The effect of age and font size on reading text on handheld computers

Though there have been many studies of computer based text reading, only a few have considered the small screens of handheld computers. This paper presents an investigation into the effect of varying font size between 2 and 16 point on reading text on a handheld computer. By using both older and younger participants the possible effects of age were examined. Reading speed and accuracy were measured and subjective views of participants recorded. Objective results showed that there was little difference in reading performance above 6 point, but subjective comments from participants showed a preference for sizes in the middle range. We therefore suggest, for reading tasks, that designers of interfaces for mobile computers provide fonts in the range of 8-12 point to maximize readability for the widest range of users

Birthing Parent Experiences of Postpartum at-Home Blood Pressure Monitoring Versus Office-Based Follow up After Diagnosis of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are a leading cause of pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality. The primary objective of this study was to compare the frequency of documentation of postpartum blood pressure through remote blood pressure monitoring with text-message delivered reminders versus office-based follow-up 7–10 days postpartum. The secondary objective was to examine barriers and facilitators of both care strategies from the perspectives of individuals who experienced a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. We conducted a randomized controlled trial at a tertiary care academic medical center in the southeastern US with 100 postpartum individuals (50 per arm) from 2018 to 2019. Among 100 trial participants, blood pressure follow-up within 7–10 days postpartum was higher albeit not statistically significant between postpartum individuals randomized to the remote assessment intervention versus office-based standard care (absolute risk difference 18.0%, 95% CI −0.1 to 36.1%, p = 0.06). Patient-reported facilitators for remote blood pressure monitoring were maternal convenience, clarity of instructions, and reassurance from the health assessments. These positive aspects occurred alongside barriers, which included constraints due to newborn needs and the realities of daily postpartum life

Divergent lineage of a novel hantavirus in the banana pipistrelle (Neoromicia nanus) in Côte d'Ivoire

Recently identified hantaviruses harbored by shrews and moles (order Soricomorpha) suggest that other mammals having shared ancestry may serve as reservoirs. To investigate this possibility, archival tissues from 213 insectivorous bats (order Chiroptera) were analyzed for hantavirus RNA by RT-PCR. Following numerous failed attempts, hantavirus RNA was detected in ethanol-fixed liver tissue from two banana pipistrelles (Neoromicia nanus), captured near Mouyassué village in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa, in June 2011. Phylogenetic analysis of partial L-segment sequences using maximum-likelihood and Bayesian methods revealed that the newfound hantavirus, designated Mouyassué virus (MOUV), was highly divergent and basal to all other rodent- and soricomorph-borne hantaviruses, except for Nova virus in the European common mole (Talpa europaea). Full genome sequencing of MOUV and further surveys of other bat species for hantaviruses, now underway, will provide critical insights into the evolution and diversification of hantaviruses

A process model of the formation of spatial presence experiences

In order to bridge interdisciplinary differences in Presence research and to establish connections between Presence and “older” concepts of psychology and communication, a theoretical model of the formation of Spatial Presence is proposed. It is applicable to the exposure to different media and intended to unify the existing efforts to develop a theory of Presence. The model includes assumptions about attention allocation, mental models, and involvement, and considers the role of media factors and user characteristics as well, thus incorporating much previous work. It is argued that a commonly accepted model of Spatial Presence is the only solution to secure further progress within the international, interdisciplinary and multiple-paradigm community of Presence research

Physically abused children\u27s emotion understanding of self and peers in the context of peer relationships

Emotion understanding is one of the key skills in emotional competence (Saarni, Campos, Camras, & Witherington, 2006; Denham, Warren, von Salisch, Benga, Chin, & Geangu, 2011, Saarni 2000), where it is composed of the ability of children to distinctly identify an emotion, share their own undertakings about emotions, retell situations that elicit emotions, show emotions to other people, and report their actions and feelings when an emotion is shown (Cassidy, Parke, Butkovsky & Braungart, 1992). However, emotion understanding had shown to have influenced by different factors, one of which is childrens early experiences. This study aimed to explore how physically abused children were able to understand their own and peers emotions that were happening in the context of their peer relationships. Using a multiple case study design, 12 physically abused children (9 are males and 3 are females) aged 9 to 12, underwent a semi-structured interview for approximately 60 to 90 minutes. There were two semistructured interview questionnaires that were used in this study: Interview of Emotion Understanding-Self (IEU-S) and Interview of Emotion Understanding-Peers (IEU-P). Together with 2 co-raters, data were analyzed thematically to identify the significant points that emerged from the interviews. Results showed that physically abused children were able to identify the emotions saya, lungkot, galit, takot, and hiya, and perceive the emotions masaya, malungkot, and galit from their peers. Participants were also able to express their emotions and perceive emotions from peers through explicit (e.g. verbal and physical expression) and implicit (e.g. keeping quiet and avoidance) expressions. Regardless of age, gender, and emotions, these participants expressed their emotions externally. Findings also showed reasons like play, relationship, and conflict as causes of their emotion experience and reasons like conflict and participants situation as causes of perceived peers emotion experience. Results further revealed that most of the participants did nothing when their peers showed their emotions but reported similarity to their peers emotion experience. Generally, these findings suggest that physically abused children in the study were able to respond to the questions about their emotions and even perceive their peers emotions

A single center pilot study: Assessing resident needs and faculty perceptions to improve training in rheumatology

Background: Internal medicine (IM) residents lack confidence in rheumatology. Due to the wide variety of topics in rheumatology, identifying the most important subjects to learn during training is vital to create future interventions to increase confidence and knowledge. The preferred teaching modality for both attendings/fellows and residents is not known. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to all IM residents, rheumatology fellows, and rheumatology faculty at the University of Chicago during the 2020-2021 academic year. Residents reported self-confidence levels on 10 rheumatology topics, while rheumatology attendings/fellows were asked to rank these from most to least important to learn during IM residency. All groups were asked preferred teaching modality. Results: Median confidence level [interquartile range] among residents for caring for patients with rheumatological conditions was 6 [3.6-7.5] for inpatient and 5 [3.7-6.5] for outpatient settings (10 being very confident). Attendings and fellows identified the most important topics to learn during the rheumatology rotation as ordering and interpreting autoimmune serologies and musculoskeletal exam. Both attendings/fellows and residents preferred bedside teaching in the inpatient setting and case-based learning in the outpatient setting. Conclusions: While some disease-specific topics such as autoimmune serologies were identified as important rheumatology topics for IM residents to learn, more practical topics like musculoskeletal exam skills were also deemed important. This highlights the need for comprehensive interventions that focus on more than standardized exam topics alone to improve rheumatology confidence in IM residents. There are different preferences of teaching styles in various clinical settings.</p