A simple machine learning approach for preoperative diagnosis of esophageal burns after caustic substance ingestion in children

PURPOSE

The unresolved debate about the management of corrosive ingestion is a major problem both for the patients and healthcare systems. This study aims to demonstrate the presence and the severity of the esophageal burn after caustic substance ingestion can be predicted with complete blood count parameters.

METHODS

A multicenter, national, retrospective cohort study was performed on all caustic substance cases between 2000 and 2018. The classification learner toolbox of MATLAB version R2021a was used for the classification problem. Machine learning algorithms were used to forecast caustic burn.

RESULTS

Among 1839 patients, 142 patients (7.7%) had burns. The type of the caustic and the PDW (platelet distribution width) values were the most important predictors. In the acid group, the AUC (area under curve) value was 84% while it was 70% in the alkaline group. The external validation had 85.17% accuracy in the acidic group and 91.66% in the alkaline group.

CONCLUSIONS

Artificial intelligence systems have a high potential to be used in the prediction of caustic burns in pediatric age groups.

Active and Passive Facilitation Tendencies at Work Towards Sexy and Professional Women: The Role of Stereotypes and Emotions

Stereotypes have important social consequences, such as promoting female discrimination in the workplace, which depends on how women are categorized. Extending prior work, here we analyze how two important female subgroups, women who are categorized as professional or sexy women, are evaluated on key dimensions of stereotype content (morality, sociability, and competence), positive and negative emotions, and facilitation behavioral tendencies (active and passive). To this end, we adapted a previous scale of facilitation tendencies to the working environment. Furthermore, we aim to explore the mechanism involved in carrying out helping behaviors towards each subgroup of women in the workplace. In order to fulfill these goals, 201 participants (Mage = 28.88, SD = 12.25; 66.2% women) were randomly assigned to evaluate a woman categorized as either sexy or professional on the mentioned variables. Results show that women categorized as sexy are devalued compared to those categorized as professionals. We also found that competence has a driving role in predicting more active facilitation tendencies towards a woman categorized as professional than a woman categorized as sexy via positive emotions. These findings have implications for the career development of women.

Cultural similarity predicts social inclusion of Muslims in Canada: A vignette-based experimental survey

Based on acculturation psychology and intergroup emotions theory, the current experimental study assessed the effects of Muslims’ perceived acculturation strategies by the majority group on social exclusion of Muslims in Canada, and to what extent religious resentment mediated the relationship between Muslims’ perceived acculturation strategies and social exclusion. The experimental study used a vignette-based approach. This model was examined among 190 non-Muslim Canadians. Results showed that when Muslims were viewed as assimilated in Canadian society, social exclusion of Muslims and religious resentment toward Muslims decreased. Furthermore, religious resentment mediated the association between Muslims’ perceived acculturation strategies and social exclusion only when Muslims were perceived as assimilated. Our findings suggest that Canadian majority-group members indicated positive attitude toward Muslims when they were identified as assimilated in Canadian society. Results are discussed in terms of implications for future studies and intergroup relations.

Human, Animal and Automata Attributions: an Investigation of the Multidimensionality of the Ontologization Process

The ontologization process involves the use of social representation relating to the human–animal binary to classify ingroup and outgroup members. To date, no study has investigated the multidimensional nature (i.e. human, animal and automata) of the ontologizing process via structural equation modelling (SEM). Four hundred and twenty-one Italian participants were asked to attribute 24 positive/negative, human/animal/automata associates to each of three target groups: typical Roma/Chinese/Italian. Results showed that the proposed six-factor model (i.e. positive/negative, human/animal/automata essence) was statistically robust for each of the three groups. The Roma group was animalized by attributing more animal negative associates than any other target group, whereas the Chinese group was mainly given a robot positive essence.

Unpacking negative attitudes towards Moroccans: The interactive effect of ethnicity and gender on perceived morality

Research on stereotyping has mainly focused on single social categories such as ethnicity or gender. Extending prior work, here we analyse the effects of the intersection of ethnicity and gender on stereotyping considering the descriptive and prescriptive components of positive and negative stereotype dimensions of morality, sociability and competence. We also examine these interaction effects on the stereotypes-emotions-facilitation behavioural tendencies link. Following a 2 × 2 between-subjects design, Spanish participants evaluated Moroccan immigrant (vs. Spaniard) women (vs. men). We found interaction effects only on descriptive moral character: Moroccan men are perceived as less moral than Spanish men, and less moral and more immoral than Moroccan women. Moreover, (im)morality has a driving role in predicting less facilitation tendencies towards Moroccan men (vs. Moroccan women and Spanish men) via positive emotions. Our findings reveal the primacy of (im)morality in social perception and helping intentions towards targets varying on gender and ethnicity.

The Way We See Others in Intercultural Relations: The Role of Stereotypes in the Acculturation Preferences of Spanish and Moroccan-Origin Adolescents

Although the relationship between stereotypes and acculturation preferences has been previously studied from the majority perspective among adults, the perspective of adolescents and minority groups is understudied. This research analyzed the contribution of four stereotype dimensions (i.e., morality, immorality, sociability, and competence) to the acculturation preferences of Spanish adolescents and adolescents of Moroccan-origin, the moderating role of stereotypes in intergroup acculturation discrepancies, and the interaction of stereotypes with acculturation perceptions on acculturation preferences. A sample of 488 Spanish adolescents and 360 adolescents of Moroccan-origin living in Spain, from 12 to 19 years old, reported how moral, immoral, social, and competent they perceive each other to be. Spanish adolescents reported their perception about how Moroccan youth were acculturating in terms of maintaining their original culture and adopting the host culture, and their acculturation preferences in the same dimensions. Adolescents of Moroccan-origin reported to what extent they were maintaining their original culture and adopting the host culture, their acculturation preferences, and their ethnic and national (Spanish) identity. Results showed that adolescents of Moroccan-origin reported more positive perceptions of Spanish youth than conversely. The perceived immorality of the outgroup was important for understanding the preferences for adopting the host culture of both groups, but in the opposite direction. The four stereotype dimensions modulated the majority-minority discrepancies in preferences for cultural adoption. An analysis of the interaction between stereotypes and perceived adoption on acculturation preferences showed that when Spanish adolescents perceived that Moroccan youth were not adopting the Spanish culture, perceived morality and sociability played a role in their preferences for adoption. The less moral and sociable Moroccans were perceived, the more preference for cultural adoption. These findings support the importance of considering stereotypes in acculturation studies of majority and minority groups, as well as the relevance of including these perceptions in interventions aimed at improving intercultural relations.

“A matter of trust”: Perception of morality increases willingness to help through positive emotions

Moroccans are still the lowest rated immigrants in Spain. This research analyses the relationships between different dimensions of stereotypes (i.e., morality, sociability, and competence), positive emotions, and facilitation behavioural tendencies between Spaniards and Moroccans. Specifically, this work aims to explore whether the three stereotype dimensions play distinct roles in predicting helping behavioural tendencies through emotions, with a focus on the distinctive role of morality. Three studies are presented. In Study 1, Spanish adolescents assessed Moroccan immigrants. Study 2 considered the minority perspective by analysing Moroccans’ stereotypes, emotions, and behavioural tendencies toward Spaniards. Study 3 experimentally tested the effect of the stereotype dimensions on positive emotions and facilitation behavioural tendencies in a sample of Spaniards. The results showed a consistent pattern: perceived morality always indirectly predicted facilitation behavioural tendencies through positive emotions, regardless of the perspective analysed (i.e., majority/minority), age of participants (i.e., adults/adolescents), or design (i.e., correlational/experimental).