Psychometric properties of the Persian version of co-rumination questionnaire

Background: Although growing studies support features of co-rumination as a vulnerability factor in internalizing symptoms and positive factor in friendship, little attention has been paid to the psychometric properties of the Co-Rumination Questionnaire (CRQ). Objectives: This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Persian version of this questionnaire. Methods: This research is a descriptive-exploratory study and 550 high school students who were selected by random cluster sampling from schools in Tehran. They completed CRQ, Beck depression inventory-II (BDI-II), and ruminative response scale (RRS) from winter 2014 to summer 2015. Construct validity, internal consistency reliability, and factor structure were investigated. Results: The factor analysis identified two interpretable factors with the eigenvalue higher than 2. The results from concurrent validity measurement in the current study showed that co-rumination has a positive correlation with depression signs (P < 0.01) and rumination response style (P < 0.01). The CRQ validity was determined using the half-split method employing Spearman-Brown (0.82) and Guttman correlation test (0.81) and internal consistency (0.90). According to these values, this questionnaire has acceptable internal consistency reliability. Conclusions: The Persian version of CRQ has reliability and validity for assessing co-rumination among adolescent participants. This study provides primary evidence on the applicability of the Persian version of the CRQ in the Iranian population. Copyright © 2020, Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial usages, provided the original work is properly cited

The effect of nutritional education based on the health action process approach (HAPA) on the pregnancy outcomes among malnourished pregnant mothers

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of nutritional education based on the health action process approach (HAPA) on pregnancy outcomes among malnourished pregnant mothers utilizing nutritional support. Methods: In a randomized controlled trial, 234 malnourished pregnant women under nutritional support from the fourth month of pregnancy participated. Participants were randomly allocated in study groups by the balance block randomization method. Data were collected using a socio-demographic and pregnancy outcomes checklist as well as self-devised questionnaire assessing the constructs of the HAPA model before and three months after the educational intervention. The framework of the educational intervention was based on the constructs of the HAPA and included three one-hour training sessions through lectures, group discussions, ‘question and answer’ sessions, and the use of educational tools. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and SPSS software. Results: Pregnancy outcomes including optimal weight gain during pregnancy (p = 0.47), neonate’s birth weight (p = 0.58), gestational age at delivery (p = 0.83), type of delivery (p = 0.48) gestational anemia (p = 0.22), diabetes (p = 0.59) and hypertension (p = 0.29) were not significantly different in the intervention and control groups. The results showed that the educational intervention produced a significant increase in the total score (24 points) in the intervention group. Improvement of scores in the intervention group compared to the control was observed in all of the model constructs except outcome expectation (0.68 decrease). The educational intervention in the present study had a large measure of effect in total (SMD: 2.69, partial eta2: 0.664). Conclusion: A nutritional education intervention based on the HAPA model for malnourished pregnant women increased behavioral intention and planning for action to have better nutritional behavior. However, the intervention did not change the pregnancy outcomes significantly. Practice implications: Nutritional education based on the HAPA model can be used to improve nutritional behaviors of malnourished pregnant women

Psychometric properties of the Persian version of co-rumination questionnaire

Background: Although growing studies support features of co-rumination as a vulnerability factor in internalizing symptoms and positive factor in friendship, little attention has been paid to the psychometric properties of the Co-Rumination Questionnaire (CRQ). Objectives: This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Persian version of this questionnaire. Methods: This research is a descriptive-exploratory study and 550 high school students who were selected by random cluster sampling from schools in Tehran. They completed CRQ, Beck depression inventory-II (BDI-II), and ruminative response scale (RRS) from winter 2014 to summer 2015. Construct validity, internal consistency reliability, and factor structure were investigated. Results: The factor analysis identified two interpretable factors with the eigenvalue higher than 2. The results from concurrent validity measurement in the current study showed that co-rumination has a positive correlation with depression signs (P < 0.01) and rumination response style (P < 0.01). The CRQ validity was determined using the half-split method employing Spearman-Brown (0.82) and Guttman correlation test (0.81) and internal consistency (0.90). According to these values, this questionnaire has acceptable internal consistency reliability. Conclusions: The Persian version of CRQ has reliability and validity for assessing co-rumination among adolescent participants. This study provides primary evidence on the applicability of the Persian version of the CRQ in the Iranian population. Copyright © 2020, Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial usages, provided the original work is properly cited

Estimation of behavioral addiction prevalence during COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose of Review: The COVID-19 pandemic changed people’s lifestyles and such changed lifestyles included the potential of increasing addictive behaviors. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the prevalence of different behavioral addictions (i.e., internet addiction, smartphone addiction, gaming addiction, social media addiction, food addiction, exercise addiction, gambling addiction, and shopping addiction) both overall and separately. Recent Findings: Four databases (PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Knowledge, and ProQuest) were searched. Peer-reviewed papers published in English between December 2019 and July 2022 were reviewed and analyzed. Search terms were selected using PECO-S criteria: population (no limitation in participants’ characteristics), exposure (COVID-19 pandemic), comparison (healthy populations), outcome (frequency or prevalence of behavioral addiction), and study design (observational study). A total of 94 studies with 237,657 participants from 40 different countries (mean age 25.02 years; 57.41% females). The overall prevalence of behavioral addiction irrespective of addiction type (after correcting for publication bias) was 11.1% (95% CI: 5.4 to 16.8%). The prevalence rates for each separate behavioral addiction (after correcting for publication bias) were 10.6% for internet addiction, 30.7% for smartphone addiction, 5.3% for gaming addiction, 15.1% for social media addiction, 21% for food addiction, 9.4% for sex addiction, 7% for exercise addiction, 7.2% for gambling addiction, and 7.2% for shopping addiction. In the lockdown periods, prevalence of food addiction, gaming addiction, and social media addiction was higher compared to non-lockdown periods. Smartphone and social media addiction was associated with methodological quality of studies (i.e., the higher the risk of boas, the higher the prevalence rate). Other associated factors of social media addiction were the percentage of female participants, mean age of participants, percentage of individuals using the internet in country, and developing status of country. The percentage of individuals in the population using the internet was associated with all the prevalence of behavioral addiction overall and the prevalence of sex addiction and gambling addiction. Gaming addiction prevalence was associated with data collection method (online vs. other methods) that is gaming addiction prevalence was much lower using online methods to collect the data. Summary: Behavioral addictions appeared to be potential health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare providers and government authorities should foster some campaigns that assist people in coping with stress during COVID-19 pandemics to prevent them from developing behavioral addictions during COVID-19 and subsequent pandemics

Weight-related stigma and psychological distress: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background and aims: Individuals who are overweight or who have obesity are likely to perceive or experience unfriendly treatment (i.e., weight-related perceived stigma) from different sources such as work colleagues because of the stigma towards excess weight. People who are overweight may accept such stigma and devalue themselves (i.e., weight-related self-stigma). Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between weight stigma (including weight-related self-stigma and weight-related perceived stigma) and psychological distress (including depression and anxiety) using random-effects meta-analyses. Utilizing five academic databases (PubMed, Scopus, WOS, Embase and ProQuest) and keywords related to weight stigma and psychological distress, empirical studies focusing on the association between weight stigma and psychological distress were selected. The timeline for the searched papers was from the inception of each database to the end of August 2019. Results: Eligible studies (N = 30; 25 on weight-related self-stigma and eight on weight-related perceived stigma) were analyzed with a total of 9345 participants experiencing weight-related self-stigma, and 15,496 experiencing weight-related perceived stigma. The pooled associations were moderate between weight-related self-stigma and psychological distress (corrected Fisher's Z = 0.40 for depression; 0.36 for anxiety) and between perceived stigma and depression (Fisher's Z = 0.44). Conclusions: Results of the meta-analysis demonstrated that weight stigma is associated with psychological distress. The comprehensive search of the literature and rigorous methodology employed are the two major strengths in the present study. Because self-stigma and perceived stigma are different concepts, their associations with psychological distress should not be merged together

A qualitative analysis of personal health care challenges experienced by Iranian divorcees

Divorce, nowadays an increasingly more prevalent life event in Iran, can create poor general health among Iranian women, possibly due to bigger challenges for health-related behaviors. The aim was to explore challenges to achieve health-related behaviors as experienced by divorced Iranian women acting as household-heads. An inductive exploratory design based on qualitative content analysis was utilized. Twenty strategically selected divorced women acting as household-heads in Tehran were interviewed between September 2019 and January 2020. The divorced women experienced individual-centered and social and environmental-centered challenges concerning their health-related behaviors. Lack of competence, lack of personal control, and lack of emotional support were described as individual-centered barriers. Lack of community-based support, lack of financial support, and lack of labor market support were described as social and environmental challenges to health-related behaviors. A wide range of individual, social, and environmental-centered factors hindered divorced women acting as household-heads to engage in health-related behaviors. Therefore, person-centered interventions are necessary alongside efforts to develop appropriate policies and amend protection laws to increase the welfare and health of divorced women acting as household-heads

The mediational role of trust in the healthcare system in the association between generalized trust and willingness to get COVID-19 vaccination in Iran

For some individuals, there appears to be some level of unwillingness in getting a COVID-19 vaccine which may be due to trust issues. The present study used a mediation model to investigate how trust is associated with an individual’s willingness to get COVID-19 vaccination among Iranians. A total of 10,843 Iranian adults were recruited in Qazvin province using a multistage stratified cluster sampling method. The survey was completed between February 19 and April 9, 2021. The findings showed that generalized trust was positively associated with trust in the healthcare system, trust in the healthcare system was positively associated with willingness to get COVID-19 vaccination, and generalized trust was positively associated with willingness to get COVID-19 vaccination. Also, trust in the healthcare system mediated the association between generalized trust and willingness to get COVID-19 vaccination. There were some significant demographic differences in COVID-19 vaccination willingness. The findings suggest that generalized trust plays a significant role in directly or indirectly influencing individuals’ willingness to get COVID-19 vaccine. Therefore, government bodies and health officials may utilize these findings to appeal in a more transparent and professional manner in encouraging individuals to get a COVID-19 vaccine. However, for those with lower trust levels (in general and in the healthcare system), the focus may be to re-build and/or regain the individuals’ trust through carefully planned transparent communication, information dissemination, and ethical education to help increase the uptake of COVID-19 vaccination

Internet addiction and sleep disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The pathological use of the internet – conceptualized as 'internet addiction' – might be crucial in initiating and increasing sleep disturbances in the community. While inconsistent evidence is reported regarding the association of internet addiction and sleep disturbances, severity of this association is unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to increase our understanding of the relationship between internet addiction and sleep disturbances. A systematic review was conducted through Scopus, PubMed Central, ProQuest, ISI Web of Knowledge, and EMBASE using keywords related to internet addiction and sleep problems. Observational studies (cohort, case-control or cross-sectional studies) focusing on association between internet addiction and sleep disturbances including sleep problems and sleep duration were selected. A meta-analysis using random-effect model was conducted to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for experiencing sleep problems and standardized mean differences (SMDs) for sleep duration. Eligible studies (N=23) included 35,684 participants. The overall pooled OR of having sleep problems if addicted to the internet was 2.20 (95% CI: 1.77–2.74). Additionally, the overall pooled SMDs for sleep duration for the IA group compared to normal internet users was -0.24 (95% CI: -0.38, -0.10). Results of the meta-analysis revealed a significant OR for sleep problems and a significant reduced sleep duration among individuals addicted to the internet

Effects of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) on quality of life: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The effects of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) have consistently been shown to improve insomnia symptoms and other health-related outcomes, but the effects on QoL have been inconsistent. Many factors including the type CBT-I delivery and type of instrument used to assess QoL make the topic complex. The present systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized the evidence of CBT-I efficacy on QoL outcomes across different populations, delivery modes, and methodological aspects. Following the guidelines on preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), a literature search was conducted through PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycINFO using keywords from relevant MeSH terms based on PICOS (Participants, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome and Study) criteria. Clinical trials investigating the effect of CBT-I as an intervention on QoL with any kind of control group were eligible if they reported mean scores and variation of QoL. Meta-analysis using a random-effect model was conducted to calculate the standardized mean differences (SMDs) in a set including all identified studies, as well as in three sub-sets: face-to-face CBT-I using randomized controlled trials (RCTs), online CBT-I using RCTs, and one-group pre- and post-treatment design. A total of 24 studies comprising 1977 participants (808 in an intervention group) from 12 countries were eligible for meta-analysis. The overall pooled estimate of SMD of QoL when all 24 studies were included was 0.47 (95% CI: 0.22; 0.72; I2 = 84.5%; tau2 = 0.31; p < 0.001). The overall pooled estimate of SMD of QoL was 0.46 (95% CI: 0.01–0.90; I2 = 87.5%; tau2 = 0.48, p < 0.001) for intervention groups with face-to-face CBT-I compared to controls; 0.47 (95% CI: 0.02–0.92; I2 = 88.3%; tau2 = 0.36; p = 0.04) for intervention groups with digital CBT-I compared to controls, and 0.46 (95% CI: 0.12–0.80; I2 = 52.9%; tau2 = 0.07; p = 0.08) for one-group pre- and post-comparison using CBT-I intervention compared to baseline. Moreover, effects of CBT-I on QoL were different across populations (pooled SMD = 0.59 for patients with insomnia; 0.29 for patients with insomnia comorbid with another major disorder; and 0.48 for other conditions) and types of QoL instruments (pooled SMD = 0.36 for disease-specific QoL instrument not on insomnia, 0.43 for generic QoL instrument, and 0.67 for a single-QoL-item instrument). The probability of publication bias was ruled out in overall and design specific sub-group analysis based on funnel plot and Egger's test. In conclusion, this meta-analysis confirmed a moderate, overall effect of CBT-I in improving QoL. However, due to small power and heterogeneity, future studies are needed to better explore the impact of moderating factors such as mode of delivery and type of QoL measure for assessment used

Pyoverdine binding aptamers and label-free electrochemical detection of pseudomonads

Pyoverdines are iron-chelating siderophores employed by various pseudomonads to promote their growth in iron-limited environments, facilitating both beneficial and detrimental interactions with co-inhabiting microbes or hosts, including plants and animals. The fluorescent pseudomonads produce fluorescent pyoverdines comprised of a conserved central chromophore and a unique strain-specific peptidic side chain produced by non-ribosomal peptide synthetases. Pyoverdine Pf5 (PVD-Pf5) is produced by Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5, a species known for supporting plant growth and its involvement in plant pathogen control. To develop a means of exploring the dynamics of P. protegens activity in soil and in the rhizosphere, we selected DNA aptamers that specifically recognize PVD-Pf5 with high affinities. Two selected aptamers with only 16% identity in sequence were examined for structure and function. We found evidence that both aptamers form structures in their apo-forms and one aptamer has structural features suggesting the presence of a G-quadruplex. Although their tertiary structures are predicted to be different, both aptamers bind the target PVD-Pf5 with similar affinities and do not bind other siderophores, including the related pyoverdine, pseudobactin, produced by Pseudomonas sp. B10. One aptamer binds the pyoverdine peptide component and may also interact with the chromophore. This aptamer was integrated into a nanoporous aluminum oxide biosensor and demonstrated to successfully detect PVD-Pf5 and not to detect other siderophores that do not bind to the aptamer when evaluated in solution. This sensor provides a future opportunity to track the locations of P. protegens around plant roots and to monitor PVD-Pf5 production and movement through the soil.This article is published as Nilsen-Hamilton, Marit, Sharif Anisuzzaman, Dilini Singappuli-Arachchige, Nima Alimoradi, Gennady V. Pogorelko, Soma Banerjee, Yunus Kaiyum, Philip Johnson, and Pranav Shrotriya. "Pyoverdine Binding Aptamers and Label-Free Electrochemical Detection of Pseudomonads." Frontiers in Chemistry 12: 1438710. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2024.1438710. © 2024 Anisuzzaman, Alimoradi, Singappuli-Arachchige, Banerjee, Pogorelko, Kaiyum, Johnson, Shrotriya and Nilsen-Hamilton. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)