Enhanced response to music in pregnancy

Given a possible effect of estrogen on the pleasure-mediating dopaminergic system, musical appreciation in participants whose estrogen levels are naturally elevated during the oral contraceptive cycle and pregnancy has been investigated (n = 32, 15 pregnant, 17 nonpregnant; mean age 27.2). Results show more pronounced blood pressure responses to music in pregnant women. However, estrogen level differences during different phases of oral contraceptive intake did not have any effect, indicating that the observed changes were not related to estrogen. Effects of music on blood pressure were independent of valence, and dissonance elicited the greatest drop in blood pressure. Thus, the enhanced physiological response in pregnant women probably does not reflect a protective mechanism to avoid unpleasantness. Instead, this enhanced response is discussed in terms of a facilitation of prenatal conditioning to acoustical (musical) stimuli

Data Assimilation and Optimal Calibration in Nonlinear Models of Flame Dynamics

Abstract We propose an on-the-fly statistical learning method to take a qualitative reduced-order model of the dynamics of a premixed flame and make it quantitatively accurate. This physics-informed data-driven method is based on the statistically optimal combination of (i) a reduced-order model of the dynamics of a premixed flame with a level-set method, (ii) high-quality data, which can be provided by experiments and/or high-fidelity simulations, and (iii) assimilation of the data into the reduced-order model to improve the prediction of the dynamics of the premixed flame. The reduced-order model learns the state and the parameters of the premixed flame on the fly with the ensemble Kalman filter, which is a Bayesian filter used, for example, in weather forecasting. The proposed method and algorithm are applied to two test cases with relevance to reacting flows and instabilities. First, the capabilities of the framework are demonstrated in a twin experiment, where the assimilated data are produced from the same model as that used in prediction. Second, the assimilated data are extracted from a high-fidelity reacting-flow direct numerical simulation (DNS), which provides the reference solution. The results are analyzed by using Bayesian statistics, which robustly provide the level of confidence in the calculations from the reduced-order model. The versatile method we propose enables the optimal calibration of computationally inexpensive reduced-order models in real-time when experimental data become available, for example, from gas-turbine sensors.</jats:p

Automatic emotion processing as a function of trait emotional awareness: an fMRI study

It is unclear whether reflective awareness of emotions is related to extent and intensity of implicit affective reactions. This study is the first to investigate automatic brain reactivity to emotional stimuli as a function of trait emotional awareness. To assess emotional awareness the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS) was administered. During scanning, masked happy, angry, fearful and neutral facial expressions were presented to 46 healthy subjects, who had to rate the fit between artificial and emotional words. The rating procedure allowed assessment of shifts in implicit affectivity due to emotion faces. Trait emotional awareness was associated with increased activation in the primary somatosensory cortex, inferior parietal lobule, anterior cingulate gyrus, middle frontal and cerebellar areas, thalamus, putamen and amygdala in response to masked happy faces. LEAS correlated positively with shifts in implicit affect caused by masked happy faces. According to our findings, people with high emotional awareness show stronger affective reactivity and more activation in brain areas involved in emotion processing and simulation during the perception of masked happy facial expression than people with low emotional awareness. High emotional awareness appears to be characterized by an enhanced positive affective resonance to others at an automatic processing leve

Digitizing Travel Experience: Assessing, Modeling and Visualizing the Experiences of Travelers in Shared Mobility Services

During shared travel, humans regularly have negative experiences resulting from unmet needs in terms of safety, comfort, accessibility, efficiency, reliability or information. Frequent negative travel experiences motivate travelers to use private motorized transport instead of more sustainable, shared mobility services. It is difficult for shared transport providers to react to such negative experiences, as these mostly depend on individual needs and situational factors and can therefore rarely be counteracted with static one-size-fits-all solutions. Additionally, (real-time) information about a traveler’s experience is not (digitally) available to providers and thus a situation-adapted reaction is often not possible. Therefore, methods to assess travel experience and make travel experience digitally available are highly important for enabling means to render shared transport more attractive. Here, we present initial research on digitizing travel experience exemplified by an envisioned automated shuttle line

Development and evaluation of a patient education programme for children, adolescents, and young adults with differences of sex development (DSD) and their parents: study protocol of Empower-DSD

Background: Differences in sexual development (DSD) are rare diseases, which affect the chromosomal, anatomical or gonadal sex differentiation. Although patient education is recommended as essential in a holistic care approach, standardised programmes are still lacking. The present protocol describes the aims, study design and methods of the Empower-DSD project, which developed an age-adapted multidisciplinary education programme to improve the diagnosis-specific knowledge, skills and empowerment of patients and their parents. Methods: The new patient education programme was developed for children, adolescents and young adults with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, Turner syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome or XX-/or XY-DSD and their parents. The quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods include standardised questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and participatory observation. The main outcomes (assessed three and six months after the end of the programme) are health-related quality of life, disease burden, coping, and diagnosis-specific knowledge. The qualitative evaluation examines individual expectations and perceptions of the programme. The results of the quantitative and qualitative evaluation will be triangulated. Discussion: The study Empower-DSD was designed to reduce knowledge gaps regarding the feasibility, acceptance and effects of standardised patient education programmes for children and youth with DSD and their parents. A modular structured patient education programme with four generic and three diagnosis-specific modules based on the ModuS concept previously established for other chronic diseases was developed. The topics, learning objectives and recommended teaching methods are summarised in the structured curricula, one for each diagnosis and age group. At five study centres, 56 trainers were qualified for the implementation of the training programmes. A total of 336 subjects have been already enrolled in the study. The recruitment will go on until August 2022, the last follow-up survey is scheduled for February 2023. The results will help improve multidisciplinary and integrated care for children and youth with DSD and their families. Trial registration: German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00023096. Registered 8 October 2020 - Retrospectively registered

Preventing childhood scalds within the home: overview of systematic reviews and a systematic review of primary studies

Objective: To synthesise and evaluate the evidence of the effectiveness of interventions to prevent scalds in children. Methods: An overview of systematic reviews (SR) and a SR of primary studies were performed evaluating interventions to prevent scalds in children. A comprehensive literature search was conducted covering various resources up to October 2012. Experimental and controlled observational studies reporting scald injuries, safety practices and safety equipment use were included. Results: Fourteen systematic reviews and 39 primary studies were included. There is little evidence that interventions are effective in reducing the incidence of scalds in children. More evidence was found that inventions are effective in promoting safe hot tap water temperature, especially when home safety education, home safety checks and discounted or free safety equipment including thermometers and thermostatic mixing valves were provided. No consistent evidence was found for the effectiveness of interventions on the safe handling of hot food or drinks nor improving kitchen safety practices. Conclusion: Education, home safety checks along with thermometers or thermostatic mixing valves should be promoted to reduce tap water scalds. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions on scald injuries and to disentangle the effects of multifaceted interventions on scald injuries and safety practices

Burden of cardiovascular disease across 29 countries and GPs' decision to treat hypertension in oldest-old

OBJECTIVES: We previously found large variations in general practitioner (GP) hypertension treatment probability in oldest-old (>80 years) between countries. We wanted to explore whether differences in country-specific cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden and life expectancy could explain the differences. DESIGN: This is a survey study using case-vignettes of oldest-old patients with different comorbidities and blood pressure levels. An ecological multilevel model analysis was performed. SETTING: GP respondents from European General Practice Research Network (EGPRN) countries, Brazil and New Zeeland. SUBJECTS: This study included 2543 GPs from 29 countries. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: GP treatment probability to start or not start antihypertensive treatment based on responses to case-vignettes; either low (/=50% started treatment). CVD burden is defined as ratio of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost due to ischemic heart disease and/or stroke and total DALYs lost per country; life expectancy at age 60 and prevalence of oldest-old per country. RESULTS: Of 1947 GPs (76%) responding to all vignettes, 787 (40%) scored high treatment probability and 1160 (60%) scored low. GPs in high CVD burden countries had higher odds of treatment probability (OR 3.70; 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.00-4.57); in countries with low life expectancy at 60, CVD was associated with high treatment probability (OR 2.18, 95% CI 1.12-4.25); but not in countries with high life expectancy (OR 1.06, 95% CI 0.56-1.98). CONCLUSIONS: GPs' choice to treat/not treat hypertension in oldest-old was explained by differences in country-specific health characteristics. GPs in countries with high CVD burden and low life expectancy at age 60 were most likely to treat hypertension in oldest-old. Key Points * General practitioners (GPs) are in a clinical dilemma when deciding whether (or not) to treat hypertension in the oldest-old (>80 years of age). * In this study including 1947 GPs from 29 countries, we found that a high country-specific cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden (i.e. myocardial infarction and/or stroke) was associated with a higher GP treatment probability in patients aged >80 years. * However, the association was modified by country-specific life expectancy at age 60. While there was a positive association for GPs in countries with a low life expectancy at age 60, there was no association in countries with a high life expectancy at age 60. * These findings help explaining some of the large variation seen in the decision as to whether or not to treat hypertension in the oldest-old

Interoception and psychopathology: A developmental neuroscience perspective

Interoception refers to the perception of the physiological condition of the body, including hunger, temperature, and heart rate. There is a growing appreciation that interoception is integral to higher-order cognition. Indeed, existing research indicates an association between low interoceptive sensitivity and alexithymia (a difficulty identifying one’s own emotion), underscoring the link between bodily and emotional awareness. Despite this appreciation, the developmental trajectory of interoception across the lifespan remains under-researched, with clear gaps in our understanding. This qualitative review and opinion paper provides a brief overview of interoception, discussing its relevance for developmental psychopathology, and highlighting measurement issues, before surveying the available work on interoception across four stages of development: infancy, childhood, adolescence and late adulthood. Where gaps in the literature addressing the development of interoception exist, we draw upon the association between alexithymia and interoception, using alexithymia as a possible marker of atypical interoception. Evidence indicates that interoceptive ability varies across development, and that this variance correlates with established age-related changes in cognition and with risk periods for the development of psychopathology. We suggest a theory within which atypical interoception underlies the onset of psychopathology and risky behaviour in adolescence, and the decreased socio-emotional competence observed in late adulthood