A within-participants experiment was conducted in two countries (the UK and Colombia) in order to investigate the matching of shapes to taste words. Comparing the two countries allowed us to explore some of the cultural differences that have been reported thus far solely in terms of people's visual preferences. In particular, we addressed the question of whether properties other than angularity influence shape-valence and shape-taste matching (crossmodal correspondences). The participants in the present study repeatedly matched eight shapes, varying in terms of their angularity, symmetry, and number of elements to one of two words-pleasant or unpleasant and sweet or sour. Participants' choices, as well as the latency of their responses, and their hand movements, were evaluated. The participants were more likely to judge those shapes that were rounder, symmetrical, and those shapes that had fewer elements as both pleasant and sweet. Those shapes that were more angular, asymmetrical, and that had a greater number of elements, were more likely to be judged as both unpleasant and sour instead. The evidence presented here therefore suggests that aside from angularity and roundness, both symmetry/asymmetry and the number of elements present in a shape also influence valence and taste categorizations.
Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) imposes a significant burden on the global community due to its high case fatality rate (4-20%) and the risk of long-term sequelae for one in five survivors. An expert group meeting was held to discuss the epidemiology of IMD and immunization policies in Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Most of these countries do not include meningococcal immunization in their routine vaccination programs, except for high-risk groups such as immunocompromised people and pilgrims. It is difficult to estimate the epidemiology of IMD in the highly diverse Asia-Pacific region, but available evidence indicate serogroup B is increasingly dominant. Disease surveillance systems differ by country. IMD is not a notifiable disease in some of them. Without an adequate surveillance system in the region, the risk and the burden of IMD might well be underestimated. With the availability of new combined meningococcal vaccines and the World Health Organization roadmap to defeat bacterial meningitis by 2030, a better understanding of the epidemiology of IMD in the Asia-Pacific region is needed.
The degree of surveillance data and control strategies for invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) varies across the Asia-Pacific region. IMD cases are often reported throughout the region, but the disease is not notifiable in some countries, including Myanmar, Bangladesh and Malaysia. Although there remains a paucity of data from many countries, specific nations have introduced additional surveillance measures. The incidence of IMD is low and similar across the represented countries (<0.2 cases per 100,000 persons per year), with the predominant serogroups of Neisseria meningitidis being B, W and Y, although serogroups A and X are present in some areas. Resistance to ciprofloxacin is also of concern, with the close monitoring of antibiotic-resistant clonal complexes (e.g., cc4821) being a priority. Meningococcal vaccination is only included in a few National Immunization Programs, but is recommended for high-risk groups, including travellers (such as pilgrims) and people with complement deficiencies or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Both polysaccharide and conjugate vaccines form part of recommendations. However, cost and misconceptions remain limiting factors in vaccine uptake, despite conjugate vaccines preventing the acquisition of carriage.