bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Studying Physiological Synchrony in Couple Therapy through Partial Directed Coherence: Associations with the Therapeutic Alliance and Meaning Construction
Authors: Avdi Evrinomy , Paraskevopoulos Evangelos , Lagogianni Christina , Kartsidis Panagiotis , Plaskasovitis Fotis
Published: April 2022

In line with the growing recognition of the role of embodiment, affect and implicit processes in psychotherapy, several recent studies examine the role of physiological synchrony in the process and outcome of psychotherapy. This study aims to introduce Partial Directed Coherence (PDC) as a novel approach to calculating psychophysiological synchrony and examine its potential to contribute to our understanding of the therapy process. The study adopts a single-case, mixed-method design and examines physiological synchrony in one-couple therapy in relation to the therapeutic alliance and a narrative analysis of meaning construction in the sessions. Interpersonal Physiological Synchrony (IPS) was calculated, via a windowed approach, through PDC of a Heart Rate Variability-derived physiological index, which was measured in the third and penultimate sessions. Our mixed-method analysis shows that PDC quantified significant moments of IPS within and across the sessions, modeling the characteristics of interpersonal interaction as well as the effects of therapy on the interactional dynamics. The findings of this study point to the complex interplay between explicit and implicit levels of interaction and the potential contribution of including physiological synchrony in the study of interactional processes in psychotherapy.
Tax-Spend or Spend-Tax? The Case of Southern Africa
Authors: Nzimande Ntokozo Patrick , Ngalawa Harold
Published: April 2022

Whether to increase taxes or cut spending is an important question with profound policy implications, especially as countries attempt to deal with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study, therefore, investigated the relationship between revenues and spending in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), where concerns about rising debt and deficits were raised prior to the pandemic. A panel bootstrap Granger-causality technique was used to analyze annual frequency data covering the 1980–2018 period. To our best knowledge, this was the first study in Africa to simultaneously account for cross-country differences and cross-section dependence. The findings of the study have in-depth implications for fiscal policy and adjustments towards budgetary equilibria. The study found no evidence of causality between revenues and spending in eleven SADC member states, suggesting that to balance their respective budgets, governments in these countries can alter either spending or revenues, or both. However, in Botswana, we found evidence of the tax-spend hypothesis, implying that governments should consider altering revenues to eliminate budget imbalances. Finally, evidence of the spend-tax hypothesis was found in Mauritius and Mozambique, suggesting that past and current expenditures drive revenues in these countries. Accordingly, cutting spending would be an ideal policy recourse to deal with budgetary disequilibrium.
Fraudulent Financial Reporting in Ministerial and Governmental Institutions in Indonesia: An Analysis Using Hexagon Theory
Authors: Sukmadilaga Citra , Winarningsih Srihadi , Handayani Tri , Herianti Eva , Ghani Erlane K
Published: April 2022

This study examined fraudulent financial reporting in the ministerial and governmental institutions in Indonesia. It adopted the hexagon theory that identified six elements (pressure, opportunity, rationalisation, capability, arrogance, and collusion) in determining whether these elements influence fraudulent financial reporting in the institutions. Content analysis was used on the financial statements of thirty-two ministerial and governmental institutions over three years from 2018 to 2020. This study shows that three out of the six elements, namely opportunity, arrogance, and collusion, significantly affect fraudulent financial reporting. The effects are positive, confirming the proposition of the hexagon theory. On the other hand, this study could not provide evidence on the effect of pressure, rationalisation, and capability on fraudulent financial reporting in the ministerial and governmental institutions. The findings in this study suggest the importance of a holistic application of the whistle-blowing and e-procurement systems in all governmental elements to deliver a transparent, accountable organisational performance for the stakeholders, especially society.
Energy Supply System Modeling Tools Integrating Sustainable Livelihoods Approach—Contribution to Sustainable Development in Remote Communities: A Review
Authors: Pereyra-Mariñez Carlos , Santos-García Félix , Ocaña-Guevara Víctor S. , Vallejo-Díaz Alexander
Published: April 2022

The fulfillment of the sustainable development goals of the United Nations (UN) in remote communities undoubtedly goes through the consequent development of the energy supply system (ESS). Structuring a procedure for modeling the ESS, according to development requirements, is vital for decision making. This publication reviews the main methods for designing local development programs that apply a sustainable livelihoods approach and a group of modeling tools for ESS. The necessary criteria are verified to structure a model that integrates the expectations of sustainable development, through the indicators of sustainable livelihoods (SLs), with the requirements of the ESS and the use of available renewable energy resources. In the review carried out, it is found that the methods of analysis and planning of sustainable local development are disconnected from the models for energy planning. On the other hand, the relationship of the indicators for calculating SLs with the characteristics and behavior of energy demand with respect to time is verified. The main criteria, parameters, and optimization methods necessary for the design and expansion of ESS in hard-to-reach areas are also discussed. Lastly, the necessary elements are proposed to be validated through a future study case for the dimensioning and expansion of ESS in hard-to-reach communities, integrating the analysis of development programs based on SLs.
Study on the Causes of Water Blocking Damage and Its Solutions in Gas Reservoirs with Microfluidic Technology
Authors: He Fengguo , Wang Jie
Published: April 2022

The water blocking damage to the reservoir caused by the invasion of external fluid is one of the main factors that affect the efficient development of tight sandstone gas reservoirs. In this paper, microfluidic chip technology is used to explore the causes of water blocking damage in porous media and find suitable recovery solutions. The research results show that reducing the gas-liquid capillary pressure can effectively reduce the rate and quantity of spontaneous speed of cores. After chemical treatment, the liquid phase fluidity of the non-fractured matrix core is increased by 1.72 times, and that of the fractured core is increased by 2.13 times. In water wetting porous media, there are mainly four types of liquid hold-up: (1) Liquid hold-up in the dead volume of a non-connected pore; (2) The water phase in the pore throat with a small inner diameter cannot be driven away due to its larger capillary pressure; (3) Adsorption viscous force, the wetting phase is adsorbed on the surface of the solid phase; (4) Reservoir heterogeneity. The water blocking damage can be removed to a certain extent by changing the gas injection pressure, the gas injection method, or adding a wetting modifier.
Analogies in the Analysis of the Thermal Status of Batteries and Internal Combustion Engines for Mobility
Authors: Sequino Luigi , Mancaruso Ezio , Vaglieco Bianca Maria
Published: April 2022

Thermal management is an important research area for the automotive sector in order to make high-efficiency and low-impact future vehicles. The transition from internal combustion engines to battery systems in the automotive field requires new skills to be achieved in the shortest possible time. The well-consolidated knowledge of thermal management of engine systems can be rearranged to face new challenges regarding the thermal control of batteries. The present work aims to show the analogies between the thermal behavior of an engine component, such as the piston, and of a battery. The thermodynamic processes involved during the operation are described, experimentally investigated, and modeled. The external temperature of the piston window is measured once per cycle with a K-type sheathed thermocouple, while the surface temperature of the battery is detected via infrared imaging. An almost-fixed stabilization time of 500 s is observed for the engine while it varies with the current load for the battery ranging from 1800 s to 3000 s, for the tested cases. Different temperature increments are also observed. Two mono-dimensional (1D) models of heat transfer are built using the finite-difference method. Good agreement with the experimental data is quantitatively demonstrated by a Normalize Root Mean Square Error lower than 0.07 for all the test cases and systems, except for the battery charging phase. The analysis of the temperature provides an estimation of the heat losses for the two systems, spanning from 15% to 27% for the engine and from 6% to 10% for the battery. The analysis carried out in this work can provide a methodology to understand and improve the thermal management of the new mobility system.
Environmental Impact Analysis of Portland Cement (CEM1) Using the Midpoint Method
Authors: Ige Oluwafemi E. , Olanrewaju Oludolapo A. , Duffy Kevin J. , Collins Obiora C.
Published: April 2022

The cement industry confronts significant challenges in raw materials, energy demands, and CO2 emissions reduction, which are global and local environmental concerns. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used in many studies to assess the environmental impact of cement production and investigate ways to improve environmental performance. This study aims to analyse the environmental impact of Portland cement (CEM I) on the South African cement industry using the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), based on the Recipe 2016 v 1.04 midpoint method. The study was conducted using data modeled after the South African cement plant, considered a cradle-to-gate system boundary, starting from the extraction of the raw material to the cement production process that produces cement as the main product. The data were obtained from the Ecoinvent database v3.7.1, integrated with SimaPro 9.1.1. software, used to assess the impact categories. For simplicity, the study merged the entire production process into five processes, i.e., raw materials usage, fuel consumption, clinker production, transportation and electricity. The impact categories of the five production stages were assessed using the LCA methodology. The impact categories investigated were classified into three categories: atmospheric, resource depletion and toxicity categories. According to the results, clinker production and electricity usage stages contribute the most to atmospheric impact (global warming, which causes climatic change due to high CO2 emissions), followed by raw materials and fuel consumption, contributing to the toxicity and resource depletion impact category. These stages contribute more than 76% of CO2 eq. and 93% of CFC-11 eq. In the midpoint method, CO2 is the most significant pollutant released. Therefore, replacing fossil fuels with alternative fuels can reduce fossil fuel use and the atmospheric impact of cement kilns.
Understanding the Accuracy Limitations of Quantifying Methane Emissions Using Other Test Method 33A
Authors: Heltzel Robert , Johnson Derek , Zaki Mohammed , Gebreslase Aron , Abdul-Aziz Omar I.
Published: April 2022

Researchers have utilized Other Test Method (OTM) 33A to quantify methane emissions from natural gas infrastructure. Historically, errors have been reported based on a population of measurements compared to known controlled releases of methane. These errors have been reported as 2σ errors of ±70%. However, little research has been performed on the minimum attainable uncertainty of any one measurement. We present two methods of uncertainty estimation. The first was the measurement uncertainty of the state-of-the-art equipment, which was determined to be ±3.8% of the estimate. This was determined from bootstrapped measurements compared to controlled releases. The second approach of uncertainty estimation was a modified Hollinger and Richardson (H&R) method which was developed for quantifying the uncertainty of eddy covariance measurements. Using a modified version of this method applied to OTM 33A measurements, it was determined that uncertainty of any given measurement was ±17%. Combining measurement uncertainty with that of stochasticity produced a total minimum uncertainty of 17.4%. Due to the current nature of stationary single-sensor measurements and the stochasticity of atmospheric data, such uncertainties will always be present. This is critical in understanding the transport of methane emissions and indirect measurements obtained from the natural gas industry.
Food Waste Valorization
Authors: Tropea Alessia
Published: April 2022

During the industrial processing of agricultural or animal products, large amounts of waste are produced. These wastes, generated in large amounts throughout the seasons of the year, can be considered the most abundant renewable resources on earth. Due to the large availability and richness in components of these raw materials, there is a great interest in their reuse, both from an economical and environmental point of view. This economical interest is based on the fact that a high quantity of such wastes could be used as low-cost raw materials for the production of new value-added compounds, with a further production cost reduction. The environmental concern is derived from their composition, especially the agro-industrial wastes that can contain potentially toxic compounds, which may cause deterioration of the environment when uncontrolled wastes are either burned, left on the soil to decay naturally, or buried underground. Moreover, these materials exhibit both high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) values and give rise to serious pollution problems if not properly discarded. Recycling and transformation of food wastes represent a great opportunity in supporting sustainable development by their conversion into value-added products through the fermentation process.
Dynamics of Anthropogenic Wildfire on Babeldaob Island (Palau) as Revealed by Fire History
Authors: Dendy Julian , Mesubed Dino , Colin Patrick L. , Giardina Christian P. , Cordell Susan , Holm Tarita , Uowolo Amanda
Published: April 2022

Wildfire is an understudied threat to biodiversity in many tropical landscapes, including island nations of the Pacific, such as The Republic of Palau—a global biodiversity hotspot with ridge-to-reef resources. Fires are known to occur on Palau’s main island of Babeldaob, where they can result in increased erosion rates and sediment delivery to near-shore areas with impacts to streams and coral reefs. Fire-adapted native plant species are found in savanna habitats, but fires often extend into adjacent forest areas where they kill overstory trees. To assess this serious biodiversity and human health threat, we mapped wildland fires on Babeldaob Island using ground-based surveys and aerial photographs between 2012 and 2015, and satellite imagery between 2012 and 2021. Data on causal factors, vegetation type, and the presence of invasive species were collected between 2012 and 2015, with hunting, arson, and agricultural clearing being the principal causes of ignitions. Wildfires occurred in all months and in all 10 states of Babeldaob, and both numbers of wildfires and total burned area were substantially greater during dry seasons, with the highest totals occurring in the one El Niño drought year in our record. Overall, wildfires appear to have a minor impact on forest vegetation because they are largely confined to savanna systems, but rainfall on burned savanna is a major cause of erosion and the sedimentation of streams and near-shore habitats.
Establishing a Multidisciplinary Framework for an Emergency Food Supply System Using a Modified Delphi Approach
Authors: Liu Shuyu , Li Yue , Fu Shaobo , Liu Xin , Liu Tao , Fan Haojun , Cao Chunxia
Published: April 2022

A scientific food emergency supply system is helpful for assuring food supplies continuity, improving response efficiency, and reducing disaster losses. However, the framework for a food emergency supply system is currently an understudied area in emergency management post-disaster. In this study, a comprehensive literature review of major databases was performed to identify potential indicators for the emergency food supply system, followed by a two-round modified Delphi with a multidisciplinary expert panel (n = 17) to verify the proposed framework. The effective response rate of questionnaires ranged from 94.4% (17/18) to 100% (17/17) and the authority coefficient of experts was 0.88, indicating high positivity and reliability of the experts. Furthermore, the p-values of Kendall’s W were < 0.01 and the Cronbach’s α were > 0.7 for all domains and indicators, indicating a high reliability and validity for the proposed framework. Finally, a consensus was reached on all eight domains and 81 indicators. In conclusion, this study introduced and verified a multidisciplinary framework for the food emergency supply system, which could provide a theoretical basis for emergency responders to make corresponding commands and decisions post-disaster.
Widely Targeted Metabolomics Analysis Reveals the Differences of Nonvolatile Compounds in Oolong Tea in Different Production Areas
Authors: Wang Zhihui , Gan Shuang , Sun Weijiang , Chen Zhidan
Published: April 2022

The flavor differences in Oolong tea from different producing areas are caused by its complex differential compounds. In this study, representative samples of Oolong tea from four countries were collected, and their differential nonvolatile compounds were analyzed by a combination of widely targeted metabolomics, chemometrics, and quantitative taste evaluation. A total of 801 nonvolatile compounds were detected, which could be divided into 16 categories. We found that the difference in these compounds’ content among Oolong teas from three producing areas in China was the largest. There were 370 differential compounds related to the producing areas of Oolong tea, which were mainly distributed in 67 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) metabolic pathways. In total, 81 differential nonvolatile compounds made important contributions to the taste differences in Oolong tea from different producing areas, among which the number of flavonoids was the largest. Finally, the characteristic compounds of Oolong tea in six producing areas were screened. This study comprehensively identifies the nonvolatile compounds of Oolong tea in different producing areas for the first time, which provides a basis for the analysis of flavor characteristics, quality directional control, and the identification and protection of geographical landmark agricultural products of Oolong tea from different producing areas.
Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis in Food Safety Risk Management: The Case of Dioxins in Baltic Fish
Authors: Ali Beshir M. , Andersson M. G. , van den Borne B. H. P. , Focker M. , van der Fels-Klerx H. J.
Published: April 2022

The Swedish risk management case of Baltic fatty fishes, in which dioxin levels may be too high, is a typical multidimensional food safety decision problem involving public health, economic, environmental and socio-cultural aspects. To effectively address the dioxin food safety problem, the multiple dimensions and conflicting interests of stakeholders have to be considered systematically when evaluating competing risk management options. The objectives of this study were to illustrate the applicability of the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) method for multidimensional food safety risk management problems, and to evaluate the Swedish dioxin risk management using MCDA. The results show that the MCDA method is indeed a relevant tool for modelling the multifactorial Swedish dioxin problem and for initiating discussions amongst stakeholders to increase the acceptance of chosen strategies. Abolishing the derogation from the European Commission’s maximum limits for the presence of dioxins in Swedish fish is the dominant strategy for risk assessors, whereas the preferences provided by the other stakeholders would suggest a continuation of the derogation without providing consumer information. However, the preferences of female consumers match with the 2011 decision of the Swedish government to ask for a derogation in combination with consumer information. The conclusion drawn from our MCDA analysis is comparable to the government’s decision that—given the gradual reduction in dioxin concentrations in Baltic fish—the decision to continue providing consumer information or not mainly depends on how risk managers balance the preferences of the different stakeholders.
Polyphenols and Their Metabolites in Renal Diseases: An Overview
Authors: Guerreiro Íris , Ferreira-Pêgo Cíntia , Carregosa Diogo , Santos Cláudia N. , Menezes Regina , Fernandes Ana S. , Costa João G.
Published: April 2022

Kidney diseases constitute a worldwide public health problem, contributing to morbidity and mortality. The present study aimed to provide an overview of the published data regarding the potential beneficial effects of polyphenols on major kidney diseases, namely acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, diabetic nephropathy, renal cancer, and drug-induced nephrotoxicity. This study consists of a bibliographical review including in vitro and in vivo studies dealing with the effects of individual compounds. An analysis of the polyphenol metabolome in human urine was also conducted to estimate those compounds that are most likely to be responsible for the kidney protective effects of polyphenols. The biological effects of polyphenols can be highly attributed to the modulation of specific signaling cascades including those involved in oxidative stress responses, anti-inflammation processes, and apoptosis. There is increasing evidence that polyphenols afford great potential in renal disease protection. However, this evidence (especially when in vitro studies are involved) should be considered with caution before its clinical translation, particularly due to the unfavorable pharmacokinetics and extensive metabolization that polyphenols undergo in the human body. Future research should consider polyphenols and their metabolites that indeed reach kidney tissues.
Optimal Transport Pricing in an Age of Fully Autonomous Vehicles: Is It Getting More Complicated?
Authors: Tscharaktschiew Stefan , Evangelinos Christos
Published: April 2022

Over the last several decades, transportation scientists have made substantial progress in identifying and tackling transport-related problems by elaborating sophisticated policy instruments. Originally, the policy instruments were developed and designed to tackle inefficiencies caused by conventional (human-driven) vehicles. However, questions remain regarding transportation policies, especially pricing instruments, in the future. With the advent of fully autonomous vehicles (driverless or self-driving cars), many of potentially disruptive changes to our transportation system are projected to occur. This gives rise to the question of how to adapt the existing, well established, policy instruments to make them applicable to a world of self-driving cars. The present paper utilizes one of the most widely deployed, most important (in terms of tax revenue), and most effective (in terms of carbon dioxide mitigation) current price-based policy instruments in the transport sector (i.e., the energy tax) to show how one of the most innovative features associated with fully autonomous vehicles (i.e., driverless vehicle relocation) affects the optimal design of a transportation tax. We adopt a microeconomics optimization framework and analytically derive the optimal energy tax under the assumption that driverless vehicle relocation is possible. Our main finding is that in a world of self-driving cars, the energy tax (likewise, a second-best miles tax) as a price-based policy instrument becomes more difficult to evaluate. With the capability of fully autonomous vehicles to relocate without passengers inside, the (analytical) expression for the optimal energy tax becomes more complex, and its (numerical) determination becomes more difficult since the feature of driverless vehicle repositioning imposes counteracting welfare effects as a response to a tax change. Policymakers and researches are encouraged to take on the challenge of increasing complexity to tackle transport-related inefficiencies in the era of self-driving cars.
Major Depressive Disorder: Existing Hypotheses about Pathophysiological Mechanisms and New Genetic Findings
Authors: Kamran Muhammad , Bibi Farhana , ur. Rehman Asim. , Morris Derek W.
Published: April 2022

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common mental disorder generally characterized by symptoms associated with mood, pleasure and effectiveness in daily life activities. MDD is ranked as a major contributor to worldwide disability. The complex pathogenesis of MDD is not yet understood, and this is a major cause of failure to develop new therapies and MDD recurrence. Here we summarize the literature on existing hypotheses about the pathophysiological mechanisms of MDD. We describe the different approaches undertaken to understand the molecular mechanism of MDD using genetic data. Hundreds of loci have now been identified by large genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We describe these studies and how they have provided information on the biological processes, cell types, tissues and druggable targets that are enriched for MDD risk genes. We detail our understanding of the genetic correlations and causal relationships between MDD and many psychiatric and non-psychiatric disorders and traits. We highlight the challenges associated with genetic studies, including the complexity of MDD genetics in diverse populations and the need for a study of rare variants and new studies of gene-environment interactions.
Impact of Ambiguity of Physical Properties of Three-Dimensional Crustal Structure Model on Coseismic Slip and Interseismic Slip Deficit in the Nankai Trough Region
Authors: Murakami Sota , Ichimura Tsuyoshi , Fujita Kohei , Hori Takane , Ohta Yusaku
Published: April 2022

Since huge earthquakes are expected along plate subduction zones such as the Japan Trench and Nankai Trough, the estimation of coseismic slip and interseismic slip deficit is essential for immediate response and preliminary measures to reduce damage. Recently, analysis considering the complex topography and underground structure of the plate subduction zone has been performed for improving the estimation performance. However, the three-dimensional (3D) crustal structural model needs to be improved continuously. In this paper, we obtained Green’s functions for 3D crustal structural models with ambiguity by 3D crustal deformation analysis, and the coseismic slip and interseismic slip deficit were estimated. Here we enabled the calculation of many Green’s functions with different physical properties of the 3D crustal structure by utilizing a GPU-based 3D crustal deformation analysis method that significantly reduces the analysis cost. The physical properties on the upper plate’s side, which are located above the plate boundary fault, were changed. We found no significant difference in the estimation performance, except for the upper crust, which most of the fault slip area is in contact with, in the case of coseismic slip estimation. In contrast, the coseismic slip estimation when the properties of the upper crust was changed had a significant error, and a negative slip was estimated at the deep part of the plate boundary where no slip was originally given.
Gender Risk Perception and Coping Mechanisms among Ghanaian University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Hagan John Elvis , Quansah Frank , Frimpong James Boadu , Ankomah Francis , Srem-Sai Medina , Schack Thomas
Published: April 2022

Recent research has shown that gender is an important driver of the risk of mortality and morbidity rates for people with COVID-19, with case fatality rates being higher for women than men. Despite this pattern, research is sparse on gender risk perception and potential coping mechanisms. This study examined the role gender plays in the relationship between COVID-19 risk perception and coping mechanisms among university students. Through the adoption of traditional and online surveys, 859 students from two public universities in Ghana were conveniently selected to respond to the survey instrument. The results from the multivariate regression analysis revealed that COVID-19 risk perception was positively related to active coping. The outcome of the moderation analysis showed that while males were more likely than females to adopt active and emotional support coping with heightened risk perception, a contrary outcome was observed for behaviour disengagement. This result is an indication that female students are likely to be overwhelmed with a high level of risk perception and easily give up trying to adopt effective strategies to reduce the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The findings highlight the need for different forms of intervention for male and female students for dealing with the effect of COVID-19.
Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance of the Very Short Form of Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQR-VSF): A Study among Vietnamese Children
Authors: Takegata Mizuki , Ohashi Yukiko , Nguyen Hien Anh Thi , Toizumi Michiko , Moriuchi Hiroyuki , Dang Duc Anh , Yoshida Lay-Myint , Gartstein Maria A. , Putnam Samuel , Kitamura Toshinori
Published: April 2022

The Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R) assesses the temperament of infants in Western and non-Western countries. Although its factor analyses revealed three factors—surgency, negative affectivity, and effortful control—in the Western culture, the degree to which these are universal or culturally specific is unclear. This study developed a Vietnamese version of the IBQ-Revised Very Short Form (R-VSF) and examined its factor structure in a Vietnamese population. The Vietnamese IBQ-R VSF was administered to 292 mothers of infants between the ages of 3 and 18 months in Nha Trang city, Vietnam, between July and September 2019. After deleting items to achieve sufficient Cronbach’s alphas for each scale (surgency, negative affectivity, and orienting/regulation), the remaining 28 items were aggregated to parcels subjected to exploratory factor analyses (EFAs). EFAs revealed a 3-factor model corresponding to the original theory, and confirmatory factor analyses indicated a good fit of this structural model. The final 3-factor model with parcels indicated measurement and structural invariance between mothers of boys and girls.
Job Demands, Work Functioning and Mental Health in Dutch Nursing Home Staff during the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-Sectional Multilevel Study
Authors: van Dijk Ylse , Janus Sarah I. M. , de Boer Michiel R. , Achterberg Wilco P. , Roelen Corne A. M. , Zuidema Sytse U.
Published: April 2022

COVID-19 posed enormous challenges for nursing home staff, which may have caused stress and mental health problems. This study aimed to measure the prevalence of mental health problems among nursing home staff and investigate the differences in job demands, work functioning and mental health between staff with and without COVID contact or COVID infection and across different levels of COVID worries. In this cross-sectional study, 1669 employees from 10 nursing home organizations filled in an online questionnaire between June and September 2020. The questionnaire measured the participants’ characteristics, COVID contact, infection and worries, job demands, work functioning, depressive symptoms and burnout. Differences were investigated with multilevel models to account for clustering at the organization level. Of the participants, 19.1% had high levels of depressive symptoms and 22.2% burnout. Job demands, work functioning, depressive symptoms and burnout differed between participants who never worried and participants who often or always worried about the COVID crisis. Differences were smaller for participants with and without COVID contact or infection. Most models improved when clustering was accounted for. Nursing homes should be aware of the impact of COVID worries on job demands, work functioning and mental health, both at the individual and organizational level.
Organizational Health Literacy in the Context of Employee Health: An Expert-Panel-Guided Scoping Review Protocol
Authors: Lindert Lara , Kühn Lukas , Kuper Paulina , Choi Kyung-Eun (Anna)
Published: April 2022

Health literacy (HL) is an interplay of individual and organizational health literacy (OHL). While individual HL has been intensively studied, the importance of OHL has become a greater focus of research attention. The National Action Plan Health Literacy in Germany emphasizes the promotion of HL in all areas of everyday life, including occupation and the workplace. The proposed scoping review aims at identifying and evaluating definitions, empirical studies and instruments on OHL targeting employee recipients. The search will be conducted in two consecutive steps and guided by expert-panel discussions in accordance to the method of Consensus Development Panels. The search will be conducted in Web of Science, PubMed and Google Scholar according to the methodological framework of Arksey and O’Malley and supplemented by the snowball principle and a hand search. All records will be included that were published until the final search date. To define eligibility criteria, the PCC framework of the Joanna Briggs Institute is used. The scoping review will critically discuss whether a new definition of OHL in the context of employee health is of purpose for future research and practice. Nonetheless, it will provide orientation in the context of employee health, also facing the consequences of SARS-CoV-2.
Effect of the Promulgation of the New Migrant’s Employment Law on Migrant Insurance Coverage in Thailand: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis, 2016–2018
Authors: Witthayapipopsakul Woranan , Kosiyaporn Hathairat , Uansri Sonvanee , Suphanchaimat Rapeepong
Published: April 2022

This study explores the effect of the recently enacted Foreigners’ Working Management Emergency Decree, 2017 on migrant insurance coverage between January 2016 and December 2018. We employed an interrupted time series (ITS) model to estimate the level and trend changes of the number of migrants enrolled in Social Health Insurance (SHI) for formal workers and the Health Insurance Card Scheme (HICS) for other migrants. Before the Decree’s implementation, SHI covered roughly a third of the total migrants holding work permits, while HICS covered over half of migrants in the country. We found that the new employment law contributed to a rise in the volume of SHI members and a decline in the HICS members in the long run, which might be partly due to a switch from the HICS members in the formal sector to the SHI, as originally intended by the law. In addition to the law effect, some coincided political force from international trade partners and supranational organizations might also contribute to the progress in protecting the rights of migrant workers. The long-term monitoring of migrant insurance coverage and a mapping against the changes in migrant-related laws and contexts are recommended.
Effective Remediation of Arsenic-Contaminated Soils by EK-PRB of Fe/Mn/C-LDH: Performance, Characteristics, and Mechanism
Authors: Zhu Zongqiang , Zhou Shuai , Zhou Xiaobin , Mo Shengpeng , Zhu Yinian , Zhang Lihao , Tang Shen , Fang Zhanqiang , Fan Yinming
Published: April 2022

Arsenic is highly toxic and carcinogenic. The aim of the present work is to develop a good remediation technique for arsenic-contaminated soils. Here, a novel remediation technique by coupling electrokinetics (EK) with the permeable reactive barriers (PRB) of Fe/Mn/C-LDH composite was applied for the remediation of arsenic-contaminated soils. The influences of electric field strength, PRB position, moisture content and PRB filler type on the removal rate of arsenic from the contaminated soils were studied. The Fe/Mn/C-LDH filler synthesized by using bamboo as a template retained the porous characteristics of the original bamboo, and the mass percentage of Fe and Mn elements was 37.85%. The setting of PRB of Fe/Mn/C-LDH placed in the middle was a feasible option, with the maximum and average soil leaching toxicity removal rates of 95.71% and 88.03%, respectively. When the electric field strength was 2 V/cm, both the arsenic removal rate and economic aspects were optimal. The maximum and average soil leaching toxicity removal rates were similar to 98.40% and 84.49% of 3 V/cm, respectively. Besides, the soil moisture content had negligible effect on the removal of arsenic but slight effect on leaching toxicity. The best leaching toxicity removal rate was achieved when the soil moisture content was 35%, neither higher nor lower moisture content in the range of 25–45% was conducive to the improvement of leaching toxicity removal rate. The results showed that the EK-PRB technique could effectively remove arsenic from the contaminated soils. Characterizations of Fe/Mn/C-LDH indicated that the electrostatic adsorption, ion exchange, and surface functional group complexation were the primary ways to remove arsenic.
Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Practices Regarding Dengue in La Réunion Island, France
Authors: Lamaurt Florence , De Santis Olga , Ramis Julie , Schultz Cédric , Rivadeneyra Ana , Waelli Mathias , Flahault Antoine
Published: April 2022

Since 2017, La Réunion island has been facing a major epidemic of dengue. Despite actions carried out by the anti-vector control department, public authorities have failed to contain this epidemic. As individual involvement is key to success in vector control, we carried out a mixed-methods study on population knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices (KABP) regarding dengue infection risk in La Réunion. The study combined quantitative data collected through a questionnaire administered to a representative sample of 622 people to assess the use of protective measures and the perception of severity and risk of dengue, and a sample of 336 people to assess the level of knowledge and concern about dengue, as well as qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews among 11 individuals who had previously completed the questionnaire. The study results show that 63% of the surveyed population had a good level of knowledge associated with age, education, and socio-professional category variables—78% considered dengue to be a serious threat, and concern was estimated at 6/10, while 71% were likely to use protective measures. The interviews revealed contradictory behaviors in the implementation of recommended actions, in conflict with personal beliefs regarding respect of human body and nature. The study also revealed a loss of confidence in public authorities.
Performance Outcome Measures in Padel: A Scoping Review
Authors: García-Giménez Alejandro , Pradas de la Fuente Francisco , Castellar Otín Carlos , Carrasco Páez Luis
Published: April 2022

Padel is a modern doubles racket sport which has become popular around the world in the last decades. There has been an increase in the quantity of scientific research about this sport in the last years. Therefore, the main objective of this scoping review is to provide an updated contextualization of research regarding padel. PRISMA ScR was used in order to search for articles fulfilling the inclusion criteria in five fields of interest: the anthropometric profile, physiology and physical performance, biomechanics, the epidemiology of injuries, and match analyses Seventy-seven records were included in the study. Padel is an emerging sport both in sport and research terms. This scoping review provides coaches and researchers with all the knowledge available in the five fields of interest. Furthermore, this study enables them to make a map of the current state of the research about padel, and it opens up doors to future investigations.
Perspectives and Experiences of Smartphone Overuse among University Students in Umm Al-Qura University (UQU), Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Analysis
Authors: Alotaibi Mohammad Saud , Fox Mim , Coman Robyn , Ratan Zubair Ahmed , Hosseinzadeh Hassan
Published: April 2022

Smartphone overuse and addiction is a growing concern worldwide. However, there are limited studies about smartphone addiction and its impacts on university students in Saudi Arabia. This qualitative study aimed to elicit students’ and university staff’s perspectives and experiences about smartphone overuse/addiction in Umm Al-Qura University (UQU), Saudi Arabia. Fifteen undergraduate students and 18 university staff (13 lecturers and five professionals) were recruited for the purpose of this study. The study data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. The qualitative data comprising 33 participants (students and staff) identified four major themes including the perception of smartphone use; causes of smartphone overuse; negative impacts of smartphone overuse; and strategies to reduce the overuse of smartphone. The overall findings confirmed that students and staff alike held both positive and negative perceptions about using a smartphone. Potential factors leading to smartphone overuse included personal factors (extended free time and low self-confidence, irresponsibility/escaping certain social gatherings/passing the time); smartphone factors (reasonable price, attractive advertisements (ads), and engaging smartphone Apps); and social factors (social pressure and fear of losing a connection). The main negative impacts of smartphone overuse were found to be related to low academic productivity, poor physical health (body pain, lack of sleep, and low exercise), compromised mental well-being (stress and negative emotions), and decreased socialisation (social isolation and a reduction in face-to-face communication). Our findings suggested that awareness campaigns about smartphone overuse, promoting family and social events, encouraging physical activities, and limiting internet use can reduce smartphone usage among university students. This finding has significant implications for decision-makers.
Experts’ Opinion for Improving Pertussis Vaccination Rates in Adolescents and Adults: A Call to Action
Authors: Gabutti Giovanni , Cetin Irene , Conversano Michele , Costantino Claudio , Durando Paolo , Giuffrida Sandro
Published: April 2022

This article highlights the importance of diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (with reduced antigen content, dTap) vaccination in preventing pertussis, a respiratory infection that is still widespread and easily transmitted. In particular, it highlights the need to receive a booster vaccination throughout life to maintain high antibody levels, which decrease through time. This document collects the opinions that emerged from the comparison between major Italian experts in the field of vaccination. This working group was created to promote a “call to action”, aimed at raising awareness among all institutions, public health authorities, and health workers involved in the vaccination process, about the importance of dTap vaccine administration and with the mindset of implementing the strategic vaccination plan provided by the National Vaccine Plan (NVP). In fact, despite this vaccine being included in the NVP, there are some issues attributable to the practice of vaccination (local health authorities, vaccination centers, occupational health services, gynecology centers, societies of work). Therefore, it is necessary that the Ministry defines the vaccination coverage objectives, identifies the groups of subjects who should receive the booster vaccine (subjects exposed to greater risk of infection, subjects over 60, pregnant women), and applies all the necessary measures to encourage the implementation of this practice.
A Cross-Sectional Study on Hypertension Medication Adherence in a High-Burden Region in Namibia: Exploring Hypertension Interventions and Validation of the Namibia Hill-Bone Compliance Scale
Authors: Nakwafila Olivia , Mashamba-Thompson Tivani , Godi Anthony , Sartorius Benn
Published: April 2022

In Namibia, the prevalence of hypertension among women and men aged 35–64 years is high, ranging from 44% to 57%. In this study, we aimed to determine adherence and predictors to antihypertensive therapy in Khomas region, Namibia. A cross-sectional study was performed to consecutively sample 400 patients from urban and peri-urban settings in Namibia. Results were validated using the Hill-Bone Compliance to High Blood Pressure Therapy Scale. Crude associations between predictors of adherence and compliance were tested using the Pearson chi-square test. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was then performed on adherence variables found to be significant to adjust for confounders, and the results are presented as adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals. A total of 400 patients participated in this study. The participants’ mean age and standard deviation were Mean ± SD = 48.9 ± 12.5. In this study, 351 (87.7%) patients were estimated to have good adherence. Education, employment, and the presence of other chronic diseases were associated with adherence. Following multivariate adjustment, the following factors were significantly associated and are therefore predictors of adherence (95%CI, p < 0.005): receiving enough medication at last check-up until next one (OR = 5.44, CI 1.76–16.85), lack of encouragement from family and friends (OR = 0.11 (0.03–0.42)), and attendance of follow-ups on schedule (OR = 8.49, CI = 3.82–18.85). The success of hypertension therapy is dependent on the healthcare systems and healthcare professionals in supplying enough medication, support of friends/family, and maintaining scheduled follow-ups. A combination of interventions using low-cost mobile technology led by healthcare professionals could be endorsed. To fully practice universal access to medication, public and private hospitals in Namibia should collaborate.
Identification of Codon 146 KRAS Variants in Isolated Epidermal Nevus and Multiple Lesions in Oculoectodermal Syndrome: Confirmation of the Phenotypic Continuum of Mosaic RASopathies
Authors: Beyens Aude , Dequeker Laure , Brems Hilde , Janssens Sandra , Syryn Hannes , D’Hooghe Anne , De Paepe Pascale , Vanwalleghem Lieve , Stockman Annelies , Vankwikelberge Elena , De Schepper Sofie , Goeteyn Marleen , Delbeke Patricia , Callewaert Bert
Published: April 2022

Mosaic RASopathies are a molecularly heterogeneous group of (neuro)cutaneous syndromes with high phenotypical variability. Postzygotic variants in KRAS have been described in oculoectodermal syndrome (OES), encephalocraniocutaneous lipomatosis (ECCL) and epidermal nevus syndrome (ENS). This study confirms the continuum of mosaic neurocutaneous RASopathies showing codon 146 KRAS variants in an individual with OES and, for the first time, in an individual with (isolated) epidermal nevus. The presence of a nevus psiloliparus in individuals with OES indicates that this finding is not specific for ECCL and highlights the phenotypical overlap between ECCL and OES. The presence of the somatic KRAS variant in the nevus psiloliparus resolves the underlying molecular etiology of this fatty-tissue nevus. In addition, this finding refutes the theory of non-allelic twin-spotting as an underlying hypothesis to explain the concurrent presence of two different mosaicisms in one individual. The identification of codon 146 KRAS variants in isolated epidermal nevus introduces a new hot spot for this condition, which is useful for increasing molecular genetic testing using targeted gene sequencing panels.