Jeppesenmoser3722

COVID-19 pandemic and its related containment measures have been associated with increased levels of stress, anxiety and depression in the general population. While the use of digital media has been greatly promoted by national governments and international authorities to maintain social contacts and healthy lifestyle behaviors, its increased access may also bear the risk of inappropriate or excessive use of internet-related resources. The present study, part of the COVID Mental hEalth Trial (COMET) study, aims at investigating the possible relationship between social isolation, the use of digital resources and the development of their problematic use. A cross sectional survey was carried out to explore the prevalence of internet addiction, excessive use of social media, problematic video gaming and binge watching, during Italian phase II (May-June 2020) and III (June-September 2020) of the pandemic in 1385 individuals (62.5% female, mean age 32.5 ± 12.9) mainly living in Central Italy (52.4%). Data were stratified according to phase II/III and three groups of Italian regions (northern, central and southern). Compared to the larger COMET study, most participants exhibited significant higher levels of severe-to-extremely-severe depressive symptoms (46.3% vs. 12.4%; p less then 0.01) and extremely severe anxiety symptoms (77.8% vs. 7.5%; p less then 0.01). We also observed a rise in problematic internet use and excessive gaming over time. Mediation analyses revealed that COVID-19-related general psychopathology, stress, anxiety, depression and social isolation play a significant role in the emergence of problematic internet use, social media addiction and problematic video gaming. Professional gamers and younger subjects emerged as sub-populations particularly at risk of developing digital addictions. If confirmed in larger and more homogenous samples, our findings may help in shedding light on possible preventive and treatment strategies for digital addictions.Standard pollen monitoring programs evaluate outdoor pollen concentrations; however, information on indoor pollen is crucial for human wellbeing as people spend most of the day in indoor environments. In this study, we investigated the differences in indoor mountain cedar pollen loads between rooms of different uses and with different ventilation at The University of Texas in Austin and focused on the effect of rainy episodes on indoor/outdoor ratios of pollen concentrations. Pollen were sampled outdoors and indoors, specifically in seven rooms and in two thermal labs with controlled ventilation, during the daytime on 6 days in 2015. We calculated daily pollen concentrations, campaign pollen integrals (CPIn, the sum of all daily pollen concentrations) and ratios between indoor and outdoor concentrations (I/O ratio). Pollen concentrations differed substantially based on features related to room use and ventilation Whereas the highest CPIn was observed in a room characterized by a frequently opened window and door, the smallest CPIn was related to a storeroom without any windows and no forced ventilation. Our results showed that rainy episodes were linked to a higher mean I/O ratio (0.98; non-rainy episodes 0.05). This suggests that pollen accumulated indoors and reached higher levels than outdoors. Low ratios seem to signal a low level of risk for allergic people when staying inside. However, under very high outdoor pollen concentrations, small ratios can still be associated with high indoor pollen levels. In turn, high I/O ratios are not necessarily related to a (very) high indoor exposure. Therefore, I/O ratios should be considered along with pollen concentration values for a proper risk assessment. Exposure may be higher in indoor environments during prevailing precipitation events and at the end of the pollen season of a specific species. Standardized indoor environments (e.g., thermal labs) should be included in pollen monitoring programs.The recent deployment of 5G networks is bringing benefits to the population but it is also raising public concern about human RF-EMF exposure levels. This is particularly relevant considering the next 5G mobile devices, which are placed in close proximity to the subjects. Therefore, the aim of the following paper is focused on expanding the knowledge of the exposure levels in 5G exposure scenarios, specifically for mobile applications, using computational methods. The mobile antenna was designed considering the 5G technology innovations (i.e., mm-wave spectrum, beamforming capability, high gain and wide coverage), resulting in a phased-array antenna with eight elements at the working frequency of 27 GHz. To assess the exposure levels, different types of skin models with different grades of details and layers were considered. Furthermore, not only was the presence of a mobile phone user simulated, but also that of a person in their proximity, who could be hit by the main beam of the phased-array antenna. All the simulations were conducted in Sim4Life platform, where the exposure levels were assessed in terms of absorbed power density averaged over 4 cm2 and 1 cm2, following the ICNIRP guidelines. The results highlighted that the use of the homogeneous skin model led to the absorbed power density peaks being greatly underestimated, with respect to those obtained in multilayer skin models. Furthermore, interestingly, we found that the exposure levels obtained for the person passing nearby were slightly higher than those experienced by the mobile phone user himself. Finally, using the allowed input power for real mobile applications, all the values remained below the limits indicated by the ICNIRP guidelines.(1) Background the prevalence of postnatal depression (PND) reaches up to 20%. PND could be based on the interaction between a psychological vulnerability and chronic stress that pregnancy would activate. Vulnerability factors reflect a psychological profile mirroring mindfulness-trait (MT). A high level of MT is associated with an efficient regulation of both physiological and psychological stress, especially negative moods. Interestingly, mindfulness level can be improved by program based on mindfulness meditation. We hypothesize that MT is a protective factor for PND. We also postulate that negative moods increase during the pregnancy for women who develop a PND after delivery (2) Methods we conducted a multicentric prospective longitudinal study including 85 women during their first trimester of their pregnancy and 72 from the childbirth to the baby's first birthday". At the inclusion, presence and acceptance of MT and various variables of personality and of psychological functioning were assessed. Mood evolution was monitored each month during the pregnancy and a delivery trauma risk was evaluated after delivery. PND detection was carried out at 48 h, 2, 6 and 12 months after the delivery with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale with a screening cut-off >11. (3) Results high-acceptance MT is a protective factor for PND (OR 0.79). Women without PND displayed less negative mood during pregnancy (p less then 0.05 for Anxiety, Confusion and Anger). (4) Conclusions these results suggest the value of deploying programs to enhance the level of mindfulness, especially in its acceptance dimension, before, during and after pregnancy, to reduce the risk of PND.

This study sought to investigate the perceptions, barriers, and drivers associated with medicinal cannabis use among Australian women with primary dysmenorrhea. A qualitative study via virtual focus groups involving 26 women experiencing regular, moderate, or greater menstrual pain explored categories including cost, associated stigma, current drug driving laws, community and workplace ethics, and geographical isolation within the context of patient access under current Australian laws and regulations.

A qualitative descriptive analysis identified that dissatisfaction with current management strategies such as over-the-counter analgesic usage was the key driver for wanting to use medicinal cannabis. A number of significant barriers to use were identified including patient access to medical prescribers, medical practitioner bias, current drug driving laws, geographic location, and cost. Community and cultural factors such as the history of cannabis as an illicit drug and the resulting stigma, even when preincreasing patient adoption, including possible subsidisation of cost. The high cost of legal, medicinal cannabis was a key factor in women's choice to use illicit cannabis. Overall, the concerns raised by our participants are consistent with the broader findings of a recent Australian Senate inquiry report into barriers to patient access to medicinal cannabis in Australia, suggesting many of the issues are systematic rather than disease-specific. Given the interest in use of medicinal cannabis amongst women with primary dysmenorrhea, clinical trials in this area are urgently needed.Negative social attitudes towards people with disabilities are a serious barrier to their social, professional, and cultural functioning. Due to negative perception, disabled individuals are often homebound. The present study was an attempt to compare declared attitudes with the results of other studies using the Polish version of an international assessment tool. The aim was to verify the MAS-PL tool and to analyse the attitudes of students of social sciences and humanities towards people with physical disabilities. An additional aim was to compare declared attitudes with the results of other studies using the Polish version of an international assessment tool for students of medicine and health sciences. In total, 540 students were surveyed using the Polish adaptation of the Multidimensional Attitudes Scale towards Persons with Disabilities (MAS-PL). The study confirmed the high reliability of the MAS-PL Scale. The mean global score of the scale was 82.79. There were no significant differences in the global MAS-PL score depending on respondents' sex; however, an effect of this variable on the subscales was found. The surveyed females exhibited more positive attitudes in terms of the cognitive and behavioural components, whereas the males showed more positive attitudes in the affective subscale. There was no significant impact of the place of residence, age, and majors. Dactolisib PI3K inhibitor Along with the year of studies, the intensity of the global and affective scale slightly increased. The surveyed students of social sciences and humanities exhibited similar attitudes towards people with physical disabilities to those declared by Polish students of medical and health sciences surveyed by Radlińska et al. The authors recommend implementation of didactic classes, projects, and activities at the stage of planning and creation of student education programs to promote tolerance towards disabled people.

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms among young females. Idealized body images shared on the platform have been associated with lower levels of body satisfaction in this population, likely due to social comparison processes. In the present study, we tested a mediation model linking Instagram use (i.e., browsing through others' profiles, commenting on others' looks, posting one's own photos or stories) to body dissatisfaction (i.e., body image discrepancy and lack of body appreciation), mediated by upward social comparison with close peers, distant peers, and social media influencers.

We applied structural equation modeling to self-report cross-sectional data collected from 291 female adolescents and young women (M

= 19.8, SD = 4.6; 94.8% Italian).

Our final model results show that browsing on Instagram was associated with lower levels of body appreciation, fully mediated by upward social comparison with social media influencers, not close or distant peers. Commenting on others' looks and posting own content were not associated with body dissatisfaction.