Applied behaviour analysis

INTRODUCTION: Low-level HIV epidemic settings like Singapore face the challenge of reaching men at-risk who have less contact with programmes. We investigated patterns of meeting platform use by men seeking male sexual partners (MSM) as potential marker of risk to differentiate sub-groups for interventions. METHODS: Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was applied to a survey sample of MSM recruited from bars/clubs, saunas and a smartphone application, using purposive sampling...

INTRODUCTION: There are very few scholastic studies applying a theory-driven methodology to analyse the employment of teledentistry in clinical practice by the Saudi dental community. The objective of this research was to predict the employment of teledentistry in clinical practice by the Saudi dental community using the UTAUT (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology) model. METHODS: A countrywide survey was executed from November 2022 to April 2023 among the dental community (pre-graduate students, graduates, post-graduate students, general dentists, and specialist dentists) involved in clinical practice...

Post-acute COVID syndrome (PACS) is a global health concern and is often associated with debilitating symptoms. Post-COVID fatigue is a particularly frequent and troubling issue, and its underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. One potential contributor is micropathological injury of subcortical and brainstem structures, as has been identified in other patient populations. Texture-based analysis (TA) may be used to measure such changes in anatomical MRI data. The present study develops a methodology of voxel-wise TA mapping in subcortical and brainstem regions, which is then applied to T1-weighted MRI data from a cohort of 48 individuals who had PACS (32 with and 16 without ongoing fatigue symptoms) and 15 controls who had cold and flu-like symptoms but tested negative for COVID-19...

The interactions of motorised vehicles with pedestrians have always been a concern in traffic safety. The major threat to pedestrians comes from the high level of interactions imposed in uncontrolled traffic environments, where road users have to compete over the right of way. In the absence of traffic management and control systems in such traffic environments, road users have to negotiate the right of way while avoiding conflict. Furthermore, the high level of movement freedom and agility of pedestrians, as one of the interactive parties, can lead to exposing unpredictable behaviour on the road...

BACKGROUND: The classification of mental, behavioural and neurodevelopmental disorders in the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases 11th revision (ICD-11) includes a comprehensive set of behavioural indicators (BIs) within the neurodevelopmental disorders grouping. BIs can be used to assess the severity of disorders of intellectual development in situations in which standardised measures of intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviours are not available or feasible...

INTRODUCTION: During child dental treatment, different behavior management techniques (BMTs) are applied and it is important to understand the possible discomfort in the operator. OBJECTIVE: The present systematic review aimed to evaluate the acceptability of dental students and professionals concerning BMTs applied with paediatric dentistry patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic search was conducted, following the PEOS strategy: Population (P) - dental students/professionals (S); Exposure (E) - BMTs preconized by the American Academy of Paediatric Dentistry, Outcome (O) - proportion of BMT acceptance; and Study design (S) - observational studies based on data from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, BVS (Lilacs/BBO), Cochrane, and Open Grey databases up to September 2021...

BACKGROUND: External tags, such as transmitters and loggers, are often used to study bat movements. However, physiological and behavioural effects on bats carrying tags have rarely been investigated, and recommendations on the maximum acceptable tag mass are rather based on rules of thumb than on rigorous scientific assessment. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive three-step assessment of the potential physiological and behavioural effects of tagging bats, using common noctules Nyctalus noctula as a model...

This study explores the disulfide bridges present in the human milk proteome by a novel approach permitting both positional identification and relative quantification of the disulfide bridges. Human milk from six donors was subjected to trypsin digestion without reduction. The digested human milk proteins were analyzed by nanoLC-timsTOF Pro combined with data analysis using xiSEARCH. A total of 85 unique disulfide bridges were identified in 25 different human milk proteins. The total relative abundance of disulfide bridge-containing peptides constituted approximately 5% of the total amount of tryptic-peptides...

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to collect data on implant survival, bone volume maintenance, and complications associated with the socket shield technique. BACKGROUND DATA: The socket shield technique was introduced in 2010. Since then, several systematic reviews have been published, showing good clinical outcomes. The behaviour of the buccal bone plate is so far not completely understood. METHODS: The study involved the placement of 23 implants using the socket shield technique in 20 patients...

BACKGROUND: Globally, a fifth of the children continue to face chronic undernutrition with a majority of them situated in the Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC). The rising numbers are attributed to aggravating factors like limited nutrition knowledge, poor feeding practices, seasonal food insecurity, and diseases. Interventions targeting behaviour change may reduce the devastating nutrition situation of children in the LMICs. OBJECTIVE: For the co-design of a Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) intervention for young children in rural Kenya, we aimed to identify the experiences, barriers, facilitators, and preferences of caregivers and stakeholders regarding nutrition and health counselling...

PURPOSE: We examined how work-related factors associate with several health behaviours that appear together among the large, but less-studied, blue- and pink-collar worker group, which is characterized by low education and income levels. METHODS: In 2019, we conducted a cross-sectional survey among private sector service workers (n = 5256) in Finland. We applied two-step cluster analysis to identify groups on the basis of leisure-time physical activity, sleep adequacy, frequency of heavy drinking, smoking status, and frequency of fruit, vegetable and berry consumption...

The distribution of stress on short platform switched dental implants is of interest. Hence, the mandibular posterior molar area was modelled using a three-dimensional finite element method (FEM) with a continuous 1.5 mm cortical bone thickness and an inner cancellous bone core. The implants used in the study were 5 mm long, 4.5 mm wide and 3.5 mm wide at the abutments. 120 N of force was applied in both the vertical and oblique (20° and 35°) directions to create a realistic simulation. ANSYS Workbench was generated for each model...

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have identified substantial regional variations in outpatient antibiotic prescribing in Germany, both in the paediatric and adult population. This indicates inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in some regions, which should be avoided to reduce antimicrobial resistance and potential side effects. The reasons for regional variations in outpatient antibiotic prescribing are not yet completely understood; socioeconomic and health care density differences between regions do not fully explain such differences...

Exploring high strength materials with a higher concentration of reinforcements in the alloy proves to be a challenging task. This research has explored magnesium-based composites (AZ31B alloy) with tungsten carbide reinforcements, enhancing strength for medical joint replacements via league championship optimisation. The primary objective is to enhance medical joint replacement biomaterials employing magnesium-based composites, emphasising the AZ31B alloy with tungsten carbide reinforcements. The stir casting method is utilised in the manufacture of magnesium matrix composites (MMCs), including varied percentages of tungsten carbide (WC)...

AIMS OF THE STUDY: Listeriosis is a notifiable disease in Switzerland. In summer 2022, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health noticed an increase in reports of listeriosis cases, indicating a possible ongoing outbreak. Here we present the approaches applied for rapidly confirming the outbreak, detecting the underlying source of infection and the measures put in place to eliminate it and contain the outbreak. METHODS: For close surveillance and early detection of outbreak situations with their possible sources, listeriosis patients in Switzerland are systematically interviewed about risk behaviours and foods consumed prior to the infection...

Objective : This study aims to delineate the characteristics of severe self-injurious behaviors (SIB) in a cohort of children with autism and unspecified intellectual developmental disorder (UIDD) (intellectual disability) and examine potential risk factors for developing SIB. Methods : A retrospective chart review studied characteristics of severe SIB in 30 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and UIDD referred to a tertiary care center. Characteristics examined include genetic syndromes, brain MRI abnormalities, verbal ability, adaptive functioning, SIB frequency and severity, age of onset, number of psychopharmacological agents, irritability, hyperactivity, stereotypy, psychiatric and physical comorbidities, among others...

INTRODUCTION: Literacy about zoonoses can contribute people adapt their behaviour to minimize zoonotic risks. In this study, associations between sociodemographic factors and zoonotic risk-averse attitudes were explored. OBJECTIVE: To determine factors significantly associated with literacy about zoonoses across sociodemographic groups to inform targeted interventions aiming at improving awareness and zoonotic risk-avoidance behaviours. METHOD: Data was collected in 2022 using an online survey of a nationally representative sample of residents in the Netherlands...

OBJECTIVES: Procrastination is an almost universal behaviour and yet little research to date has focused on procrastination among older adults. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential association between age and procrastination, and the potential mediating roles of depressive symptomatology and loneliness. METHOD: Structural equation modelling was applied to data from 1309 participants (aged 29-92) from two waves United States Health and Retirement Study (2016-2020)...

This study aimed to investigate the association between physical activity, sedentary behaviour and chronic inflammation in short sleep adults. The study included 2,113 NHANES participants with self-reported insufficient sleep. C-reactive protein (CRP) was used as the inflammatory biomarker. Physical activity and sedentary behaviour were objectively measured by accelerometers. Weighted regression model, two - piecewise linear regression model, and restricted cubic splines were applied to evaluate associations mentioned above...

UNLABELLED: WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: The use of restrictive interventions is described as a violation of patients' rights and autonomy. It must only be used as a last resort to manage dangerous behaviour, to prevent or reduce the risk of mental health patients harming themselves or others. International mental health policy and legislation agree that when restrictive interventions are applied, the least restrictive alternative should be chosen. WHAT THE PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: The results are ambiguous, as to which restrictive intervention is preferred over others, but there are tendencies towards the majority preferring observation, with mechanical restraint being the least preferred...