Emerging adults' cultural values, prosocial behaviors, and mental health in 14 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Evidence suggests an impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, particularly among emerging adults. However, theories on altruism born of suffering or adversarial growth suggest that we might also see prosocial behavior as a function of the pandemic, which may protect against mental health challenges. Because cultural values are central in determining prosocial behavior, the current study explored how cultural values were differentially associated with adaptive prosocial behaviors that might protect against mental health challenges. Participants for the current study included 5,682 young people aged 18-25 years from 14 different countries around the world (68% female, 62% college students). Path analyses suggested that there were few differences in patterns as a function of culture, but revealed that horizontal individualism and horizontal and vertical collectivism were indirectly associated with lower levels of depression via prosocial behavior toward family members. Discussion focuses on the importance of coping by strengthening family relationships via prosocial behavior during the pandemic

Estimation of GHG Emissions in Turkey Using Energy and Economic Indicators

ARCAKLIOGLU, Erol/0000-0001-8073-5207WOS: 000265987900007The greenhouse gas emissions (total greenhouse gas, CO2, CO, SO2, NO2, E (emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds)) covered by the Kyoto Protocol are weighted by their global warming potentials and aggregated to give total emissions in CO2 equivalents. The subject in this study is to obtain equations to predict the greenhouse gas emissions of Turkey using energy and economic indicators by the artificial neural network approach. In this study, three different models were used in order to train the artificial neural network. In the first of them sectoral energy consumption (Model 1), in the second of them gross domestic product (Model 2), and in the third of them gross national product (Model 3) are used input layer of the network. The greenhouse gas emissions are in the output layer for all models. The aim of using different models is to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions with high confidence to make correct investments in Turkey. The obtained equations are used to determine the future level of the greenhouse gas emissions and take measures to control the share of sectors in total emission. According to artificial neural network results, the maximum mean absolute percentage errors for Model 1 were found to be 0.147151, 0.066716, 0.181901, 0.105146, 0.124684, and 0.158157 for greenhouse gas, SO2, NO2, CO, E, and CO2, about training data with Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm by eight neurons, respectively. Similarly, for Model 2 these values were found to be 0.487212, 0.701938, 0.718754, 0.232667, 0.272346, and 0.575421, respectively. And finally, for Model 3, these values were found to be 0.126728, 0.115135, 0.069296, 0.214888, 0.080358, and 0.179481, respectively. R2 values are obtained very close to 1 for all models. The artificial neural network approach shows greater accuracy for estimating the greenhouse gas emissions

Assessment of indoor volatile organic compounds in Head Start child care facilities

Exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in child care environments has raised a public concern. This study aimed to characterize indoor VOCs in four facilities of Head Start programs in Kansas city, Missouri, investigate seasonal and spatial variations in VOC levels, and assess health risks associated with children's VOC exposure. In total, 49 VOCs including aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes, glycol ethers, esters and chlorinated hydrocarbons were identified and quantified in the facilities. Significant differences were noted for the VOC concentrations among the facilities. Toluene was the most abundant aromatic hydrocarbon detected in all the air samples, with a narrow median concentration range of 2.17–3.07 μg/m3. 2-(2-Methoxyethoxy)ethanol never reported in prior research was detected in only one facility in this study, with the median (range) concentration of 0.83