Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 445 in total

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  1. Manoharan A, Harris MM, Chin BH, Ming KW, Asmuee Z, Salamon N, et al.
    BMC Prim Care, 2024 Mar 22;25(1):95.
    PMID: 38519908 DOI: 10.1186/s12875-024-02342-3
    BACKGROUND: Inquiring conservative Asian women about their menopausal symptoms is often challenging in crowded primary healthcare clinics. Furthermore, the subject matter is culturally sensitive to most Malaysian women. Hence, the translation of MQ6 into Malay is crucial to enable self-administration, eliminating the necessity for interviewers and mitigating potential respondent shyness.

    METHODS: The Menopause Quick 6 (MQ6) questionnaire was translated into the Malay language with an addition of an item, henceforth termed MQ6 (M). Forward and backward translation was performed. Face and content validity were conducted. MQ6 (M) was self-administered to 400 women aged between 40 and 60 attending six primary healthcare clinics in Malaysia. To ascertain the reliability for MQ6 (M), corrected Item-Total Correlation, Squared Multiple Correlation, Cronbach's Alpha if the Item is Deleted, and Kuder-Richardson Reliability Coefficients (KR20). Exploratory factor analysis was done to determine its' construct validity.

    RESULTS: The outcome of the validation was satisfactory. By the Lawshe method, the content validity ratios ranged from 0.6 to 1.0 and the content validity index was 0.914. The Internal consistency for MQ6(M) Cronbach's alpha was 0.711 while Kuder-Richardson Reliability Coefficients KR20 was 0.676. Factor loading of all four items is above 0.70, indicating a well-defined structure. Whereas factor loading for three items fell within the range of 0.50-0.69 indicating a practically significant threshold for a new questionnaire.

    CONCLUSION: MQ6 (M) has acceptable reliability and construct validity to be considered as a self-administered screening tool in primary care clinics in Malaysia.

    Matched MeSH terms: Language*
  2. Ghazi FR, Gan WY, Tung SEH, Chen IH, Poon WC, Siaw YL, et al.
    Eval Health Prof, 2024 Mar;47(1):93-104.
    PMID: 37365830 DOI: 10.1177/01632787231185845
    As research on gaming disorder (GD) is growing globally, the need for a valid and reliable instrument to assess GD has become crucial. Therefore, the present cross-sectional study translated and evaluated the psychometric properties of Gaming Disorder Test (GDT) and Gaming Disorder Scale for Young Adults (GADIS-YA) into Malay language versions. The sample comprised 624 university students (females = 75.6%; mean age = 22.27 years) recruited via an online survey from May to August 2022, using a convenience sampling method. Participants completed both GDT and GADIS-YA scales and other relevant measures including Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS9-SF), and time spent on social media and gaming. Results showed that both instruments reported satisfactory internal consistency, and confirmatory factor analysis supported the one-factor structure for GDT and two-factor structure for GADIS-YA. Both scales were strongly correlated with each other and with the IGDS9-SF, BSMAS, and time spent on social media and gaming, supporting concurrent validity. Measurement invariance of both scales was confirmed across gender and gaming time. These findings suggest that the Malay versions of GDT and GADIS-YA are reliable and valid measures of problematic gaming among Malaysian university students.
    Matched MeSH terms: Language
  3. Modi S, Kasmiran KA, Mohd Sharef N, Sharum MY
    J Biomed Inform, 2024 Mar;151:104603.
    PMID: 38331081 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbi.2024.104603
    BACKGROUND: An adverse drug event (ADE) is any unfavorable effect that occurs due to the use of a drug. Extracting ADEs from unstructured clinical notes is essential to biomedical text extraction research because it helps with pharmacovigilance and patient medication studies.

    OBJECTIVE: From the considerable amount of clinical narrative text, natural language processing (NLP) researchers have developed methods for extracting ADEs and their related attributes. This work presents a systematic review of current methods.

    METHODOLOGY: Two biomedical databases have been searched from June 2022 until December 2023 for relevant publications regarding this review, namely the databases PubMed and Medline. Similarly, we searched the multi-disciplinary databases IEEE Xplore, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and the ACL Anthology. We adopted the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 statement guidelines and recommendations for reporting systematic reviews in conducting this review. Initially, we obtained 5,537 articles from the search results from the various databases between 2015 and 2023. Based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria for article selection, 100 publications have undergone full-text review, of which we consider 82 for our analysis.

    RESULTS: We determined the general pattern for extracting ADEs from clinical notes, with named entity recognition (NER) and relation extraction (RE) being the dual tasks considered. Researchers that tackled both NER and RE simultaneously have approached ADE extraction as a "pipeline extraction" problem (n = 22), as a "joint task extraction" problem (n = 7), and as a "multi-task learning" problem (n = 6), while others have tackled only NER (n = 27) or RE (n = 20). We further grouped the reviews based on the approaches for data extraction, namely rule-based (n = 8), machine learning (n = 11), deep learning (n = 32), comparison of two or more approaches (n = 11), hybrid (n = 12) and large language models (n = 8). The most used datasets are MADE 1.0, TAC 2017 and n2c2 2018.

    CONCLUSION: Extracting ADEs is crucial, especially for pharmacovigilance studies and patient medications. This survey showcases advances in ADE extraction research, approaches, datasets, and state-of-the-art performance in them. Challenges and future research directions are highlighted. We hope this review will guide researchers in gaining background knowledge and developing more innovative ways to address the challenges.

    Matched MeSH terms: Natural Language Processing
  4. Chieng ACJ, Wynn CJ, Wong TP, Barrett TS, Borrie SA
    Cogn Sci, 2024 Mar;48(3):e13417.
    PMID: 38478742 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13417
    Lexical alignment, a communication phenomenon where conversational partners adapt their word choices to become more similar, plays an important role in the development of language and social communication skills. While this has been studied extensively in the conversations of preschool-aged children and their parents in Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) communities, research in other pediatric populations is sparse. This study makes significant expansions on the existing literature by focusing on alignment in naturalistic conversations of school-aged children from a non-WEIRD population across multiple conversational tasks and with different types of adult partners. Typically developing children aged 5 to 8 years (n = 45) engaged in four semi-structured conversations that differed by task (problem-solving vs. play-based) and by partner (parent vs. university student), resulting in a corpus of 180 conversations. Lexical alignment scores were calculated and compared to sham conversations, representing alignment occurring at the level of chance. Both children and adults coordinated their conversational utterances by re-using or aligning each other's word choices. This alignment behavior persisted across conversational tasks and partners, although the degree of alignment was moderated by the conversational context. These findings suggest that lexical alignment is a robust phenomenon in conversations between school-age children and adults. Furthermore, this study extends lexical alignment findings to a non-WEIRD culture, suggesting that alignment may be a coordination strategy employed by adults and children across diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
    Matched MeSH terms: Child Language; Language
  5. Tao Y, Yu J
    BMC Psychol, 2024 Feb 16;12(1):80.
    PMID: 38365708 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-024-01572-5
    BACKGROUND: The study explores language acquisition in Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education, where English proficiency is crucial for global opportunities. As China gains prominence, the demand for English skills rises beyond communication to include academic and business success. The Chinese education system emphasizes proficient English writing for further education and professional achievement. This research investigates the complex linguistic context for EFL learners in China, analyzing the intersection of psychological factors, cultural nuances, varied pedagogy, and individual experiences.

    METHODS: Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is utilized for analysis, enabling the creation of a metric set to explore intangibles such as perfectionism, learning self-efficacy, motivation, study habits, cultural influences, and introspection. The research utilizes a diverse sample from multiple universities across different regions of China, incorporating demographic factors to encompass the varied characteristics within the EFL learner community.

    RESULTS: Results reveal that perfectionism (β = 0.30, p 

    Matched MeSH terms: Language
  6. Zhao Z
    J Psycholinguist Res, 2024 Feb 14;53(1):13.
    PMID: 38353779 DOI: 10.1007/s10936-024-10058-9
    Amidst the contemporary diasporic landscape in Sinophone literature, this research critically examines the nexus of language, culture, and identity. The study aims to analyze literary pieces composed in Sinophone languages across diverse diasporic communities and uncover the impact of language and cultural elements on the articulation and comprehension of diasporic identity. This paper used the following. comparative and typological research, an in-depth analysis of three Sinophonic texts, and contextual analysis. The subject of the study was three texts: The Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan), Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (Dai Sijie), and The Woman Warrior (Maxine Hong Kingston). The results showed that In The Joy Luck Club, language and cultural facets unveil the characters' dual identity struggles due to living abroad, exemplified through code-switching's psychological tension. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress utilizes language and cultural details to underscore the significance of preserving heritage within the diaspora, with literary allusions amplifying this endeavor. In The Woman Warrior, language and cultural elements reflect the heroine's inner conflict as she navigates her dual cultural allegiance. This scholarly revelation deepens comprehension of how these aspects influence identity formation in the diaspora. These findings broaden the understanding of Sinophone diasporic literature, spotlighting shared trends in identity portrayal through language and culture. The research has theoretical value for literary, cultural, and anthropological studies and practical significance, potentially informing educational initiatives on diasporic literature and cultural diversity. This study's outcomes hold relevance for students, researchers, and cultural scholars exploring the role of language and culture in diasporic identity expression.
    Matched MeSH terms: Language*
  7. Kowal M, Sorokowski P, Dinić BM, Pisanski K, Gjoneska B, Frederick DA, et al.
    Arch Sex Behav, 2024 Feb;53(2):839-857.
    PMID: 37884798 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-023-02702-7
    Love is a phenomenon that occurs across the world and affects many aspects of human life, including the choice of, and process of bonding with, a romantic partner. Thus, developing a reliable and valid measure of love experiences is crucial. One of the most popular tools to quantify love is Sternberg's 45-item Triangular Love Scale (TLS-45), which measures three love components: intimacy, passion, and commitment. However, our literature review reveals that most studies (64%) use a broad variety of shortened versions of the TLS-45. Here, aiming to achieve scientific consensus and improve the reliability, comparability, and generalizability of results across studies, we developed a short version of the scale-the TLS-15-comprised of 15 items with 5-point, rather than 9-point, response scales. In Study 1 (N = 7,332), we re-analyzed secondary data from a large-scale multinational study that validated the original TLS-45 to establish whether the scale could be truncated. In Study 2 (N = 307), we provided evidence for the three-factor structure of the TLS-15 and its reliability. Study 3 (N = 413) confirmed convergent validity and test-retest stability of the TLS-15. Study 4 (N = 60,311) presented a large-scale validation across 37 linguistic versions of the TLS-15 on a cross-cultural sample spanning every continent of the globe. The overall results provide support for the reliability, validity, and cross-cultural invariance of the TLS-15, which can be used as a measure of love components-either separately or jointly as a three-factor measure.
    Matched MeSH terms: Language
  8. Song W, Mansor NS, Shari NI, Zhang R, Abdullah MFILB
    BMC Public Health, 2024 Jan 13;24(1):173.
    PMID: 38218795 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-17060-1
    OBJECTIVE: The Illness Cognition Questionnaire (ICQ) was translated from its original English version to the Malay version for this research, adapted the Malay language version of the ICQ (ICQ-M) for use in cancer patients, and assessed the internal consistency, content, face, construct, convergent, discriminant and concurrent validity of the ICQ-M among a cohort of cancer patients with mixed cancer types in Malaysia.

    METHOD: Initially, the ICQ was translated into Malay and back-translated, and its content and face validity were evaluated. Then, 346 cancer patients with various cancer types received the ICQ-M, and its internal consistency, convergent, discriminant, construct, and concurrent validity were evaluated.

    RESULTS: The ICQ-M and its domains had acceptable internal consistency with Cronbach's α ranging from 0.742 to 0.927. Construct validity assessment demonstrated that the ICQ-M consists of 17 items designated in two domains with good convergent and discriminant validity. The ICQ-M and its domains also had moderate correlations with the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II, which denotes that the ICQ-M had acceptable concurrent validity.

    CONCLUSION: The ICQ-M had good psychometric properties and is now available to measure the illness cognition of cancer patients in Malaysia.

    Matched MeSH terms: Language*
  9. Hashim NM, Che Daud AZ, Ibrahim AH, Ab Majid MH, Mohd Ghazali MN, Abdul Razak MM, et al.
    Prosthet Orthot Int, 2024 Jan 01;48(1):89-99.
    PMID: 37639558 DOI: 10.1097/PXR.0000000000000270
    BACKGROUND: An excellent validated and reliable instrument is paramount in holistically evaluating the prosthetic and orthotic (P&O) service, encompassing functional outcomes, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and patient satisfaction with devices and service.

    OBJECTIVE: To perform a translation and cross-cultural adaptation of 3 modules of the Orthotics and Prosthetics Users' Survey (OPUS): (1) lower-extremity functional status (LEFS), (2) client satisfaction with device and services (CSDS), and (3) HRQoL in Malay language, and analyze its psychometric properties.

    STUDY DESIGN: Translation and validation study.

    METHODS: This translation process consisted of 4 phases: (1) a forward-backward translation, (2) content and face validity by utilizing content and face validity indices, (3) pilot testing and psychometric analysis using exploratory factor analysis, and (4) test-retest reliability.

    RESULTS: One item from OPUS Health Quality of Life Index-Malay pilot version, 5 items from OPUS LEFS-Malay pilot version, and 4 items of OPUS Satisfaction with Device and Services-Malay pilot version were deleted because of poor factor loading of <0.6. The final version of Modified OPUS HRQoL-M, Modified OPUS LEFS-M, and Modified OPUS CSDS-M consisted of 22 items, 15 items, and 17 items, respectively. The final versions of all 3 Modified OPUS Malay version possess good internal consistency of 0.854, 0.927, and 0.98, and intraclass correlation of 0.773, 0.871, and 0.821, respectively .

    CONCLUSION: Modified OPUS HRQoL-M, Modified OPUS LEFS-M, and Modified OPUS CSDS-M are valid and reliable instruments to be adopted into the local Malaysia population.

    Matched MeSH terms: Language
  10. He Y, Tom Abdul Wahab NE, Muhamad H, Liu D
    PLoS One, 2024;19(2):e0296910.
    PMID: 38381720 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296910
    BACKGROUND: With the evolution of China's social structure and values, there has been a shift in attitudes towards marriage and fertility, with an increasing number of women holding diverse perspectives on these matters. In order to better comprehend the fundamental reasons behind these attitude changes and to provide a basis for targeted policymaking, this study employs natural language processing techniques to analyze the discourse of Chinese women.

    METHODS: The study focused on analyzing 3,200 comments from Weibo, concentrating on six prominent topics linked to women's marriage and fertility. These topics were treated as research cases. The research employed natural language processing techniques, such as sentiment orientation analysis, Word2Vec, and TextRank.

    RESULTS: Firstly, the overall sentiment orientation of Chinese women toward marriage and fertility was largely pessimistic. Secondly, the factors contributing to this negative sentiment were categorized into four dimensions: social policies and rights protection, concerns related to parenting, values and beliefs associated with marriage and fertility, and family and societal culture.

    CONCLUSION: Based on these outcomes, the study proposed a range of mechanisms and pathways to enhance women's sentiment orientation towards marriage and fertility. These mechanisms encompass safeguarding women and children's rights, promoting parenting education, providing positive guidance on social media, and cultivating a diverse and inclusive social and cultural environment. The objective is to offer precise and comprehensive reference points for the formulation of policies that align more effectively with practical needs.

    Matched MeSH terms: Natural Language Processing*
  11. Mansur Z, Omar N, Tiun S, Alshari EM
    PLoS One, 2024;19(3):e0299652.
    PMID: 38512966 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299652
    As social media booms, abusive online practices such as hate speech have unfortunately increased as well. As letters are often repeated in words used to construct social media messages, these types of words should be eliminated or reduced in number to enhance the efficacy of hate speech detection. Although multiple models have attempted to normalize out-of-vocabulary (OOV) words with repeated letters, they often fail to determine whether the in-vocabulary (IV) replacement words are correct or incorrect. Therefore, this study developed an improved model for normalizing OOV words with repeated letters by replacing them with correct in-vocabulary (IV) replacement words. The improved normalization model is an unsupervised method that does not require the use of a special dictionary or annotated data. It combines rule-based patterns of words with repeated letters and the SymSpell spelling correction algorithm to remove repeated letters within the words by multiple rules regarding the position of repeated letters in a word, be it at the beginning, middle, or end of the word and the repetition pattern. Two hate speech datasets were then used to assess performance. The proposed normalization model was able to decrease the percentage of OOV words to 8%. Its F1 score was also 9% and 13% higher than the models proposed by two extant studies. Therefore, the proposed normalization model performed better than the benchmark studies in replacing OOV words with the correct IV replacement and improved the performance of the detection model. As such, suitable rule-based patterns can be combined with spelling correction to develop a text normalization model to correctly replace words with repeated letters, which would, in turn, improve hate speech detection in texts.
    Matched MeSH terms: Language
  12. Al-Yateem N, Hijazi H, Saifan AR, Ahmad A, Masa'Deh R, Alrimawi I, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2023 Dec 22;13(12):e076326.
    PMID: 38135338 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-076326
    OBJECTIVES: To identify language-related communication barriers that expatriate (non-Arabic) healthcare practitioners in the UAE encounter in their daily practice.

    DESIGN: Qualitative study utilising semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interviews were conducted in English language.

    SETTING: Different healthcare facilities across the UAE. These facilities were accessed for data collection over a period of 3 months from January 2023 to March 2023.

    PARTICIPANTS: 14 purposively selected healthcare practitioners.

    INTERVENTION: No specific intervention was implemented; this study primarily aimed at gaining insights through interviews.

    PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: To understand the implications of language barriers on service quality, patient safety, and healthcare providers' well-being.

    RESULTS: Three main themes emerged from our analysis of participants' narratives: Feeling left alone, Trying to come closer to their patients and Feeling guilty, scared and dissatisfied.

    CONCLUSIONS: Based on the perspectives and experiences of participating healthcare professionals, language barriers have notably influenced the delivery of healthcare services, patient safety and the well-being of both patients and practitioners in the UAE. There is a pressing need, as highlighted by these professionals, for the inclusion of professional interpreters and the provision of training to healthcare providers to enhance effective collaboration with these interpreters.

    Matched MeSH terms: Language*
  13. Rahardi RK, Rahmat W, Kurniawan Y
    J Speech Lang Hear Res, 2023 Dec 11;66(12):5036-5047.
    PMID: 37944102 DOI: 10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00223
    PURPOSE: This study aims to illustrate the diverse modes and implications of pseudo-directive speech acts in Javanese, specifically emphasizing the Jogjakarta area. This field of pragmatics has garnered heightened attention in recent decades. However, it is worth noting that language researchers have not thoroughly examined these pragmatic studies and have not been extensively explored in linguistics.

    METHOD: The primary data source of the study consists of excerpts of verbal expressions within the familial context. The provenance of the locational data can be traced to a familial unit with a cultural legacy deeply embedded in Javanese customs. The data were collected using observation and participation methodologies, employing advanced techniques of recording and note taking. The data were categorized and characterized to identify the various data types and formats. The tabulated results of classification and typification are presented to triangulate theory through expert validation and justification of theories. The method of contextual analysis was utilized to conduct the data analysis that relies on the pragmatic context.

    RESULTS: The study's findings indicate the following: The Javanese language encompasses various modes of pseudo-directive utterances, such as commanding, ordering, suggesting, insinuating, and recommending. In addition, the Javanese language encompasses pseudo-directive pragmatics such as warning, prohibiting, reminding, suggesting, and commanding.

    CONCLUSION: This research will significantly assist in formulating a pragmatic framework that considers cultural factors, as other linguistic phenomena in various regional languages remain unresolved.

    Matched MeSH terms: Language
  14. Hamzah H, Tan CS, Ramlee F, Zulkifli SS
    BMC Psychol, 2023 Nov 13;11(1):392.
    PMID: 37957763 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-023-01435-5
    BACKGROUND: The original Family Resilience Scale (FRS) is a reliable tool to assess family resilience. However, the FRS is based on the United States and parental context. Thus, the usefulness of the FRS for the adolescent and young adult population in Asian countries, particularly Malaysia remains unknown. This study translated the FRS into the Malay language and validated it on Malaysian adolescents and young adults to identify its potential as a self-report tool to assess the resilience level of their family.

    METHODS: A total of 351 participants (Mage = 19.75, SDage = 3.29) were recruited in the study using purposive sampling. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the factorial structure of the Family Resilience Scale-Malay (FRS-Malay) and measurement invariance between adolescents and young adults. Then, the scale's reliability was investigated using Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega coefficients, and composite reliability index. Finally, we examined the discriminant validity of the FRS-Malay by correlating its score with individual resilience score and examined the incremental validity of the scale using hierarchical multiple regression analysis to test if family resilience can explain individual well-being levels beyond and above individual resilience.

    RESULTS: The findings of the confirmatory factor analysis suggest that a single-factor model is supported for both age groups. Furthermore, the scale exhibited scalar invariance between adolescents and young adults. The scale also exhibited good reliability, as the value of Cronbach's alpha, McDonald omega coefficients, and composite reliability index were above 0.80. Additionally, the Pearson correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between the FRS-Malay and individual resilience scores, which supports the discriminant validity of the scale. Similarly, the incremental validity of the scale is also supported. Specifically, family resilience had a positive correlation with well-being, even after controlling for individual resilience in the regression analysis.

    CONCLUSIONS: The FRS-Malay has demonstrated good reliability and validity. The scale measures the same construct of family resilience across adolescents and young adults, making it suitable for comparisons. Therefore, this unidimensional tool is appropriate for self-reporting their perceived level of family resilience. It is also useful for studying the development and fluctuation of family resilience in the Malaysian context.

    Matched MeSH terms: Language
  15. Jiang C, Zhu Y, Luo Y, Tan CS, Mastrotheodoros S, Costa P, et al.
    BMC Psychol, 2023 Oct 18;11(1):345.
    PMID: 37853499 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-023-01293-1
    BACKGROUND: The 10-item Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) is a widely used tool for individuals to self-report their self-esteem; however, the factorial structures of translated versions of the RSES vary across different languages. This study aimed to validate the Chinese version of the RSES in the Chinese mainland using a longitudinal design.

    METHODS: A group of healthcare university students completed the RSES across three waves: baseline, 1-week follow-up, and 15-week follow-up. A total of 481 valid responses were collected through the three-wave data collection process. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on the baseline data to explore the potential factorial structure, while confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed on the follow-up data to determine the best-fit model. Additionally, the cross-sectional and longitudinal measurement invariances were tested to assess the measurement properties of the RSES for different groups, such as gender and age, as well as across different time points. Convergent validity was assessed against the Self-Rated Health Questionnaire (SRHQ) using Spearman's correlation. Internal consistency was examined using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega coefficients, while test-retest reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient.

    RESULTS: The results of EFA revealed that Items 5, 8, and 9 had inadequate or cross-factor loadings, leading to their removal from further analysis. Analysis of the remaining seven items using EFA suggested a two-factor solution. A comparison of several potential models for the 10-item and 7-item RSES using CFA showed a preference for the 7-item form (RSES-7) with two factors. Furthermore, the RSES-7 exhibited strict invariance across different groups and time points, indicating its stability and consistency. The RSES-7 also demonstrated adequate convergent validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability, which further supported its robustness as a measure of self-esteem.

    CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the RSES-7 is a psychometrically sound and brief self-report scale for measuring self-esteem in the Chinese context. More studies are warranted to further verify its usability.

    Matched MeSH terms: Language*
  16. Pathan RK, Biswas M, Yasmin S, Khandaker MU, Salman M, Youssef AAF
    Sci Rep, 2023 Oct 09;13(1):16975.
    PMID: 37813932 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43852-x
    Sign Language Recognition is a breakthrough for communication among deaf-mute society and has been a critical research topic for years. Although some of the previous studies have successfully recognized sign language, it requires many costly instruments including sensors, devices, and high-end processing power. However, such drawbacks can be easily overcome by employing artificial intelligence-based techniques. Since, in this modern era of advanced mobile technology, using a camera to take video or images is much easier, this study demonstrates a cost-effective technique to detect American Sign Language (ASL) using an image dataset. Here, "Finger Spelling, A" dataset has been used, with 24 letters (except j and z as they contain motion). The main reason for using this dataset is that these images have a complex background with different environments and scene colors. Two layers of image processing have been used: in the first layer, images are processed as a whole for training, and in the second layer, the hand landmarks are extracted. A multi-headed convolutional neural network (CNN) model has been proposed and tested with 30% of the dataset to train these two layers. To avoid the overfitting problem, data augmentation and dynamic learning rate reduction have been used. With the proposed model, 98.981% test accuracy has been achieved. It is expected that this study may help to develop an efficient human-machine communication system for a deaf-mute society.
    Matched MeSH terms: Sign Language*
  17. Lee ST, van Heuven WJB, Price JM, Leong CXR
    Behav Res Methods, 2023 Oct;55(7):3585-3601.
    PMID: 36219309 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-022-01977-3
    Translation equivalents are widely used in bilingual research concerning word processing (e.g., Eddington & Tokowicz, 2013; Jouravlev & Jared, 2020) and second-language vocabulary learning (e.g., Bracken et al., 2017; Degani et al., 2014). Although translation norms exist in several languages, to date there are no Malay-English translation norms. This study presents the first Malay-English translation norms collected with highly proficient Malay-English bilinguals. Furthermore, the study investigates the impact of lexical characteristics on translation ambiguity. The forward translation (FT) task (N = 30) collected English translations for 1004 Malay words selected from the Malay Lexicon Project (Yap et al., 2010), and subsequently the backward translation (BT) task (N = 30) gathered Malay translations for 845 English words obtained from the FT phase. The data revealed a high prevalence of translation ambiguity in both translation directions. Specifically, verbs, adjectives, and class-ambiguous words were more translation-ambiguous than nouns. Furthermore, within-language semantic variability and word length were positively correlated with translation ambiguity, whereas word frequency only correlated with translation ambiguity in FT. Word length and word frequency of the source words and their translations were positively correlated. Intriguingly, only in FT were bilinguals with higher Malay proficiency more likely to provide accurate and dominant translations for the Malay words. These findings contrast with those reported in translation norming studies involving other language pairs. The translation norms provide a useful resource for bilingual language studies involving Malay-English bilinguals.
    Matched MeSH terms: Language
  18. AlHasan AJMS
    Surgery, 2023 Sep;174(3):744-746.
    PMID: 37419760 DOI: 10.1016/j.surg.2023.05.042
    Surgical journals use videos for educational and promotional purposes. YouTube is a suitable social media platform for sharing videos of journal content. The Surgery journal experience on YouTube can be used to learn important information on the nature of video content, the measurement of performance, and the benefits and challenges of using YouTube to disseminate journal content. Video content can be created to deliver information and infotainment. The online performance of videos can be measured using various metrics on YouTube Analytics, including content views and engagement metrics. There are several benefits to the use of YouTube videos by surgical journals, including the dissemination of reliable information, language versatility and diversity, open access and portability, increased visibility for authors and journals, and the humanization of the journal interface. However, challenges also need to be overcome, including viewer discretion where graphic content is concerned, copyright protection, limitations of Internet connection bandwidth, algorithmic barriers imposed by YouTube itself, and violations of biomedical ethics.
    Matched MeSH terms: Language
  19. Núñez-Núñez M, Maes-Carballo M, Mignini LE, Chien PFW, Khalaf Y, Fawzy M, et al.
    Int J Gynaecol Obstet, 2023 Sep;162(3):860-876.
    PMID: 37062861 DOI: 10.1002/ijgo.14762
    BACKGROUND: Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are experiencing a crisis of confidence in their trustworthiness. Although a comprehensive literature search yielded several reviews on RCT integrity, an overarching overview is lacking.

    OBJECTIVES: The authors undertook a scoping umbrella review of the research integrity literature concerning RCTs.

    SEARCH STRATEGY AND SELECTION CRITERIA: Following prospective registration (https://osf.io/3ursn), two reviewers independently searched PubMed, Scopus, The Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar, without language or time restrictions, until November 2021. The authors included systematic reviews covering any aspect of research integrity throughout the RCT lifecycle.

    DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: The authors assessed methodological quality using a modified AMSTAR 2 (A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews) tool and collated the main findings.

    MAIN RESULTS: A total of 55 relevant reviews, summarizing 6001 studies (median per review, 63; range, 8-1106) from 1964 to 2021, had an overall critically low quality of 96% (53 reviews). Topics covered included general aspects (15%), design and approval (22%), conduct and monitoring (11%), reporting (38%), postpublication concerns (2%), and future research (13%). The most common integrity issues covered were ethics (18%) and transparency (18%).

    CONCLUSIONS: Low-quality reviews identified various integrity issues across the RCT lifecycle, emphasizing the importance of high ethical standards and professionalism while highlighting gaps in the integrity landscape. Multistakeholder consensus is needed to develop specific RCT integrity standards.

    Matched MeSH terms: Language*
  20. Swami V, Tran US, Stieger S, Aavik T, Ranjbar HA, Adebayo SO, et al.
    Body Image, 2023 Sep;46:449-466.
    PMID: 37582318 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2023.07.010
    The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research.
    Matched MeSH terms: Language
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