Preface of the special issue quantum foundations: information approach

This special issue is based on the contributions of a group of top experts in quantum foundations and quantum information and probability. It enlightens a number of interpretational, mathematical and experimental problems of quantum theory.

Lethal fetal abnormalities: how to approach perinatal palliative care?

OBJECTIVE

Some of the antenatally diagnosed fetal pathologies are unlikely to get compatible with life. Still some women choose to continue with pregnancy. Subsequently, perinatal palliative care (PPC) has become a constructive demarche in such situations. Our study, based on a multicentric survey, reports some cases of fetal pathologies considered as lethal according to perinatal professionals and reveals the decisional process in each case.

METHODS

We sent by emails a questionnaire to 434 maternal-fetal medicine specialists and fetal care pediatric specialists at 48 multidisciplinary centers for prenatal diagnosis.

RESULTS

The participation rate was 49.3%. In total, 61 obstetric-gynecologists and 68 neonatologists completed the survey. The results showed that 35.4% of the pregnant women asked for the continuation of pregnancy and 24.7% asked for the termination of pregnancy. More than half of professionals (52.9%) took the initiative of informing women about the options for birth support (including PPC), while 32.7% of obstetric gynecologists did not take this initiative versus 10.2% of neonatologists (p  < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates the absolute need to provide PPC training for professionals and to standardize its practices.

Key aspects of successful rehabilitation after repeated or serious driving offenses

OBJECTIVE

In Germany, license restoration after serious or repeated offenses requires a positive medical psychological assessment (MPA), a test to determine the driver's aptitude. Fulfilling the conditions necessary for a positive MPA often takes longer than the period of license revocation, which is perhaps due to the involvement of different personal, organizational, and environmental factors. To optimize the rehabilitation process, the present study analyzed the key aspects of successful rehabilitation after repeated or serious driving offenses.

METHODS

After participating in the MPA, 1,631 subjects completed a questionnaire about rehabilitation efforts. The selection of items for this questionnaire was made according to our own prior research, interviews with problem drivers, and the diagnostic criteria for the MPA. Participants were asked when and from whom they obtained certain information and how relevant this information was for their success. In contrast to other studies, which used reoffense rates as a criterion for successful rehabilitation, we used a positive MPA result (positive, negative, or training) as the criterion for success.

RESULTS

Just over half (52%) of the participants considered themselves optimally informed about the rehabilitation process. The others (47.4% of participants) judged the adequacy of information received as less than satisfactory. Offenders who did not partake in counseling before the MPA achieved a successful result only about half as often (37.1%) as those who did (70%) and were around 3 times as likely to have additional courses imposed upon them (21 vs. 7.6%). Of the offenders who received crucial and helpful information at an early stage, 62.4% attained a positive MPA at the first attempt (regardless of having attended any training courses). The success rate for the first attempt rose to 81% for offenders who were well informed at an early stage and participated in counseling before their first MPA.

CONCLUSION

The results clearly indicate that the provision of relevant information at an early stage combined with counseling has a beneficial influence on success rates for the rehabilitation process (an increase from 37.1 to 81%). As such, we recommend the introduction of obligatory license consultations, offered by MPA experts, involving a status assessment to customize offenders' rehabilitation and thereby provide more or less intensive guidance or coaching depending on offenders' characteristics throughout their progression through the MPA system.

Spacers versus nebulizers in treatment of acute asthma - a prospective randomized study in preschool children

OBJECTIVE

To compare administration of bronchodilators by nebulizers with delivery by metered dose inhalers (MDIs) with spacers and to evaluate the clinical effect of the treatment of acute asthma in preschool children.

METHODS

A prospective randomized clinical trial in a pediatric emergency department (PED). Preschool children who were admitted for virus induced wheezing or acute asthma exacerbation were randomly allocated to receive bronchodilator treatment by nebulizer or by metered dose inhaler. The accompanying parents completed a questionnaire.

RESULTS

The length of stay in the PED and the hospitalization rate were similar and no difference was seen in the parents' view of ease of use and device acceptance. Baseline data were similar for both groups apart from the family history of asthma and atopic disease that was greater in the nebulizer group. No significant differences were seen in heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation at baseline and after the treatment. According to the parents 40% of the participants had asthma diagnosis though up to 66% had some kind of asthma medication.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data suggests that MDIs with spacers are at least as effective as nebulizers in the delivery of beta agonists to treat preschool children with virus induced wheezing or acute exacerbations of asthma in the PED. Parents may underestimate the gravity of their children's asthma. It is mandatory to provide adequate information to the staff and parents in order to treat pediatric acute asthma successfully.

From Information Management to Information Visualization: Development of Radiology Dashboards

OBJECTIVE

The development and implementation of a dashboard of medical imaging department (MID) performance indicators.

METHOD

Several articles discussing performance measures of imaging departments were searched for this study. All the related measures were extracted. Then, a panel of imaging experts were asked to rate these measures with an open ended question to seek further potential indicators. A second round was performed to confirm the performance rating. The indicators and their ratings were then reviewed by an executive panel. Based on the final panel's rating, a list of indicators to be used was developed. A team of information technology consultants were asked to determine a set of user interface requirements for the building of the dashboard. In the first round, based on the panel's rating, a list of main features or requirements to be used was determined. Next, Qlikview was utilized to implement the dashboard to visualize a set of selected KPI metrics. Finally, an evaluation of the dashboard was performed.

RESULTS

92 MID indicators were identified. On top of this, 53 main user interface requirements to build of the prototype of dashboard were determined. Then, the project team successfully implemented a prototype of radiology management dashboards into study site. The visual display that was designed was rated highly by users.

CONCLUSION

To develop a dashboard, management of information is essential. It is recommended that a quality map be designed for the MID. It can be used to specify the sequence of activities, their related indicators and required data for calculating these indicators. To achieve both an effective dashboard and a comprehensive view of operations, it is necessary to design a data warehouse for gathering data from a variety of systems. Utilizing interoperability standards for exchanging data among different systems can be also effective in this regard.

Can free open access resources strengthen knowledge-based emerging public health priorities, policies and programs in Africa?

Tackling emerging epidemics and infectious diseases burden in Africa requires increasing unrestricted open access and free use or reuse of regional and global policies reforms as well as timely communication capabilities and strategies. Promoting, scaling up data and information sharing between African researchers and international partners are of vital importance in accelerating open access at no cost. Free Open Access (FOA) health data and information acceptability, uptake tactics and sustainable mechanisms are urgently needed. These are critical in establishing real time and effective knowledge or evidence-based translation, proven and validated approaches, strategies and tools to strengthen and revamp health systems.  As such, early and timely access to needed emerging public health information is meant to be instrumental and valuable for policy-makers, implementers, care providers, researchers, health-related institutions and stakeholders including populations when guiding health financing, and planning contextual programs.

Perspectives About Health Care Provision in Dementia Care in Spain: A Qualitative Study Using Focus-Group Methodology

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study is to identify the barriers and facilitators in dementia care with respect to information provision, communication, and collaboration from the perspectives of the person with dementia, family caregivers, and health care professionals over the course of the illness.

METHODS

A qualitative study using Focus-Group methodology was carried out in people with dementia, family caregivers, and health care providers.

RESULTS

The categories that emerged from the analysis were insufficient information provided, specific dementia care needs, and acceptance of long-term care institutionalization from the people with dementia and caregivers' groups and insufficient communication between health care providers, differential information according to disease stage, and home care coordination from the health care providers' groups.

CONCLUSION

The family is a key element in successful care coordination during dementia care provision. New effective strategies including self-management and emergent roles, such as case managers, could bring great benefits to people with dementia, caregivers, and health care providers.

["The family should be prepared to play a role"]

With the onset of mental illness, families become disorientated. Lack of information, misunderstanding and poor clinical orientation are all challenges faced. The families must be, wherever possible, linked to health care, decisions and projects. Interview with Hervé Mignotte, volunteer at the National Union of families and friends of ill and / or mentally handicapped patients (UNAFAM).

Use of complementary medicine in metastatic melanoma patients treated with ipilimumab within a clinical trial

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

In Germany, 40-90 % of all cancer patients use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). So far, no data are available on the use of CAM by melanoma patients. The objective of our study was to gather data on CAM use, sources of information, and goals of patients with metastatic melanoma.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

One hundred and fifty-six patients from 25 study centers participated in the DecOG-MM-PAL-Multibasket Study. These individuals were also asked to participate in a side study addressing CAM use. A standardized CAM questionnaire was distributed at defined points during the treatment.

RESULTS

Overall, 55 questionnaires from 32 (21 %) melanoma patients were received. Of those, 17 (53 %) stated an interest in CAM, and seven (22 %) actually used CAM. Family and friends were the main source of information (31 %), followed by physicians (19 %). The main reasons for using CAM were boosting the immune system (41 %) and strengthening the body (34 %). Supplements (vitamins and trace elements) were most commonly used (28 %).

CONCLUSIONS

A relatively high number of metastatic melanoma patients used CAM despite their participation in a clinical trial. Interactions may be due to biologically based CAM, especially immunomodulatory CAM strategies. In order to avoid risks, communication between physicians and patients should be improved.

Hand Society and Matching Program Web Sites Provide Poor Access to Information Regarding Hand Surgery Fellowship

The Internet is a common resource for applicants of hand surgery fellowships, however, the quality and accessibility of fellowship online information is unknown. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the accessibility of hand surgery fellowship Web sites and to assess the quality of information provided via program Web sites. Hand fellowship Web site accessibility was evaluated by reviewing the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) on November 16, 2014 and the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) fellowship directories on February 12, 2015, and performing an independent Google search on November 25, 2014. Accessible Web sites were then assessed for quality of the presented information. A total of 81 programs were identified with the ASSH directory featuring direct links to 32% of program Web sites and the NRMP directory directly linking to 0%. A Google search yielded direct links to 86% of program Web sites. The quality of presented information varied greatly among the 72 accessible Web sites. Program description (100%), fellowship application requirements (97%), program contact email address (85%), and research requirements (75%) were the most commonly presented components of fellowship information. Hand fellowship program Web sites can be accessed from the ASSH directory and, to a lesser extent, the NRMP directory. However, a Google search is the most reliable method to access online fellowship information. Of assessable programs, all featured a program description though the quality of the remaining information was variable. Hand surgery fellowship applicants may face some difficulties when attempting to gather program information online. Future efforts should focus on improving the accessibility and content quality on hand surgery fellowship program Web sites.

Occupational allergic contact dermatitis in a 2-year follow-up study: how well does the patient remember the result of patch testing?

BACKGROUND

Patch testing is mandatory for diagnosing contact dermatitis. It is, however, crucial that patients understand and remember the result of the test.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of patch testing with respect to patients' ability to remember patch test results and the results of natural rubber latex protein allergy after 2 years.

METHODS

One hundred and ninety-nine patients diagnosed with relevant occupational epoxy or rubber chemical contact allergy, or allergy to natural rubber latex protein, were invited to participate in a questionnaire study about their knowledge of contact allergies after 2 years.

RESULTS

The response rate was 75%. Of the respondents, 13% did not remember their occupational contact allergy to rubber chemicals or epoxy. Ability to remember was not significantly influenced by sex or Dermatology Life Quality Index, but was decreased by age >60 years (p < 0.01). Of patients with an additional contact allergy, <36% remembered this correctly. Of patients allergic to natural rubber latex proteins, 50% remembered this correctly.

CONCLUSIONS

The impact of patch testing depends on the patients' ability to understand and remember the results of the test. Attention should be drawn to the importance of this, and patients with increased need for information should be identified.

Approximate Uncertainty Modeling in Risk Analysis with Vine Copulas

Many applications of risk analysis require us to jointly model multiple uncertain quantities. Bayesian networks and copulas are two common approaches to modeling joint uncertainties with probability distributions. This article focuses on new methodologies for copulas by developing work of Cooke, Bedford, Kurowica, and others on vines as a way of constructing higher dimensional distributions that do not suffer from some of the restrictions of alternatives such as the multivariate Gaussian copula. The article provides a fundamental approximation result, demonstrating that we can approximate any density as closely as we like using vines. It further operationalizes this result by showing how minimum information copulas can be used to provide parametric classes of copulas that have such good levels of approximation. We extend previous approaches using vines by considering nonconstant conditional dependencies, which are particularly relevant in financial risk modeling. We discuss how such models may be quantified, in terms of expert judgment or by fitting data, and illustrate the approach by modeling two financial data sets.

The Impact of Information on Doctors' Attitudes Toward Generic Drugs

The objective of this study is to assess the impact of information on doctors' attitudes and perceptions toward generics. A cross-sectional survey based on a specially designed 21-item questionnaire was conducted. The survey involved doctors of different specialties working in a public hospital in Greece. The analysis includes descriptive and inferential statistics, reliability and validity tests, as well as structural equation modeling to evaluate the causal model. Statistical analysis was accomplished by using SPSS 20 and Amos 20. A total of 134 questionnaires out of 162 were received, providing a response rate of 82.71%. A number of significant associations were found between information and perceptions about generic medicines with demographic characteristics. It seems that the provision of quality information on generic drugs influences doctors' attitudes and prescription practices toward generic drugs. This is not a static process but a rather dynamic issue involving information provision policies for strengthening the proper doctors' attitudes toward generic drugs.

Exploring the Homeostatic and Sensory Roles of the Immune System

Immunology developed under the notion of the immune system exists to fight pathogens. Recently, the discovery of interactions with commensal microbiota that are essential to human health initiated a change in this old paradigm. Here, we argue that the immune system has major physiological roles extending far beyond defending the host. Immune and inflammatory responses share the core property of sensing, defining the immune system also as a sensory system. The inference with the immune system collects, interprets, and stores information, while creating an identity of self, places it in close relationship to the nervous system, which suggests that these systems may have a profound evolutionary connection.

Readability of Ebola Information on Websites of Public Health Agencies, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Europe

Public involvement in efforts to control the current Ebola virus disease epidemic requires understandable information. We reviewed the readability of Ebola information from public health agencies in non-Ebola-affected areas. A substantial proportion of citizens would have difficulty understanding existing information, which would potentially hinder effective health-seeking behaviors.

DNA as information: at the crossroads between biology, mathematics, physics and chemistry

On the one hand, biology, chemistry and also physics tell us how the process of translating the genetic information into life could possibly work, but we are still very far from a complete understanding of this process. On the other hand, mathematics and statistics give us methods to describe such natural systems-or parts of them-within a theoretical framework. Also, they provide us with hints and predictions that can be tested at the experimental level. Furthermore, there are peculiar aspects of the management of genetic information that are intimately related to information theory and communication theory. This theme issue is aimed at fostering the discussion on the problem of genetic coding and information through the presentation of different innovative points of view. The aim of the editors is to stimulate discussions and scientific exchange that will lead to new research on why and how life can exist from the point of view of the coding and decoding of genetic information. The present introduction represents the point of view of the editors on the main aspects that could be the subject of future scientific debate.

The meaning of biological information

Biological information encoded in genomes is fundamentally different from and effectively orthogonal to Shannon entropy. The biologically relevant concept of information has to do with 'meaning', i.e. encoding various biological functions with various degree of evolutionary conservation. Apart from direct experimentation, the meaning, or biological information content, can be extracted and quantified from alignments of homologous nucleotide or amino acid sequences but generally not from a single sequence, using appropriately modified information theoretical formulae. For short, information encoded in genomes is defined vertically but not horizontally. Informally but substantially, biological information density seems to be equivalent to 'meaning' of genomic sequences that spans the entire range from sharply defined, universal meaning to effective meaninglessness. Large fractions of genomes, up to 90% in some plants, belong within the domain of fuzzy meaning. The sequences with fuzzy meaning can be recruited for various functions, with the meaning subsequently fixed, and also could perform generic functional roles that do not require sequence conservation. Biological meaning is continuously transferred between the genomes of selfish elements and hosts in the process of their coevolution. Thus, in order to adequately describe genome function and evolution, the concepts of information theory have to be adapted to incorporate the notion of meaning that is central to biology.

What is information?

Molecular biology is based on two great discoveries: the first is that genes carry hereditary information in the form of linear sequences of nucleotides; the second is that in protein synthesis a sequence of nucleotides is translated into a sequence of amino acids, a process that amounts to a transfer of information from genes to proteins. These discoveries have shown that the information of genes and proteins is the specific linear order of their sequences. This is a clear definition of information and there is no doubt that it reflects an experimental reality. What is not clear, however, is the ontological status of information, and the result is that today we have two conflicting paradigms in biology. One is the 'chemical paradigm', the idea that 'life is chemistry', or, more precisely, that 'life is an extremely complex form of chemistry'. The other is the 'information paradigm', the view that chemistry is not enough, that 'life is chemistry plus information'. This implies that there is an ontological difference between information and chemistry, a difference which is often expressed by saying that information-based processes like heredity and natural selection simply do not exist in the world of chemistry. Against this conclusion, the supporters of the chemical paradigm have argued that the concept of information is only a linguistic metaphor, a word that summarizes the result of countless underlying chemical reactions. The supporters of the information paradigm insist that information is a real and fundamental component of the living world, but have not been able to prove this point. As a result, the chemical view has not been abandoned and the two paradigms both coexist today. Here, it is shown that a solution to the ontological problem of information does exist. It comes from the idea that life is artefact-making, that genes and proteins are molecular artefacts manufactured by molecular machines and that artefacts necessarily require sequences and coding rules in addition to the quantities of physics and chemistry. More precisely, it is shown that the production of artefacts requires new observables that are referred to as nominable entities because they can be described only by naming their components in their natural order. From an ontological point of view, in conclusion, information is a nominable entity, a fundamental but not-computable observable.

Directed self-assembly, genomic assembly complexity and the formation of biological structure, or, what are the genes for nacre?

Biology uses dynamical mechanisms of self-organization and self-assembly of materials, but it also choreographs and directs these processes. The difference between abiotic self-assembly and a biological process is rather like the difference between setting up and running an experiment to make a material remotely compared with doing it in one's own laboratory: with a remote experiment-say on the International Space Station-everything must be set up beforehand to let the experiment run 'hands off', but in the laboratory one can intervene at any point in a 'hands-on' approach. It is clear that the latter process, of directed self-assembly, can allow much more complicated experiments and produce far more complex structures than self-assembly alone. This control over self-assembly in biology is exercised at certain key waypoints along a trajectory and the process may be quantified in terms of the genomic assembly complexity of a biomaterial.

The problems of biological information

The discovery of genetic encoding in the DNA molecule, and its mode of translation into protein structures, secured the modern view of biology as an information science. But it remains unclear what kind of information science it is. The all-too-ready analogy with computer programs stored on spools of magnetic tape has been hard to relinquish, even while the complexity of information storage and flow in the cell has become ever more apparent. To understand how life is sustained and evolves through encoding and processing of information, new ideas are now required, within which genetic encoding in DNA seems likely to provide only one part of a much broader and more profound puzzle. In particular, it seems likely that the emerging picture will need to take a more subtle view of causation, context and meaning in the orchestrated, hierarchical processes that make life possible.

What is information?†

Information is a precise concept that can be defined mathematically, but its relationship to what we call 'knowledge' is not always made clear. Furthermore, the concepts 'entropy' and 'information', while deeply related, are distinct and must be used with care, something that is not always achieved in the literature. In this elementary introduction, the concepts of entropy and information are laid out one by one, explained intuitively, but defined rigorously. I argue that a proper understanding of information in terms of prediction is key to a number of disciplines beyond engineering, such as physics and biology.

DNA as information

This article reviews contributions to this theme issue covering the topic 'DNA as information' in relation to the structure of DNA, the measure of its information content, the role and meaning of information in biology and the origin of genetic coding as a transition from uninformed to meaningful computational processes in physical systems.

Community pharmacy: an untapped patient data resource

As community pharmacy services become more patient centered, they will be increasingly reliant on access to good quality patient information. This review describes how the information that is currently available in community pharmacies can be used to enhance service delivery and patient care. With integration of community pharmacy and medical practice records on the horizon, the opportunities this will provide are also considered. The community pharmacy held patient medication record, which is the central information repository and has been used to identify non-adherence, prompts the pharmacist to clinically review prescriptions, identify patients for additional services, and identify those patients at greater risk of adverse drug events. While active recording of patient consultations for treatment over the counter may improve the quality of consultations and information held, the lost benefits of anonymity afforded by community pharmacies need to be considered. Recording of pharmacy staff activities enables the workload to be monitored, remuneration to be justified, critical incidents to be learned from, but is not routine practice. Centralization of records between community pharmacies enables practices to be compared and consistent problems to be identified. By integrating pharmacy and medical practice records, patient behavior with respect to medicines can be more closely monitored and should prevent duplication of effort. When using patient information stored in a community pharmacy, it is, however, important to consider the reason why the information was recorded in the first instance and whether it is appropriate to use it for a different purpose without additional patient consent. Currently, community pharmacies have access to large amounts of information, which, if stored and used appropriately, can significantly enhance the quality of provided services and patient care. Integrating the records increases opportunities to enhance patient care yet further. While community pharmacies have significant amounts of information available to them, this is frequently untapped.

Effects of Information Availability on Command-and-Control Decision Making: Performance, Trust, and Situation Awareness

OBJECTIVE

We investigated how increases in task-relevant information affect human decision-making performance, situation awareness (SA), and trust in a simulated command-and-control (C2) environment.

BACKGROUND

Increased information is often associated with an improvement of SA and decision-making performance in networked organizations. However, previous research suggests that increasing information without considering the task relevance and the presentation can impair performance.

METHOD

We used a simulated C2 task across two experiments. Experiment 1 varied the information volume provided to individual participants and measured the speed and accuracy of decision making for task performance. Experiment 2 varied information volume and information reliability provided to two participants acting in different roles and assessed decision-making performance, SA, and trust between the paired participants.

RESULTS

In both experiments, increased task-relevant information volume did not improve task performance. In Experiment 2, increased task-relevant information volume reduced self-reported SA and trust, and incorrect source reliability information led to poorer task performance and SA.

CONCLUSION

These results indicate that increasing the volume of information, even when it is accurate and task relevant, is not necessarily beneficial to decision-making performance. Moreover, it may even be detrimental to SA and trust among team members.

APPLICATION

Given the high volume of available and shared information and the safety-critical and time-sensitive nature of many decisions, these results have implications for training and system design in C2 domains. To avoid decrements to SA, interpersonal trust, and decision-making performance, information presentation within C2 systems must reflect human cognitive processing limits and capabilities.

Idiopathic scoliosis: managing pain before and after spinal surgery

Idiopathic scoliosis surgery is performed to correct a curvature of the spine. This is a painful surgical procedure which is carried out on otherwise healthy young people. This article reports on a small evaluation project which focused on young people's opinions and experiences of their pain information needs, pain management and pain assessment. Nine young people completed written activity sheets before and after scoliosis surgery. Most of the information provided on the activity sheets involved positive comments about the surgical experience although some indicated that the management of pain continued to be a challenge after spinal surgery. The project has highlighted that there is more work to be done to ensure that young people are prepared for surgery and they are helped to convey their experiences of pain to health professionals during their treatment and recovery.

Structured intervention for management of pain following day surgery in children

BACKGROUND

Ambulatory surgery forms a large part of pediatric surgical practice. Several studies indicate that postoperative pain is poorly managed with more than 30% of children having moderate to severe pain. In a busy outpatient clinic contact between healthcare professionals and the family is increasingly limited calling for a global and efficient pain management regime.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this prospective observational cohort study was to determine postoperative pain intensity following day surgery in children after our structured intervention for pain management.

METHODS

A number of interventions in an effort to address barriers to effective postoperative pain management after day surgery were identified in the literature. By introducing our concept structured intervention, we aimed to address the majority if not all these barriers. Accordingly, we adapted postoperative pain management to each child using a multimodal approach consisting of surgery-specific analgesia with weight appropriate doses of acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Analgesics were handed out to the parents in formulations accepted by child and parent and after thorough information to the parents.

RESULTS

Two hundred and forty-five children were scheduled for surgery during the 3-month period of which 149 children were available for analysis. The postoperative pain as assessed by the parents with a the Short Form of the Parents' Postoperative Pain Measure (PPPM-SF) was well managed exhibiting a median pain score of 4 on postoperative day 0 (POD0) and median 1 on postoperative day 1 (POD1) and a numeric rating scale (NRS) median pain score of 2 on POD0 and median 1 on POD1. We found a highly significant correlation between the PPPM-SF and the NRS scores.

CONCLUSION

After thorough information of the parents we have successfully implemented a surgery-specific regime of primarily around-the-clock dosing of drug formulations acceptable for the specific child with dispensed medication ready available for the family.

Acoustic sequences in non-human animals: a tutorial review and prospectus

Animal acoustic communication often takes the form of complex sequences, made up of multiple distinct acoustic units. Apart from the well-known example of birdsong, other animals such as insects, amphibians, and mammals (including bats, rodents, primates, and cetaceans) also generate complex acoustic sequences. Occasionally, such as with birdsong, the adaptive role of these sequences seems clear (e.g. mate attraction and territorial defence). More often however, researchers have only begun to characterise - let alone understand - the significance and meaning of acoustic sequences. Hypotheses abound, but there is little agreement as to how sequences should be defined and analysed. Our review aims to outline suitable methods for testing these hypotheses, and to describe the major limitations to our current and near-future knowledge on questions of acoustic sequences. This review and prospectus is the result of a collaborative effort between 43 scientists from the fields of animal behaviour, ecology and evolution, signal processing, machine learning, quantitative linguistics, and information theory, who gathered for a 2013 workshop entitled, 'Analysing vocal sequences in animals'. Our goal is to present not just a review of the state of the art, but to propose a methodological framework that summarises what we suggest are the best practices for research in this field, across taxa and across disciplines. We also provide a tutorial-style introduction to some of the most promising algorithmic approaches for analysing sequences. We divide our review into three sections: identifying the distinct units of an acoustic sequence, describing the different ways that information can be contained within a sequence, and analysing the structure of that sequence. Each of these sections is further subdivided to address the key questions and approaches in that area. We propose a uniform, systematic, and comprehensive approach to studying sequences, with the goal of clarifying research terms used in different fields, and facilitating collaboration and comparative studies. Allowing greater interdisciplinary collaboration will facilitate the investigation of many important questions in the evolution of communication and sociality.

Effects of the behavior of elderly type 2 diabetic patients and their relatives as caregivers on diabetes follow-up parameters in Bolu, Turkey

AIM

In the present study, patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and their relatives as caregivers during the treatment period, and the effects on treatment success were evaluated.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients aged 65 years and older and their relatives as caregivers was carried out. The questionnaire given to the participants consisted of three sections: the first section included questions regarding sociodemographic characteristics; the second section included questions on patient treatment, habits of drug use, lifestyle changes such as dietary habits; and the third section included anthropometric measurements and laboratory evaluations. The questionnaire given to the patients' relatives as caregivers consisted of questions regarding their sociodemographic characteristics and information regarding the patient.

RESULTS

The present study consisted of 115 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus and their relatives as caregivers. The average duration of diabetes was 12.14 ± 6.74 years. Body mass index was 30.2 ± 4.2 kg/m(2) , average hemoglobin A1c level was 7.09 ± 0.64%, and 40.1% of the patients lived with their partners only. As the frequency of physical exercise increased, hemoglobin A1c levels decreased to <7.5% (P < 0.05).The patients whose caregivers were college-educated or equivalent had a significantly low body mass index (P < 0.05). Patients who lived with their partners showed a significant correlation with lower hemoglobin A1c levels (<7.5%; P = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

In order to improve diabetic conditions in the elderly and to overcome obstacles to disease management, maximizing the cooperative efforts between the patients and their caregivers is necessary.

Experiences of cancer patients in Poland throughout diagnosis and treatment

Previous studies have failed to explain why the mortality rate of cancer patients is higher in Poland than other countries in the European Union. We aimed to evaluate the health care system in Poland during the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In this multicentre study, 125 cancer patients treated at 15 centres across Poland participated in focus group interviews in 2014. We identified and assessed crucial elements that affect a patients' experience from the early onset of symptoms, through to diagnosis and treatment. We found that the majority of patients were dissatisfied with the length of time taken to diagnose cancer. Throughout diagnosis, treatment and follow-up, patients reported a lack of communication from health care professionals. While dealings with oncologists and medical staff were viewed favourably, patients felt the cancer centres were not well organised. Patients recommended that having one doctor in charge of an individual's treatment and follow-up would improve patient care and well-being. A late cancer diagnosis may be contributing to the high mortality rate observed in Poland. In the future, new policies should be developed to reduce the time to cancer diagnosis, increase communication with health care professionals and improve the organisation of cancer care for patients.

Information in the Biosphere: Biological and Digital Worlds

Evolution has transformed life through key innovations in information storage and replication, including RNA, DNA, multicellularity, and culture and language. We argue that the carbon-based biosphere has generated a cognitive system (humans) capable of creating technology that will result in a comparable evolutionary transition. Digital information has reached a similar magnitude to information in the biosphere. It increases exponentially, exhibits high-fidelity replication, evolves through differential fitness, is expressed through artificial intelligence (AI), and has facility for virtually limitless recombination. Like previous evolutionary transitions, the potential symbiosis between biological and digital information will reach a critical point where these codes could compete via natural selection. Alternatively, this fusion could create a higher-level superorganism employing a low-conflict division of labor in performing informational tasks.

Psychosocial Outcomes of Sharing a Diagnosis of Cancer with a Pediatric Patient

PURPOSE

This innovative pilot study was designed to provide research-based evidence on the variables to consider informing a child of his/her cancer diagnosis, so as to minimize the negative psychosocial effects of the cancer experience on survivors. The hypotheses of the study were that "good information" about cancer, will allow the child a better understanding way to cope with treatment and improve sociopsychological outcomes at adulthood.

METHODS

Ninety-one adult childhood cancer (CC) survivors got the questionnaires while waiting to their routine checkup at a grate CC medical center in center Israel.

RESULTS

To our surprise and not according to the hypothesis, there was a difference between children diagnosed up to 12 years of age and those diagnosed during adolescence. (Participants were divided into two groups according to their age at diagnosis: from birth to 12 years old and from age 12-18). In the group diagnosed at a younger age, those who had received "good information" were found to have better quality of life, lower mental pain, and higher mental pain tolerance than did those in the same group (diagnosed at a younger age) who received "not good information." By contrast, in the group diagnosed during adolescence, those who had received "not good information" scored higher on these measures than did their counterparts who had received "good information."

CONCLUSION

Given that information conveyed to children diagnosed with cancer can have a significant impact on survivors' quality of life, further research is needed to determine the precise information to be divulged to children at the time of diagnosis. In the meantime, extreme caution, sensitivity, and careful judgment are required.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Findings of the current study and of future studies can be used to formulate clear guidelines for assessing a child's readiness and the information to be divulged, so as to improve the quality of life of CC survivors.

[The questions of improving the information-analytical component in the reform of the health care system in Ukraine]

INTRODUCTION

A priority task of the development strategy of the Ukrainian health care system is the saving and improving of public health. With the development of new economic relations, health care restructuring, the introduction of new financing mechanisms to policy-makers have an important task of the organization of operational management on the basis of timely quality information. According to many authors, the ability to improve the quality of the received information is possible due to the intercalation of information technologies. The main aim of our study is to determine the main directions of modernization of information-analytical component during the health care reform.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The medical institutions reporting forms (f.20, f.12, f.17, f.47) were analyzed to achieve the goal, were conducted a survey of primary care physicians. The survey was attended by 265 family doctors, 80 of whom are family doctors of family medicine clinic of the regional center, 185 - medical centers of primary health care district centers.

RESULTS

The analysis of the sociological research indicates that the work of the family doctor is accompanied by filling a large number of records, so according to the survey, an average of doctors per day filled about 15.74 +2.2 registration forms, on average per month 333,7+ 30 a month. The necessity of reform of the information-analytical component of the health care system have noted by 94% 1.4. Do not have a automated workstation 34.5% + 5.3 physicians of the regional center and 68% + 3.4 countryside. Possession of the computer at user level observed by 92% + 1.6, which is a good basis for the introduction of information in healthcare system.

CONCLUSIONS

The data of the sociological survey confirm the necession of structural-functional procuring of the system of information-analytical supporting of the healthcare system of Ukraine. Annual health statistics reports are still relevant, but they need to improve and adapt to the new conditions of functioning of healthcare system and should be subject to automated processing of data at all levels.

Analysis of the Publication Rate of the Abstracts Presented at a National Gastroenterology Meeting after 6 Years

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Abstract presentations at scientific meetings provide an opportunity to communicate the results of important research. Unfortunately, many abstracts are not published as full manuscripts. At the 73rd scientific meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in 2008, we evaluated factors associated with the publication of abstracts as manuscripts up to 6.5 years after presentation.

METHODS

All abstracts, excluding case reports, presented at the meeting were evaluated. We systematically searched for matching manuscripts indexed in PubMed or EMBASE up to May 2015. We used logistic regression models to determine factors associated with manuscript publication and calculated ORs and 95% CIs.

RESULTS

Of the included 791 abstracts, 249 (31.5%) were published as manuscripts within 6.5 years. Oral presentation (OR 2.11; 95% CI 1.15-3.87), multicenter studies (OR 2.67; 95% CI 1.44-4.95), abstracts by University-based authors (OR 1.80; 95% CI 1.20-2.72), and funded research (OR 2.15; 95% CI 1.43-3.23) were more likely to be published. Winning an award at the meeting was not associated with manuscript publication (OR 1.09; 95% CI 0.57-2.06).

CONCLUSIONS

There is an urgent need to enhance the methods of disseminating scientific knowledge through publication of abstracts presented at gastroenterology meetings as manuscripts. Mentors should endeavor to encourage their mentees to complete this final stage of their scholarly activities.

Can Optogenetic Tools Determine the Importance of Temporal Codes to Sensory Information Processing in the Brain?

There is no doubt that optogenetic tools caused a paradigm shift in many fields of neuroscience. These tools enable rapid and reversible intervention with a specific neuronal circuit and then the impact on the remaining circuit and/or behavior can be studied. However, so far the ability of these optogenetic tools to interfere with neuronal signal transmission in the time scale of milliseconds has been used much less frequently although they may help to answer a fundamental question of neuroscience: how important temporal codes are to information processing in the brain. This perspective paper examines why optogenetic tools were used so little to perturb or imitate temporal codes. Although some technical limitations do exist, there is a clear need for a systems approach. More research about action potential pattern formation by interactions between several brain areas is necessary in order to exploit the full potential of optogenetic methods in probing temporal codes.

[Request for an abortion, the role of frontline professionals]

The reception given by professionals to a woman requesting an elective abortion is key. The initial exchange of information is usually by telephone. Time is limited, hence the requirement for caregivers to demonstrate their availability and professionalism in organising personalised care.

Informed consent: A study of patients with life-threatening illnesses

BACKGROUND

The relationship between healthcare professionals and patients in the Spanish health sector has undergone dramatic change. One aspect of this is that the use of informed consent has become a key factor in the delivery of adequate healthcare. But although a certain period of time has already passed since informed consent started to be used, in Spain there is still doubt about how adequately informed consent is being used.

OBJECTIVES

(a) To look at how patients understand the notion and purpose of informed consent, and (b) how the informed consent is applied - the way patients receive such information affects their level of participation and decision making during the time they receive medical care.

METHODOLOGY

We use interpretative description of interviews with patients. We developed guiding questions for the interviews with patients in two preliminary and exploratory focus groups. Then, we carried out 20 personal open-ended interviews with 20 purposive selected patients with illnesses that had a serious impact on their lives. Ethical considerations: Permission from ethical committees and institutions involved in the study, and consent and confidentiality were ensured before conducting the research.

RESULTS

The findings show that while patients agreed that their consent should be necessary for health professionals to be able to intervene, they had serious difficulty obtaining and then understanding information offered to them at the moment when they were being asked to sign informed consent documents. The participants were critical of the consent documents, which they considered were treated as merely a formality and even some of them had felt coerced to sign.

DISCUSSION

Participants confirmed that the informed consent documents that they signed did not meet their ethical objectives. Their perception of the purpose of consent indicates that informed consent document may still be largely understood as a formality rather an ethical obligation.

Bad News: Analysis of the Quality of Information on Influenza Prevention Returned by Google in English and Italian

Information available to the public influences the approach of the population toward vaccination against influenza compared with other preventative approaches. In this study, we have analyzed the first 200 websites returned by searching Google on two topics (prevention of influenza and influenza vaccine), in English and Italian. For all the four searches above, websites were classified according to their typology (government, commercial, professional, portals, etc.) and for their trustworthiness as defined by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) score, which assesses whether they provide some basic elements of information quality (IQ): authorship, currency, disclosure, and references. The type of information described was also assessed to add another dimension of IQ. Websites on influenza prevention were classified according to the type of preventative approach mentioned (vaccine, lifestyle, hygiene, complementary medicine, etc.), whether the approaches were in agreement with evidence-based medicine (EBM) or not. Websites on influenza vaccination were classified as pro- or anti-vaccine, or neutral. The great majority of websites described EBM approaches to influenza prevention and had a pro-vaccine orientation. Government websites mainly pointed at EBM preventative approaches and had a pro-vaccine orientation, while there was a higher proportion of commercial websites among those which promote non-EBM approaches. Although the JAMA score was lower in commercial websites, it did not correlate with the preventative approaches suggested or the orientation toward vaccines. For each of the four search engine result pages (SERP), only one website displayed the health-of-the-net (HON) seal. In the SERP on vaccines, journalistic websites were the most abundant category and ranked higher than average in both languages. Analysis using natural language processing showed that journalistic websites were mostly reporting news about two specific topics (different in the two languages). While the ranking by Google favors EBM approaches and, in English, does not promote commercial websites, in both languages it gives a great advantage to news. Thus, the type of news published during the influenza season probably has a key importance in orienting the public opinion due to its high visibility. This raises important questions on the relationships between health IQ, trustworthiness, and newsworthiness.

Assessing the Acceptability and Usability of an Internet-Based Intelligent Health Assistant Developed for Use among Turkish Migrants: Results of a Study Conducted in Bremen, Germany

The Internet offers a new chance for health professionals to reach population groups not usually reached through traditional information channels, for example, migrants. Criticism has, however, been raised that most health information on the Internet is not easy to read and lacks cultural sensitivity. We developed an Internet-based bilingual health assistant especially for Turkish migrants in Germany, tested its acceptance, and evaluated its usability in a participatory research design with families with and without Turkish migrant background. The interactive health assistant covered the following: nutrition, physical activity, overweight, diabetes, as well as pregnancy and pregnancy support. The idea of an Internet-based health assistant was generally accepted by all participants of the evaluation study, as long as it would be incorporated in existing appliances, such as smartphones. The bilingual nature of the assistant was welcomed especially by first generation migrants, but migrant participants also indicated that not all health information needed to be made available in a culture-specific way. The participants were least satisfied with the nutrition component, which they felt should include recipes and ingredients from the culture of origin, as well as specific aspects of food preparation.

Awareness of Cytomegalovirus Infection among Pregnant Women in Geneva, Switzerland: A Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most frequent cause of congenital infection and commonly associated with sensorineural deficit. At present, there is neither prophylaxis nor treatment during pregnancy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the level of awareness regarding CMV infection and its consequences in women delivering at the University of Geneva Hospitals (Geneva, Switzerland).

METHODS

The study consisted of a validated questionnaire completed by women in the immediate postpartum period.

RESULTS

The questionnaire was completed by 59% (314/528) of delivering women. Only 39% (123/314) knew about CMV and 19.7% (62/314) had received information about preventive measures. Women were more aware about other congenital diseases, such as toxoplasmosis (87%); human immunodeficiency virus (99%); syphilis (85.5%); rubella (92.3%); and group B Streptococcus (63%). Factors associated with CMV awareness were Swiss nationality, high education level, employment in health care or with children, and being followed by an obstetrician. Regarding quality of information, few were aware of the main CMV complications (deafness, 25.2%; mental retardation, 34.5%). Among those informed about CMV, most (74.6%) knew about preventive measures. Among these, 82.5% thought that these were easily applicable.

CONCLUSIONS

Most women were unaware of CMV infection and its potential risks during pregnancy. It is crucial to improve CMV information given to pregnant women to prevent the risks for the fetus/newborn.

Self-organized flexible leadership promotes collective intelligence in human groups

Collective intelligence refers to the ability of groups to outperform individual decision-makers. At present, relatively little is known about the mechanisms promoting collective intelligence in natural systems. We here test a novel mechanism generating collective intelligence: self-organization according to information quality. We tested this mechanism by performing simulated predator detection experiments using human groups. By continuously tracking the personal information of all members prior to collective decisions, we found that individuals adjusted their response time during collective decisions to the accuracy of their personal information. When individuals possessed accurate personal information, they decided quickly during collective decisions providing accurate information to the other group members. By contrast, when individuals had inaccurate personal information, they waited longer, allowing them to use social information before making a decision. Individuals deciding late during collective decisions had an increased probability of changing their decision leading to increased collective accuracy. Our results thus show that groups can self-organize according to the information accuracy of their members, thereby promoting collective intelligence. Interestingly, we find that individuals flexibly acted both as leader and as follower depending on the quality of their personal information at any particular point in time.

Enhanced Memory for both Threat and Neutral Information Under Conditions of Intergroup Threat

Few studies have examined the effect of intergroup threat on cognitive outcomes such as memory. Different theoretical perspectives can inform how intergroup threat should affect memory for threat-relevant and neutral information, such as the mood-congruency approach, Yerkes–Dodson law, Easterbrook’s theory, and also evolutionary perspectives. To test among these, we conducted two experiments to examine how exposure to intergroup threats affected memory compared to control conditions. In study 1, we manipulated symbolic threat and examined participants’ memory for threat and neutral words. In study 2, memory performance was assessed following the induction of realistic threat. Across the studies, in the control condition participants showed better memory for threat-related than neutral information. However, participants under threat remembered neutral information as well as threat-related information. In addition, participants in the threat condition remembered threat-related information as well as participants in the control condition. The findings are discussed in terms of automatic vigilance processes but also the effects of threat on arousal and its effect on information processing. This latter perspective, suggests paradoxically, that under some circumstances involving an outgroup threat, non-threatening information about outgroups can be extensively processed.

Philosophy of the Spike: Rate-Based vs. Spike-Based Theories of the Brain

Does the brain use a firing rate code or a spike timing code? Considering this controversial question from an epistemological perspective, I argue that progress has been hampered by its problematic phrasing. It takes the perspective of an external observer looking at whether those two observables vary with stimuli, and thereby misses the relevant question: which one has a causal role in neural activity? When rephrased in a more meaningful way, the rate-based view appears as an ad hoc methodological postulate, one that is practical but with virtually no empirical or theoretical support.

The ethical issues regarding consent to clinical trials with pre-term or sick neonates: a systematic review (framework synthesis) of the empirical research

BACKGROUND

Conducting clinical trials with pre-term or sick infants is important if care for this population is to be underpinned by sound evidence. Yet approaching parents at this difficult time raises challenges for the obtaining of valid informed consent to such research. This study asked: what light does the empirical literature cast on an ethically defensible approach to the obtaining of informed consent in perinatal clinical trials?

METHODS

A systematic search identified 49 studies. Analysis began by applying philosophical frameworks which were then refined in light of the concepts emerging from empirical studies to present a coherent picture of a broad literature.

RESULTS

Between them, studies addressed the attitudes of both parents and clinicians concerning consent in neonatal trials; the validity of the consent process in the neonatal research context; and different possible methods of obtaining consent.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite a variety of opinions among parents and clinicians there is a strongly and widely held view that it is important that parents do give or decline consent for neonatal participation in trials. However, none of the range of existing consent processes reviewed by the research is satisfactory. A significant gap is evaluation of the widespread practice of emergency 'assent', in which parents assent or refuse their baby's participation as best they can during the emergency and later give full consent to ongoing participation and follow-up. Emergency assent has not been evaluated for its acceptability, how such a process would deal with bad outcomes such as neonatal death between assent and consent, or the extent to which late parental refusal might bias results. This review of a large number of empirical papers, while not making fundamental changes, has refined and developed the conceptual framework from philosophy for examining informed consent in this context.

[Palliative care at home, transferring information to emergency medical teams]

Many people wish to die at home. However, the end-of-life period can be marked by the occurrence of numerous symptoms causing situations of crisis. Emergency medical teams are therefore frequently called upon. In order to be able to make the right decisions in a short space of time, they must have quick access to all the relevant information.

Help Received for Perceived Needs Related to Mental Health in a Montreal (Canada) Epidemiological Catchment Area

This study sought to identify variables associated with help received in terms of information, medication, counselling and total help received (including other needs) among 571 individuals needing health care services for mental health problems. Study participants were randomly selected from an epidemiological survey. Data on help received were collected using the Canadian version of the Perceived Need for Care Questionnaire (PNCQ), and were analyzed using a multinomial logistic regression model. Most help received was in the form of counselling, followed by medication and information. Compared with individuals who received no help, those who reported receiving help for all their needs were more likely to have psychological distress, to be non-verbally aggressive, to consult more healthcare professionals, to be men and to be somewhat older. Compared with individuals who received no help, those who received partial help were more likely to be not addicted to drugs or alcohol, to consult more healthcare professionals, and to be older. Healthcare services should prioritize strategies (e.g., early detection, outreach, public education on mental and addiction disorders) that address barriers to help seeking among youth, as well as individuals addicted to drugs and alcohol or those presenting with aggressive behavior.

Statistician, heal thyself: fighting statophobia at the source

Notwithstanding the popularity of psychology courses throughout the world, educators face a constant and difficult problem of overcoming the fear of and dislike for statistics which represents one of the pillars of modern psychological science. Although the issue is complex and multifaceted, here I argue that "statophobia" might represent a rational and justified response to the sense of unease felt in contact with abstract statistical concepts which are often vague, circular or ill-defined. I illustrate the problem by briefly discussing two myths about the nature of probability and statistics, namely that probability and statistics generate knowledge and that the fault for not understanding probability lies solely with the subjective cognition which is incapable of comprehending deeper mathematical truth. I argue that the confident presentation of statistical methods hides numerous conceptual blind spots that students might be aware of and that need to be addressed before other causes of statistics anxiety can be tackled successfully.

Contrast and response gain control depend on cortical map architecture

Visual cortical neurons are sensitive to visual stimulus contrast and most cells adapt their sensitivity to the prevailing visual environment. Specifically, they match the steepest region of their contrast response function to the prevailing contrast (contrast gain control), and reduce spike rates to limit saturation (response gain control). Most neurons are also tuned for stimulus orientation, and neurons with similar orientation preference are clustered together into iso-orientation zones arranged around pinwheels, i.e. points where all orientations are represented. Here we investigated the relationship between the contrast adaptation properties of neurons and their location relative to pinwheels in the orientation preference map. We measured orientation preference maps in cat cortex using optical intrinsic signal imaging. We then characterized the contrast adaptation properties of single neurons located close to pinwheels, in iso-orientation zones, and at regions in between. We found little evidence of differential contrast sensitivity of neurons adapted to zero contrast. However, after adaptation to their preferred orientation at high contrast, changes in both contrast and response gain were greater for neurons near pinwheels compared with other map regions. Therefore, in the adapted state, which is probably typical during natural viewing, there is a spatial map of contrast sensitivity that is associated with the orientation preference map. This differential adaptation revealed a new dimension of cortical functional organization, linking the contrast adaptation of cells with the orientation preference of their nearest neighbours.

Quality of online information to support patient decision-making in breast cancer surgery

BACKGROUND

Breast cancer patients commonly use the internet as an information resource. Our objective was to evaluate the quality of online information available to support patients facing a decision for breast surgery.

METHODS

Breast cancer surgery-related queries were performed (Google and Bing), and reviewed for content pertinent to breast cancer surgery. The DISCERN instrument was used to evaluate websites' structural components that influence publication reliability and ability of information to support treatment decision-making. Scores of 4/5 were considered "good."

RESULTS

45 unique websites were identified. Websites satisfied a median 5/9 content questions. Commonly omitted topics included: having a choice between breast conservation and mastectomy (67%) and potential for 2nd surgery to obtain negative margins after breast conservation (60%). Websites had a median DISCERN score of 2.9 (range 2.0-4.5). Websites achieved higher scores on structural criteria (median 3.6 [2.1-4.7]), with 24% rated as "good." Scores on supporting decision-making questions were lower (2.6 [1.3-4.4]), with only 7% scoring "good."

CONCLUSION

Although numerous breast cancer-related websites exist, most do a poor job providing women with essential information necessary to actively participate in decision-making for breast cancer surgery. Providing easily- accessible, high-quality online information has the potential to significantly improve patients' experiences with decision-making.

Healthy Aging Promotion through Neuroscientific Information-Based Strategies

To ensure the well-being of a rapidly growing elderly population, it is fundamental to find strategies to foster healthy brain aging. With this intention, we designed a program of scientific-based lectures aimed at dissemination by established neuroscientists about brain function, brain plasticity and how lifestyle influences the brain. We also carried out a pilot study on the impact of the lectures on attendees. The objective was to provide information to elderly people in order to encourage them to identify unhealthy and healthy daily habits, and more importantly, to promote behavioral changes towards healthy brain aging. Here we report on our experience. In order to determine the impact of the lectures in the daily routine of the attendees, we asked them to fill out questionnaires. Preliminary results indicate that neuroscientific information-based strategies can be a useful method to have a positive impact on the lives of elderly, increase their awareness on how to improve brain function and promote positive lifestyle modifications. Furthermore, based on self-reported data, we also found that through this strategy it is possible to promote behavioral changes related to nutrition, sleep, and realization of physical and cognitively stimulating activities. Finally, based on the results obtained, the importance of promoting self-efficacy and the empowerment of the older populations is highlighted.