an electrodynamic vibration machine to test the efficacy of the MEMS fine steering control mechanism. The Photodiode Array (PDA) sensor collocated with an Avalanche Photodiode at the receiving section provides sustained information about the transmitter's movements and beam displacements while the received optical signal strength is continuously monitored. The feedback signals are transmitted to the FSM controller via a radio link. We demonstrate the capacity to stabilize a laser beam transmission in the presence of external disturbances and platform movements using a PDA sensor assisted control.

Assessing the Information Literacy Skills of First-Generation College Students

Academic libraries, together with their colleges and universities, are increasingly identifying first-generation college students as an underserved population that is likely to experience barriers to library access and usage. Less is known, however, about the information literacy skills of first-generation students, particularly in comparison with their continuing-generation counterparts. This study assessed the information literacy skills of first-generation college students in general education courses at Texas A&amp;M University to inform information literacy instructional efforts and to inform advocacy efforts for developing substantial and sustained information literacy support for first-generation students at that campus. Study results indicate that first-generation students experience significant information literacy gaps in comparison with continuing-generation students at the same institution and in the same courses.

Russian Electronic Warfare, Cyber and Information Operations in Ukraine

NATO is more dependent than ever on electronic systems which are being targeted by increasingly sophisticated electronic warfare (EW), cyber and information operations. Russia has demonstrated considerable proficiency across these domains, in particular during the crisis in Ukraine. Russia is now reported to be mounting a sustained information operations campaign in the Baltic states and there is concern regarding the potential impact of its EW and cyber capabilities on the operational effectiveness and survivability of NATO forces, should there ever be a confrontation. Duncan McCrory highlights some of the challenges facing the Alliance in these domains to raise awareness among the non-technical specialist community and provide options to enhance NATO’s resilience and counter this evolving threat. ◼

Seasonality of biological and physical systems as indicators of climatic variation and change

Evidence-based responses to climate change by society require operational and sustained information including biophysical indicator systems that provide up-to-date measures of trends and patterns against historical baselines. Two key components linking anthropogenic climate change to impacts on socio-ecological systems are the periodic inter- and intra-annual variations in physical climate systems (seasonality) and in plant and animal life cycles (phenology). We describe a set of national indicators that reflect sub-seasonal to seasonal drivers and responses of terrestrial physical and biological systems to climate change and variability at the national scale. Proposed indicators and metrics include seasonality of surface climate conditions (e.g., frost and freeze dates and durations), seasonality of freeze/thaw in freshwater systems (e.g., timing of stream runoff and durations of lake/river ice), seasonality in ecosystem disturbances (e.g., wildfire season timing and duration), seasonality in vegetated land surfaces (e.g., green-up and brown-down of landscapes), and seasonality of organismal life-history stages (e.g., timings of bird migration). Recommended indicators have strong linkages to variable and changing climates, include abiotic and biotic responses and feedback mechanisms, and are sufficiently simple to facilitate communication to broad audiences and stakeholders interested in understanding and adapting to climate change.

Evolution of Cortical and White Matter Lesion Load in Early-Stage Multiple Sclerosis: Correlation With Neuroaxonal Damage and Clinical Changes.

Introduction: Changes in cortical and white matter lesion (CL, WML) load are pivotal metrics to diagnose and monitor multiple sclerosis patients. Yet, the relationship between (i) changes in CL/WML load and disease progression and between (ii) changes in CL/WML load and neurodegeneration at early MS stages is not yet established. In this work, we have assessed the hypothesis that the combined CL and WML load as well as their 2-years evolution are surrogate markers of neurodegeneration and clinical progression at early MS stages. To achieve this goal, we have studied a group of RRMS patients and have investigated the impact of both CL and WML load on neuroaxonal damage as measured by serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL). Next, we have explored whether changes in CL/WML load over 2 years in the same cohort of early-MS are related to motor and cognitive changes.Methods: Thirty-two RRMS patients (<5 years disease duration) underwent: (i) 3T MRI for CL/WML detection and clinical assessment at baseline and 2-years follow-up; and (ii) baseline blood test for sNfL. The correlation between the number and volume of CL/WML and sNfL was assessed by using the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and a generalized linear model (GLM). A GLM was also used to assess the relationship between (i) the number/volume of new, enlarged, resolved, shrunken, stable lesions and (ii) the difference in clinical scores between two time-points.Results: At baseline, sNfL levels correlated with both total CL count/volume (ρ = 0.6/0.7, Corr-P <0.017/Corr-P < 0.001) and with total WML count/volume (ρ = 0.6/0.6, Corr-P < 0.01 for both). Baseline sNfL levels also correlated with new WML count/volume (ρ = 0.6/0.5, Corr-P < 0.01/Corr-P < 0.05) but not with new CL. Longitudinal changes in CL and WML count and volume were significantly associated with (i) sustained attention, auditory information, processing speed and flexibility (p < 0.01), (ii) verbal memory (p < 0.01); (iii) verbal fluency (p < 0.05); and (iv) hand-motor function (p < 0.05).Discussion: Changes in cortical and white matter focal damage in early MS patients correlate with global neuroaxonal damage and is associated to cognitive performances.

Cognitive Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis

Cognitive impairment is one of the major symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and one that often remains unnoticed. An adequate battery should be used to evaluate cognitive function in patients with MS because cognitive impairment in MS typically involves specific deficits such as sustained attention and information processing speed rather than global cognitive decline. Cognitive impairment could influence patients' daily and social activities. It is not easy to improve cognitive impairment in patients with MS, and it is important to prevent the decline of function using disease-modifying drugs for MS.

Neural features of sustained emotional information processing in autism spectrum disorder.

Many individuals with autism spectrum disorder struggle with emotions that are intense and interfering, which is referred to as emotion dysregulation. Prior research has established that individuals with autism may be more likely than individuals who are not autistic to have repetitive thoughts. It is possible that persistent thoughts about negative or distressing stimuli may contribute to emotion dysregulation in autism spectrum disorder. This study aimed to identify areas of the brain with evidence of persistent processing of negative information via functional magnetic resonance neuroimaging. We used a task that alternated between emotional processing of personally relevant negative words, neutral words, and a non-emotional task. Criteria were developed to define heightened and persistent emotional processing, and analyses were conducted to identify all brain regions satisfying these criteria. Participants included 25 adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and 23 typically developing adolescents who were similar to the autism spectrum disorder group in IQ, age, and gender ratios. Brain regions identified as having greater and continued processing following negative stimuli in the autism spectrum disorder group as compared with the typically developing group included the salience network and the prefrontal dorsolateral cortex. These areas have been previously implicated in emotion dysregulation outside of autism spectrum disorder. Collectively, brain activity in the identified regions was associated with parent-reported emotion dysregulation in the autism spectrum disorder group. These results help to identify a potential process in the brain associated with emotion dysregulation in autism spectrum disorder. This information may be useful for the development of treatments to decrease emotion dysregulation in autism spectrum disorder.

Recent Development in Sustained Release Beads

The sustained release system is formulated to release a drug slowly over a period of time in the body. The sustained release system is having more therapeutic activity of a drug when compared to immediate release. Beads is one of the most commonly used technique in a sustained release dosage form. These are the spherical particle with size ranging from 50nm to 2mm, which contains core substances. The molecular size of the drug particle must be lesser than 1000 Dalton to formulate as SRDF. This article also contains the method of preparation by the emulsion cross-linking method. The ionic gelation process used calcium chloride as a crosslinking agent to successfully produce alginate beads. It is concluded that the release of spores and metaloxyl from the beads was controllable and sustainable, which is essential to the environment and ecosystem in the biocontrol of aflatoxin and pesticide management. The drug-like acetazolamide is prepared by using calcium alginate, and glipizide beads is coating is explained. Information about iron cross-linked carboxymethyl cellulose gelatin coacervate beads is mentioned, a brief explanation about the oyster hydrolysate containing in liposome in alginate beads is given. Then ofloxacin interpenetrating polymer beads to taste masking for sustained release information is added. The present sustained-release beads in the market is included.

Implementation and Evaluation of the Value of Improved and Sustained Information Access by Library Expertise (VISIBLE) Program.

To increase knowledge of National Library of Medicine resources by using a train-the-trainer approach. Workshops were held in spring 2016 to increase knowledge of 4 National Library of Medicine tools. Data were collected before the workshop and immediately, 3 months, and 1 year after the workshop. Knowledge questions were scored as 1 point per question; an aggregated knowledge score could range from 0 to 16 points. A paired t test assessed the change in knowledge from before to after the workshop. Four workshops were hosted, with a total of 74 attendees. The response rate for the surveys ranged from 50% to 100%. Knowledge scores changed significantly from 7.2 to 11.9 (t = 15, P < .001). One year after the workshop, more of the participants reported having informally trained others (56.8%) than reported providing 1 or more formal training session (8.1%)(P < .001). Objective measures of knowledge and information dissemination showed that the National Library of Medicine workshop was successful and resulted in both short- and long-term gains. This workshop could be repeated with other populations to further disseminate information regarding the National Library of Medicine tools, which could help improve disaster response.

Differential sustained and transient temporal processing across visual streams.

How do high-level visual regions process the temporal aspects of our visual experience? While the temporal sensitivity of early visual cortex has been studied with fMRI in humans, temporal processing in high-level visual cortex is largely unknown. By modeling neural responses with millisecond precision in separate sustained and transient channels, and introducing a flexible encoding framework that captures differences in neural temporal integration time windows and response nonlinearities, we predict fMRI responses across visual cortex for stimuli ranging from 33 ms to 20 s. Using this innovative approach, we discovered that lateral category-selective regions respond to visual transients associated with stimulus onsets and offsets but not sustained visual information. Thus, lateral category-selective regions compute moment-to-moment visual transitions, but not stable features of the visual input. In contrast, ventral category-selective regions process both sustained and transient components of the visual input. Our model revealed that sustained channel responses to prolonged stimuli exhibit adaptation, whereas transient channel responses to stimulus offsets are surprisingly larger than for stimulus onsets. This large offset transient response may reflect a memory trace of the stimulus when it is no longer visible, whereas the onset transient response may reflect rapid processing of new items. Together, these findings reveal previously unconsidered, fundamental temporal mechanisms that distinguish visual streams in the human brain. Importantly, our results underscore the promise of modeling brain responses with millisecond precision to understand the underlying neural computations.