bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Appeals: Fear
Authors: Janssen Loes
Published: September 2022

This entry provides a definition of fear appeals in health communication and a chronological overview of the main theoretical models on fear appeal processing. Fear appeals are threatening health communications that aim to convince their audience to eliminate or prevent behaviors that are damaging to their health. Fear appeals typically stress the severity of negative consequences of not following up on message recommendations, as well as the audience's susceptibility to these aversive consequences. By convincing people that the recommended response effectively averts the threat (response efficacy), and that they are able to follow up on these recommendations (self‐efficacy), the audience is expected to engage in danger control, which is an adaptive coping process. However, when efficacy is low, threat appraisal may result in fear control and defensive responding, which interferes with persuasion. Meta‐analyses have tested the robustness of fear appeal effects on attitudes, intentions, and behavior, and conclude that fear appeals are only effective when perceived efficacy is high. This entry concludes with addressing the practical application of fear appeal theory and future research directions.
Medical Marketing
Authors: Zwier Sandra
Published: September 2022

Medical marketing is a long‐lived and multimillion‐dollar industry, but also a much disputed one. Among the presently highly disputed domains is the marketing of medical tests and screenings. A second much debated domain is the marketing of diseases, such as “low T,” to boost the sales of products and services for the treatment of the relevant disease. The marketing of medical treatments is a third domain attracting much public debate, with the promotion of frontier‐tech therapies and cosmetic surgery as noticeable examples. Empirical research on the effects of medical marketing campaigns on individuals or society is essentially scant, but criticism especially targets the – presumed – effects on overtreatment, wasted resources, and an overall medicalized society. Alternative views, on the other hand, highlight the contributions that medical marketing can make to innovation and patient empowerment.
Visual Design
Authors: J. Lazard Allison , Belina Stephanie P.
Published: September 2022

This entry reviews the scope of visual design and its influence across the health communication discipline. Text, layout, and images are all elements of visual design that have potential to increase the reach of communicating health messages to the public. Using consistent imagery or infographics for visual–verbal redundancy and understanding potential interpretations for metaphors help guide visual best practices. Visual design choices should be made to enhance the message (increase salience of what is communicated) and reach the audience (be relevant to and usable by recipients). Visual design impacts viewers' first impressions of health messages and concepts, which can be further influenced by whether the design meets users' expectations, or prototypicality. Accounting for audience information needs, culture, and media preferences, like learning the preferred channel for populations to receive information, can inform visual design for effective health communication. Communication involves multiple mechanisms for relaying information; visual design is critical to guide people as they view, look for, and observe health messages or cues that influence their health behaviors.
Reconceptualized Health Belief Model
Authors: Maloney Erin K.
Published: September 2022

This entry provides an overview of the health belief model, a model of preventive health behavior developed in the 1950s that remains today one of the most widely used conceptual frameworks of health behavior. The model's reconceptualization, proposed by Marifran Mattson in 1999, is also presented. The reconceptualization elevates the role of communication in the health decision‐making process by centralizing cues to action – a construct that was largely ignored throughout the model's first four decades in use. The original health belief model proposed that individual decisions to engage in a preventive health behavior are dependent upon the degree to which the individual is motivated to avoid illness or disease, and the extent to which the individual believes that he or she is able to prevent the illness or disease by engaging in the preventive health behavior. These motivations depend upon an individual's perceptions of five factors – perceived susceptibility to illness, perceived severity of the illness, perceived benefits to engaging in the health behavior, perceived barriers to engaging in the health behavior, and perceived self‐efficacy to engage in the behavior. The reconceptualized health belief model suggests that these perceptions are socially constructed through interpersonal and intrapersonal communication about the disease and preventive health behavior, which serve as cues to action. A brief history and overview are presented, followed by a discussion of common criticisms, explanatory and predictive power, and adjustments over time.
Feminist Approaches to Health Communication
Authors: Burns Julia R. , Basnyat Iccha
Published: September 2022

This entry describes feminist approaches to health communication in relation to the three salient themes that arise throughout existing feminist health scholarship: narratives, embodiment, and intersectionality. The entry also makes note of the need for feminist approaches in health communication to pay attention to transnational and gendered social contexts.
Race and Clinician–Patient Communication
Authors: Cooks Eric J. , Te Palani , George Thomas J.
Published: September 2022

Ethnic/racial minorities in the United States are confronted with significant health disparities that are influenced by the quality of clinician–patient communication. The effects of race and clinician–patient communication have been widely studied among Black patients, who often report lower‐quality communication compared to Whites. Racial concordance, or being paired with a clinician with a shared racial identity, can have a positive effect on communication and health outcomes among Black patients, yet given the lack of diversity in the healthcare workforce, there are reduced opportunities for these concordant interactions. The effects of race and clinician–patient communication on health outcomes can be clearly established in the context of colorectal cancer, where Black patients face disparities in incidence and mortality that are intensified by low screening rates; racial differences in clinician–patient communication such as receiving screening recommendations play a role in reduced screening. One way to address this disparity is through the use of virtual humans that can be tailored to patient preferences and telehealth that affords access to a more diverse clinician pool. Future research should increase focus on additional minority groups, include additional factors in the study of race concordance, and continue to translate findings to improve clinical training guidelines.
Health Campaigns: Targeting
Authors: Van Stee Stephanie K.
Published: September 2022

Targeting helps to ensure that health campaigns are appropriate for a particular population group. Targeting refers to which population groups are the focus of campaign messages as well as the process of matching message channels, content, and design to the needs and preferences of those population groups. Segmentation and targeting are fairly standard health campaign practices. Targeting health campaign messages to culture, or using culturally targeted messages, is particularly common, along with targeting to a variety of demographics. Individual differences variables, such as beliefs and self‐efficacy, are also frequently employed to target health campaign messages. Although targeting can be a useful tool for health campaigns, it is also prudent to consider potential unintended, negative effects and ethical implications of targeted messages. Targeting differs from tailoring, another technique for segmenting and customizing health messages, in the degree of segmentation and customization employed. Targeted messages are the same for each member within a particular audience segment, whereas tailored messages are customized for each individual within an audience segment. Although differences between the two techniques/message types warrant mention here, an in‐depth discussion of the differences is beyond the scope of this entry.
Eating Disorders
Authors: Skubisz Christine , Blancher Emma
Published: September 2022

This entry provides an overview of eating disorders including prevalence, diagnostic criteria, outcomes, treatment, and a discussion of the related concept of disordered eating. Eating disorders are collectively a group of mental illnesses that affect millions worldwide. People of all ages, races, and sexes are affected; yet, prevalence is higher in women and the median age of onset is 18–21. The most typical eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Eating disorders have personal, familial, and societal costs and are associated with serious physical and psychological health outcomes. Treatment options vary in complexity and take different trajectories with the goal of improving quality of life and restoring appropriate eating cognitions and behaviors. Many patients remain chronically ill long term.
Health Disparities: Indigenous: Africa
Authors: Muturi Nancy
Published: September 2022

This entry focuses on factors that contribute to health disparities in the African context. Whereas the region is disproportionately impacted by several communicable and noncommunicable diseases, some of which are exacerbated by the tropical conditions that support pathogenic microbes, their impact on populations is varied based on socioeconomic, cultural, environmental, behavioral, and communication‐related factors that lead to inequities in health outcomes and access to healthcare. As the culture‐centered approach to health communication is emphasized, cultural elements including religious beliefs, values, and practices need to be taken into consideration in addition to other socioeconomic, behavioral, and environmental factors that contribute to health inequities in Africa. Health literacy and indigenous knowledge of alternative and traditional medicine are also crucial in communication interventions that seek to address health and healthcare disparities from a cultural perspective.
Violence: Race
Authors: Acharya Lalatendu , Doss Erin F.
Published: September 2022

Violence and race have a tremendous impact on health outcomes in the United States and around the world. Scholars from a variety of fields, including criminology, sociology, communication, and public health, agree that populations experiencing racial discrimination and stigmatization and/or violence and brutality often also experience health inequalities and poor health outcomes. Race and violence have an impact both at the macro, systemic level, where minorities experience institutional racism, unfair treatment, and police violence, and at the micro, psychosocial level, where cultural and social processes influence individuals' predisposition to violence. The constructs of violence and race are both intricately related to health because they create an inequitable social structure that brings minority individuals closer to harmful situations and decreases their ability and desire to seek medical assistance and voice their concerns. With the rise of the “Black Lives Matter” movement more attention has been given to the topics of race and violence and the ways they impact minority communities. Although some health communication scholars have studied the relationships between race, violence, and health, a great deal more work is needed to better understand structural racism, the resulting violence, communicative erasures, and health inequalities racism creates, and how health communication can mitigate the impact of race and violence on minority health.
Spirituality
Authors: Meluch Andrea L.
Published: September 2022

Scholarship on spirituality and communication in health contexts is a growing area of research that explores how spirituality is connected to health and well‐being. Spirituality is conceptualized as the process through which individuals seek and discover the transcendent and meaning in their lives. Specifically, spirituality and its relationship to religiosity often has an important role for individuals during illness, injury, and/or end of life. Today individuals define spirituality in a variety of ways that may be difficult to articulate and discuss as there are a myriad of personal beliefs about meaning in life. Communication about the spiritual continues to be an important area of scholarship in the field of health communication as discussions about the spiritual often help individuals to cope with the inherent uncertainty of many health concerns.
Advance Directives
Authors: Freytag Jennifer
Published: September 2022

This entry discusses advance directives, which are documents (and sometimes verbal statements) that express an individual's care preferences and designate decision makers for times when they are not able to make their own healthcare decisions. Although most adults do not have an advance directive, it is an important way for individuals to consider and express their preferences for care, including the extent to which they wish to receive life‐sustaining treatment. Race, religion, education, and culture are among the many individual attributes that inform an individual's willingness to document their care preferences and designate decision makers. Literacy plays a special role in preparing advance directives because they typically include complex legal language. Because of the benefits of expressing preferences and designating decision makers, a number of interventions provide education and communication training aimed at empowering individuals to complete advance directives.
Physician‐Assisted Suicide
Authors: Green Robert J. , Hopeck Paula
Published: September 2022

This entry provides an overview of the research on physician‐assisted suicide (PAS). Recently, there has been an increase in discussions around the world concerning PAS as an end‐of‐life option, including passage of laws across the United States. This entry defines PAS and provides an overview of the current guidelines of PAS in countries and states where the practice is legal. The need to account for variations in terminological and legal frameworks in describing and enacting the practice is explored. The current sociopolitical landscape of PAS is reviewed as well. Proponents of PAS argue for the autonomy of dying persons to control the trajectory of their dying process in accordance with their values and concerns, and that legalization allows safe access to PAS while respecting the views of moral objectors and protecting the most vulnerable members of society. Opponents argue for the preservation of life at all costs, and that acceptance of PAS endangers society's most vulnerable members. Because of the controversial and ever‐changing circumstances surrounding PAS in the context of death and dying, an overview of potential areas of communication research concludes the entry.
Caregiving: Burnout
Authors: Hampton Chelsea N. , Bylund Carma L.
Published: September 2022

This entry provides a brief overview of burnout within the context of caregiving, background on the current landscape of caregiving and factors that may contribute to burnout, as well as important points related to signs of stress and prevention. As rates of prevalent illnesses that require caregiving continue to increase, so will the need for informal caregivers. This role is often fulfilled by family members or friends, and caregiving responsibilities may be emotionally, physically, and/or financially demanding. Factors associated with such stressors can contribute to burnout, which has been conceptualized as consisting of three dimensions including exhaustion, which may be a significant factor in the lives of caregivers. Developing a better understanding of the needs of caregivers can have a positive impact on this population and those they care for, particularly through improvements in communication. This entry concludes with discussion of future directions and areas for research to aid in accomplishing these goals.
Grief/Bereavement
Authors: Wehrman Erin C.
Published: September 2022

Grief (i.e., the physical and emotional reaction to loss) and bereavement (i.e., the death of a loved one) are tied to mental and physical health outcomes. Symptoms of grief include physical and psychological changes including body aches, anxiety, and emotional pain. Grief has been conceptualized both as a series of stages or phases and as a period of meaning‐making. Furthermore, a variety of factors related to characteristics of the griever, the nature of the loss, and available support may influence grief processes and health outcomes. When grief becomes particularly distressing or prolonged, individuals can experience complicated grief, which is tied to more negative grief outcomes. Individuals with stronger support networks may experience improved health effects during bereavement.
Parent–Child Communication about Sex
Authors: Mullis Michaela D.
Published: September 2022

Parent–child communication about sex is an important area of sex education and health communication research. As a transactional process, open family communication about sex can lead to various positive sexual health outcomes for children and adolescents. While parents are in a position to inform and educate their children on sexual health topics within the comfort of the home, many barriers exist interpersonally between parent and child, within the community, and culturally. Parent and child‐based interventions have been shown to improve sex communication and sexual health outcomes. More research is needed on diverse sexual health topics.
Academic Organizations:
AEJMC ComSHER
Division
Authors: Hinnant Amanda
Published: September 2022

The Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk (ComSHER) Division is an academic organization that fosters research and education on the topics of science communication, health communication, environmental communication, and risk communication. This group started with a focus on science communication and expanded to explicitly include health communication in 2010. ComSHER has seen expansive growth in its 30‐year history and is currently the third largest division in the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). Most of the organizational activities revolve around the annual conference and its paper competition.
Alcohol Use Disorder
Authors: Wombacher Kevin , Ellithorpe Max
Published: September 2022

A brief description of the clinical presentation of alcohol use disorder. We discuss how stigma may affect communication related to this disease and then overview mass media, patient–clinician, interpersonal, and computer‐mediated communication related to alcohol use disorder.
Anxiety Disorders
Authors: Segrin Chris , Duncan Kaylin L.
Published: September 2022

This entry describes the problem of anxiety and how it is associated with interpersonal and health communication, as well as relationship problems. Anxiety disorders have at their core a fear and feelings of imminent threat. Social anxiety, which is the fear of scrutiny by other people and concern over leaving an undesired impression on them, has the strongest association with interpersonal communication. Social anxiety is more common in women than men and usually starts to appear during childhood or early adolescence. The self‐presentational model of social anxiety is presented, followed by a number of problems that compromise the social interactions of people with social anxiety. These include social skills deficits, negatively biased social perception, and negative self‐evaluations. For a substantial number of people, the experience of social anxiety has its roots in childhood interactions in the family of origin.
Medical Mistrust
Authors: Williamson Lillie D.
Published: September 2022

Medical mistrust is a nuanced construct that refers to mistrust of various actors and levels of the healthcare system. This mistrust of the motives of the medical system and its actors, which is consistently higher among historically marginalized groups, acts as a barrier to engagement in several health behaviors. Its association with decreased likelihood of engaging in health behaviors, along with higher levels of mistrust being reported by historically marginalized populations, positions medical mistrust as a contributor to health disparities. Although scholarship has focused on Black Americans, there are other communities for whom this construct is thought to be influential. Alongside being a barrier to health behaviors of interest, it is both an antecedent to and outcome of communication; interpersonal communication, campaign messages, and news media can all contribute to medical mistrust. Medical mistrust stands as a barrier to engagement in health behaviors, particularly for historically marginalized communities, that can be both heightened by and potentially ameliorated by communication.
Academic Organizations:
ECREA
Authors: Reifegerste Doreen , Friemel Thomas N. , Rossmann Constanze
Published: September 2022

This entry provides a description of the development of health communication in Europe and covers how it became visible in academic organizations in Europe such as the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA). While health communication as a field was already regarded as an established discipline in the United States by the end of the twentieth century, it had just emerged in Europe. One important step to foster its establishment was the foundation of a Temporary Working Group (TWG) within the ECREA in 2017, which became a thematic section in 2022 and organizes annual conferences. Several national (or more regional) scholarly associations of health communication researchers already existed in Europe. Among them are two associations in Spain, one in the Netherlands and Flanders, and one in Germany, also embracing scholars from Austria and Switzerland. A major step within the development of the community was the founding of a journal. The
European Journal of Health Communication
was officially launched in November 2019 at the European Conference of Health Communication in Zurich and published its first issue in September 2020. Thus, health communication research in Europe appears to be a vivid and growing field.
Cancer and the Family
Authors: Iannarino Nicholas T. , Miller Laura E.
Published: September 2022

Family members can both affect and reflect a cancer patient's use of communication to create meaning and cope with their diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis across the lifespan. Health communication scholars have studied the ways in which patients and their family members communicate to make decisions about openness and avoidance in sharing cancer‐related information both within and outside of the family. They have also examined the ways in which communication functions as patients and family members solicit, offer, receive, and gatekeep social support messages; navigate changes in identity; manage uncertainty; and make decisions about cancer treatment and prevention.
Caregiving: Spousal
Authors: Shaunfield Sara
Published: September 2022

As the population ages, it is not uncommon for a spouse to take on the role of informal caregiver for their partner (care recipient) upon diagnosis of a chronic or life‐limiting illness. Communication is a fundamental aspect of spousal caregiving and is central to the successful renegotiation of roles from couplehood to caregiver and recipient. Communication among spousal caregivers and care recipients' affects relationship functioning, intimacy, and coping, and influences health outcomes such as caregiver burden, psychological distress, anxiety, and depression. Open communication among spouses in the context of caregiving is a means by which the couple establishes a supportive or concordant relationship. Supportive relationships are characterized by communication that reflects mutual understanding and acknowledgment of the other's needs, preferences, and expectations. Conflicted or discordant relationships, on the other hand, are characterized by withholding or evasive communication, disagreement on key aspects of care, and underappreciation of the other's needs and roles. The communication and relationship challenges experienced by spousal caregivers in the context of Alzheimer's disease dementia along with effective and ineffective strategies for overcoming communication breakdowns resulting from the disease progression are highlighted. Finally, the entry outlines a need for future research on spousal caregiver communication in the field of health communication.
Vaccination: Hesitancy and Acceptance
Authors: Koinig Isabell , Kohler Sarah
Published: September 2022

The ongoing debate surrounding vaccination uptake or refusal is far from over, much less so in view of the introduction of the first COVID‐19 vaccines. Even though global healthcare has seen significant progress over the past decades, deaths caused by vaccine‐preventable diseases remain an important health issue worldwide. This might be conditioned by the existence of numerous myths surrounding vaccination, or the negative consequences associated with vaccination. While new technologies in general and social media in particular provide vaccination‐hesitant individuals with new media outlets, they might also present a remedy to battle vaccination hesitancy. Yet, the sole reliance on information to shape individual perceptions of vaccination does not suffice anymore, as traditional information tools (e.g., posters and brochures) were deemed unsuitable to change individuals' attitudes toward vaccination. Instead, the inclusion of contextual determinants, social and cultural norms, religion, and education is proposed. Responses and attitudes toward vaccines are influenced by social norms and motivation factors, including individuals' capabilities, risk perceptions, confidence levels, and concerns. Further, clinicians have been found to play a critical role in shaping individuals' vaccination‐related attitudes and behaviors. The most cited reasons for individuals' reluctance to get vaccinated concern a lack of trust in healthcare systems, clinicians, and the actual vaccination. For this reason, vaccine‐related information should be both transparent and credible, as well as easily comprehensible. At the same time, information should be targeted toward specific audiences and tailored to their respective communicative needs to increase compliance with recommended health behaviors.
Neurologic/Psychiatric Disorders
Authors: Mikesell Lisa
Published: September 2022

Atypical interaction is a subfield of conversation analysis that examines how communication impairments stemming from a disorder such as aphasia, dementia, or serious mental illness manifest in naturally occurring interactions. This work has historically prioritized ordinary conversation in familiar home environments as the context of investigation, considering it to provide an ecologically valid account of the manifestation and impact of impairment. Researchers of atypical interaction orient to ordinary interactions as an achievement, identifying not only communicative challenges but also the preserved cognitive and communicative resources participants draw on to functionally participate in everyday activities. Overall, this work demonstrates that what transpires during social interactions between persons with a particular diagnosis and their collaborators impacts how (in)competence manifests. Additionally, a robust body of work examining patient–clinician communication in institutional contexts exists. For instance, this research has illuminated how clinicians directly and indirectly communicate dementia diagnoses and to whom, how psychiatrists design treatment recommendations to enact shared decision making, and how psychotherapists discursively orient to therapeutic values. While much of the work on atypical interaction has taken the form of case studies, several scholars have detailed guidelines for how conversation‐analytic approaches can be appropriately integrated with clinical research and the development of behavioral interventions.
Tobacco Control
Authors: Kim Minji , Liu Jiaying
Published: September 2022

Communication is an integral part of effective tobacco control. They are inherently intertwined and exert dynamic, mutual influence on one another. As an influential factor, persuasive communication can be used strategically in public health advocacy or anti‐tobacco health campaigns to affect legislators and educate the public, thereby influencing policymaking. As a target of tobacco control policy, pro‐tobacco communication in the forms of advertising, marketing, and packaging/warning is subject to various regulations. In addition, tobacco control efforts often affect societal norms and change the patterns of public communication related to tobacco use. This entry focuses on the relationship between communication and tobacco control at the societal level, especially with regard to policy. The importance of public health advocacy is illustrated in a case study of a policy debate over restricting sales of e‐cigarettes in California. More subtly, cumulative incidental exposure to media coverage on general tobacco‐related issues, or on a specific tobacco control policy, can set the public agenda and shift the opinion climate for policy support to be consistent with the dominant framing and stance expressed by the media. Evaluation studies have shown effectiveness of various anti‐tobacco campaigns and regulations on tobacco marketing and promotion to increase risk perception and reduce tobacco use prevalence. More research is necessary to apply communication theories to policy and advocacy studies and to examine the role of health communication in the changing media environment, such as exposure to pro‐tobacco communication on social media and how to regulate it appropriately and effectively.
Intergroup
Authors: Seate Anita Atwell , Ma Rong
Published: September 2022

Intergroup communication centers people's memberships in social groups, termed social identities, in determining people's beliefs, attitudes, emotions, and ultimately their communicative behaviors. An intergroup perspective on health communication examines how people's social identities influence health communication processes. Scholars suggest two ways to move theory and research forward in intergroup health communication. First, scholars can develop and test identity‐based theories of health communication. Health communication messages that are tailored based upon people's group memberships vary in effectiveness depending on the message context and group prototypes. Moreover, implicit biases that health clinicians hold are a contributing factor to the health disparities we see regarding marginalized groups. Second, scholars can integrate identity‐related constructs into existing persuasion theories. This line of research examines social identity as a predictor of theoretical concepts that have been shown to persuade people in health contexts. We recommend that health communication practitioners consult or conduct culturally centered research to understand group prototypes around specific health topics when creating health communication campaigns.
Hetero‐Atomic Pairs with a Distal Fe3+‐Site Boost Water Oxidation
Authors: Zhu Yanping , Chen Gao , Chu You‐Chiuan , Hsu Chia‐Shuo , Wang Jiali , Tung Ching‐Wei , Chen Hao Ming
Published: September 2022

The hetero‐atomic interaction has been the subject of many investigations, due to their heterogeneity, the individual roles of the atoms are still difficult to realize. Herein, an electrocatalyst with a hetero‐atomic pair confined on a tungsten phosphide (WP) substrate so that the Fe3+‐site of the pair is distal to the surface is shown to deliver an extremely low overpotential of 192 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and one of the highest oxygen production turnover frequencies (TOF) of 2.1 s−1 at 300 mV under alkaline environment for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Operando characterization shows the Lewis acidic Fe3+ site boosts a large population of Co4+/3+ and the deprotonation of coordinated water, allowing simultaneously enhanced electron‐transfer as well as the proton‐transfer. A significant contribution from the WP substrate modulates the order of hydroxide transfer in the pre‐equilibrium step (PES) and rate‐determining‐step (RDS), leading to a remarkable OER performance.
Microwave absorbing properties of polyaniline coated Buckypaper reinforced epoxy resin composites
Authors: Xia Zhiqiang , Wang Rui , Qu Bo , Wu Qingshi , Zhuo Dongxian , Zheng Yuying
Published: September 2022

With the development of science and technology and electronic industry, electromagnetic wave pollution has become the fifth largest pollution in the world today, so it is very important to develop a material with good wave absorbing properties. In this study, polyaniline was loaded onto the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) bundles in Buckypaper by electropolymerization, and epoxy resin was used as the matrix to prepare a polyaniline (PANI)/Buckypaper/EP composite absorber with integrated structure and function. The research shows that the CNTs are prepared into Buckypaper with a three‐dimensional porous structure by vacuum filtration. This three‐dimensional porous structure ensures that CNTs can be added at a high content and uniformly dispersed in epoxy resin. PANI adjusts the impedance matching of Buckypaper and adds more loss mechanisms. Under the optimal matching thickness of 1.5 mm, the optimal reflection loss reaches −29.31 dB, and the absorption bandwidth is 3.12 GHz. At the same time, the interaction between the π–π noncovalent bond of PANI and the delocalized π electrons on the surface of CNTs improves the mechanical strength of Buckypaper. The tensile strength reached 42.17 MPa, an increase of 92.82% compared with pure BP/EP. The research in this article is expected to provide a feasible idea for the preparation of structure–function integrated materials.
Conservation planning for threatened marine megafauna: Moving forward with a better approach
Authors: Huang Shiang‐Lin , Wu Haiping , Li Qiuhui , Jefferson Thomas A. , Chen Mo , Peng Chongwei , Wang Xianyan
Published: September 2022

For threatened marine megafauna, such as the Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis), sound conservation planning should aim to ensure demographic and ecological persistence of populations. One method to address this challenge is through ecosystem‐based conservation planning (ECP) based on threatened marine megafauna distribution, biodiversity richness, and ecosystem functionality.

ECP exercises for the Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphin in Chinese and adjacent northern Vietnamese waters were conducted based on the Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphin distribution, Hill‐2 biodiversity index, and marine net primary productivity. Habitat protection priorities were scored using the program MARXAN and were used to identify special areas for conservation (SACs) for the Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphin.

To ensure the minimal risk of local extinction, the SACs enclosed a total of 26,858 km2 of waters, accounting for 49.9% of core habitats of the Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphin and 24.3% of the IUCN Red List species in the study region. To enclose 30% of biodiversity richness and ecosystem functionality, a total of 40,179 km2 SACs was required.

In the context of threatened marine megafauna conservation, megafauna distribution can be used to highlight focal areas, while information on biodiversity richness and ecosystem functionality should be factored in. Using surrogates with different ecological niches would be a better tactic to ensure sufficient protection coverage by minimizing the omission bias.

The conservation of threatened marine megafauna in coastal and estuarine waters shares similar objectives with global marine biodiversity conservation. The challenges to conduct ECP exercises come from data scarcity and poor data quality in representing distributions of biodiversity features. A certified open‐access database that shares survey effort, occurrence, population density, and habitat mapping at national and local scales is recommended. Such a result requires national planning, investment, and policing.
Recent Trends in Sense‐and‐Release Platforms Employing Electrochemically‐Triggered Payload (Drugs) Release – A Review
Authors: Badenhorst Ronaldo , Smutok Oleh , Katz Evgeny
Published: September 2022

Electrochemically‐triggered payload release as a potential method for signal‐responsive “smart drug” development has been increasingly utilized in the field of modern pharmaceuticals. Among the various approaches to design electrochemically‐triggered payload release systems, the basis of using electrochemical reactions to develop sensing and releasing electrodes allows for increased diversity and adaptability with regards to signal, payload, and release conditions. In this review, an overview of the two main categories (pH‐independent and pH‐dependent) of electrochemically‐triggered release and their most commonly used subsets were summarized. These variations provided the foundational basis from which an electrochemically‐triggered payload release system can be designed and adapted to meet the demands of potential treatment requirements. Moreover, different practically demonstrated adaptions of electrochemically‐triggered payload release sensing and releasing electrodes were evaluated comprehensively and the advantages and disadvantages were discussed. Finally, some overarching recommendations for optimized use of these electrochemical systems were proposed.
PROTOCOL: Critical appraisal of methodological quality and reporting items of systematic reviews with meta‐analysis in evidence‐based social science in China: A systematic review
Authors: Guo Liping , Zhou Wenjie , Xing Xin , Wei Zhipeng , Yang Minyan , Ma Mina , Yang Kehu , White Howard
Published: September 2022

This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The objectives are as follows: (1) To evaluate the reporting quality of systematic reviews published in Chinese social science journals against the PRISMA and MOOSE standards; (2) To evaluate the methodology quality of systematic reviews published in Chinese social science journals against the AMSTAR‐2 and DART standards; and (3) To analyze other characteristics of systematic reviews published in Chinese social science journals using content analysis.
Chirality Discrimination at Binary Organic|Water Interfaces Monitored by Interfacial Tension Measurements with Preliminary Comparison with Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Authors: Yang Yanqing , Sun Xiaoyu , Reza Poopari Mohammad , Jian Cuiying , Zeng Hongbo , Tang Tian , Xu Yunjie
Published: September 2022

Chirality discrimination at a binary toluene (organic)/water(aqueous) interface between R‐ or S‐Tol‐BINAP (2,2′‐Bis(di‐p‐tolylphosphino)‐1,1′‐binaphthyl) molecules and the water‐soluble serine chiral specie is examined for the first time, using a combination of interfacial tension measurements and molecular dynamic simulations. Experimental interfacial measurements exhibit a clear chirality‐controlled difference when a homochiral versus a heterochiral enantiomeric pairs are introduced at the interfaces. The related molecular dynamics simulations support the experimental results and provide further molecular insight of intermolecular interactions at the interfaces. The results indicate that interfacial tension measurements can capture the preferential interactions which exist between different pairs of enantiomers at the binary interfaces, opening up a new way for probing chirality discrimination at liquid‐liquid interfaces.
Erdős–Pósa property of obstructions to interval graphs
Authors: Agrawal Akanksha , Lokshtanov Daniel , Misra Pranabendu , Saurabh Saket , Zehavi Meirav
Published: September 2022

A class of graphs admits the Erdős–Pósa property if for any graph , either has vertex‐disjoint “copies” of the graphs in , or there is a set of vertices that intersects all copies of the graphs in . For any graph class , it is natural to ask whether the family of obstructions to has the Erdős–Pósa property. In this paper, we prove that the family of obstructions to interval graphs—namely, the family of chordless cycles and asteroidal witnesses (AWs)—admits the Erdős–Pósa property. In turn, this yields an algorithm to decide whether a given graph has vertex‐disjoint AWs and chordless cycles, or there exists a set of vertices in that hits all AWs and chordless cycles.
Non‐communicable diseases by age strata in people living with and without HIV in four African countries
Authors: Chang David , Esber Allahna L. , Dear Nicole F. , Iroezindu Michael , Bahemana Emmanuel , Kibuuka Hannah , Owuoth John , Maswai Jonah , Crowell Trevor A. , Polyak Christina S. , Cavanaugh Joseph S. , Ake Julie A. , Godfrey Catherine ,   the AFRICOS Study Group
Published: September 2022

Introduction

Non‐communicable diseases (NCDs) are an important driver of morbidity among ageing people living with HIV (PLWH). We examined the composite role of age and HIV status on NCDs in people living with and without HIV.

Methods

The African Cohort Study (AFRICOS) prospectively enrols participants aged ≥15 years with and without HIV at 12 sites in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria. From 21 January 2013 to 1 September 2021, we assessed participants for renal insufficiency (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 ml/minute/1.73 m2), elevated blood pressure (BP) (any systolic BP >139 mmHg or diastolic BP >89 mmHg), obesity (body mass index >30 kg/m2), diabetes mellitus (DM) (fasting glucose ≥126 mg/dl or antidiabetic medication) and dysglycemia (fasting glucose ≥99 mg/dl or non‐fasting ≥199 mg/dl). Multivariable logistic regression with generalized estimating equations was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for factors associated with each NCD. The main exposure of interest was a composite of HIV status and age dichotomized around 50 years. All models were adjusted for study site and sex. The renal insufficiency model was additionally adjusted for elevated BP and dysglycemia.

Results and discussion

Of 3761 participants with age data, 557 (14.8%) were age ≥50, 2188 (58.2%) were females and 3099 (82.4%) were PLWH. At enrolment, the prevalence of elevated BP, dysglycemia, renal insufficiency and obesity were n = 128 (26.9%), n = 75 (15.8%), n = 8 (1.7%) and n = 40 (8.4%), respectively, for PLWH ≥50. Compared to people without HIV age <50, PLWH age ≥50 had increased adjusted odds of having DM (OR: 2.78, 95% CI: 1.49–5.16), dysglycemia (OR: 1.98, 95% CI: 1.51–2.61) and renal insufficiency (OR: 6.20, 95% CI: 2.31–16.66). There were significant differences by study site, specifically, participants from Nigeria had the highest odds of elevated BP, dysglycemia and renal insufficiency as compared to Uganda.

Conclusions

There was a high burden of NCDs in this African cohort with differences by geographic region. In order to promote healthy ageing with HIV, screening and treatment for common NCDs should be incorporated into routine HIV care with attention paid to geographic heterogeneity to better allocate resources.
A holistic evaluation of the influence of shear rates and matrix viscosity on the properties of polypropylene/multi‐walled carbon nanotubes composites
Authors: Lei Xue , Liang Mei , Zou Huawei , Zhou Shengtai
Published: September 2022

In this work, a comparative study on the electrical, morphological, and thermal properties of polypropylene/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (PP/CNT) composites which were prepared by three different processing methods, such as compression molding (CM, shear rate: ~0 s−1), conventional injection molding (CIM, shear rate: ~102 s−1), and microinjection molding (μIM, shear rate: ~105 s−1), was reported. The difference in shear rates among these processing methods and matrix viscosity would significantly affect the state of filler distribution, thereby determining the properties of subsequent moldings. Electrical conductivity results showed that the percolation threshold of PP/CNT moldings followed a trend of μIM > CIM > CM. A higher degree of CNT orientation and a better filler distribution were achieved under the influence of higher shearing conditions, as corroborated by scanning electron microscope observations and Raman spectral analysis. Moreover, increasing filler concentrations played a positive role in improving the thermal stability of PP/CNT composites and the formation of CNT network was believed to be a contributing factor.
Case report: Filamin A mutation lung disease recognized in an 11‐year‐old child
Authors: West Tahira , Williamson Nikita , Akhter Javeed
Published: September 2022

The loss of function (LOF) due to mutations in the Filamin A (FLNA) gene may result in abnormality of the FLNA protein. Of the many clinical syndromes, this condition may produce chronic lung disease, which usually presents and is diagnosed in the infant/toddler age group. Its clinical pattern may mimic broncho‐pulmonary dysplasia. It is part of the entities included in childhood interstitial lung disease group of disorders. We are herein reporting a patient that was diagnosed with FLNA‐associated lung disease at 11 years of age. This case provides a unique insight into the long‐term course of lung disease in this illness and broadens our understanding of the spectrum of its presentation. Although the patient had symptoms early in life, the diagnosis was not entertained because of the rarity of the disorder, its atypical and clinically mild presentation, and discontinuous care due to parents moving to different cities for employment reasons. Her presentation to our institution was for pneumonia. Due to highly unusual chest X‐ray images, asthenia, and early clubbing, an extensive workup included further imaging and a lung biopsy. The final diagnosis was confirmed by the detection of FLNA LOF gene mutation.
Ferroelectricity and Crystal Phases in Mixed‐Cation Lead Iodide Perovskite Solar Cells
Authors: Schulz Alexander Deniz , Schmitt Max Oliver , Braun Moritz , Colsmann Alexander , Hinterstein Manuel , Röhm Holger
Published: September 2022

After the discovery of ferroelectricity in archetypal methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3), the discussion arose, if more advanced derivatives thereof are also ferroelectric and to what extent the polar domains mitigate detrimental charge carrier recombination in perovskite solar cells. Herein, the A‐site cation methylammonium is gradually substituted with formamidinium and cesium. The domain contrast measured by piezoresponse force microscopy is correlated with the distortion of the crystal structure measured by X‐ray diffraction. By Rietveld analysis, a detailed structural model together with texture information is determinded, which reveals an intriguing interplay between lead iodide and the perovskite phases. Finally, the bearing of ferroelectric domains in mixed‐cation perovskites on the solar cell performance is discussed.