Second-hand smoking and depressive symptoms among in-school adolescents

Introduction: Smoking has been linked with depressive symptoms in adolescents but data on second-hand smoking (SHS) and depressive symptoms in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are scarce. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the association between SHS and depressive symptoms among in-school adolescents from 22 LMICs. Methods: Data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) 2003-2008 were analyzed in June 2019. Data on past-week exposure to second-hand smoke and past-year depressive symptoms were collected. The association between SHS and depressive symptoms was studied using multivariable logistic regressions and meta-analyses. Results: The sample consisted of 37,505 adolescents aged 12-15 years who never smoked. The prevalence of depressive symptoms increased from 23.0% in adolescents with no SHS to 28.9% in those with SHS everyday in the past week. After adjusting for sex, age, food insecurity, and country, there was a dose-response relationship between SHS and depressive symptoms in the overall sample [0 day: reference; 1-2 days: OR=1.06 (95%CI=0.95-1.18); 3-6 days: OR=1.38 (95%CI=1.20-1.58); 7 days: OR=1.63 (95%CI=1.44-1.86)]. Finally, the country-wise analysis showed that SHS on at least 3 days (vs. <3 days) in the past week was associated with a 1.48-fold increase in the odds of depressive symptoms (95%CI=1.39-1.59), with a low level of between-country heterogeneity (I2=4.2%). Conclusions: There was a positive association between SHS and depressive symptoms among in-school adolescents from LMICs. Further research should investigate causality and assess whether prevention of exposure to second-hand smoke can have a positive effect on the mental well-being of adolescents

Unified Approach to Dense Matter

We apply the Skyrme model to dense hadronic matter, which provides a unified approach to high density, valid in the large Nc limit. In our picture, dense hadronic matter is described by the classical soliton configuration with minimum energy for the given baryon number density. By incorporating the meson fluctuations on such ground state we obtain an effective Lagrangian for meson dynamics in a dense medium. Our starting point has been the Skyrme model defined in terms of pions, thereafter we have extended and improved the model by incorporating other degrees of freedom such as dilaton, kaons and vector mesons.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, a talk given at the international conference QCD DOWN UNDER, March 10 - 19, Adelaide, Australi

Molecular environment and thermal X-ray spectroscopy of the semicircular young composite supernova remnant 3C 396

We have investigated the molecular environment of the semicircular composite supernova remnant (SNR) 3C396 and performed a Chandra spatially resolved thermal X-ray spectroscopic study of this young SNR. With our CO millimeter observations, we find that the molecular clouds (MCs) at V(LSR)~84km/s can better explain the multiwavelength properties of the remnant than the V(LSR)=67-72km/s MCs that are suggested by Lee et al. (2009). At around 84km/s, the western boundary of the SNR is perfectly confined by the western molecular wall. The CO emission fades out from west to east, indicating that the eastern region is of low gas density. In particular, an intruding finger/pillar-like MC, which may be shocked at the tip, can well explain the X-ray and radio enhancement in the southwest and some infrared filaments there. The SNR-MC interaction is also favored by the relatively elevated 12CO J=2-1/J=1-0 line ratios in the southwestern "pillar tip" and the molecular patch on the northwestern boundary. The redshifted 12CO (J=1-0 and J=2-1) wings (86-90km/s) of an eastern 81km/s molecular patch may be the kinematic evidence for shock-MC interaction. We suggest that the 69km/s MCs are in the foreground based on HI self-absorption while the 84km/s MCs at a distance of 6.2 kpc (the tangent point) are in physical contact with SNR 3C396. The X-ray spectral analysis suggests an SNR age of ~3kyr. The metal enrichment of the X-ray emitting gas in the north and south implies a 13-15Msun B1-B2 progenitor star.Comment: 17 amulateapj pages, including 11 figures and 3 tables. Accepted to ApJ. Version 2: minor correction

Informal caregiving and physical activity among 204,315 adults in 38 low- and middle-income countries: a cross-sectional study

Data on the association between informal caregiving and physical activity (PA) levels are scarce, especially from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Furthermore, previous research has yielded conflicting results. Thus, we investigated this association in adults from 38 LMICs. Data from the World Health Survey (WHS), a cross-sectional, predominantly nationally representative survey conducted in 2002-2004, were analyzed. PA was assessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and participants were dichotomized into those who do (≥150 min of moderate-to-vigorous PA per week) and do not (<150 min = low PA) comply with the World Health Organization PA recommendations. Those who provided help to a relative or friend (adult or child), because this person has a long-term physical or mental illness or disability, or is getting old and weak in the past year were considered to be informal caregivers. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the associations. There were 204,315 adults aged ≥18 years from 38 LMICs included in this study [mean (standard deviation) age 38.6 (16.1) years; 50.7% female]. Overall, the prevalence of caregiving and low PA was 19.5% and 29.9%, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, caregivers were at a lower risk for low PA compared to non-caregivers (OR=0.79; 95%CI=0.72-0.86). Engagement in greater number of caregiving activities was associated with lower odds for low PA dose-dependently. Informal caregiving was associated with higher levels of PA in adults in LMICs. Future studies of longitudinal design are warranted to understand causality and the underlying mechanisms of this association

Optical signal acquisition and processing in future accelerator diagnostics

Beam detectors such as striplines and wall current monitors rely on matched electrical networks to transmit and process beam information. Frequency bandwidth, noise immunity, reflections, and signal to noise ratio are considerations that require compromises limiting the quality of the measurement. Recent advances in fiber optics related technologies have made it possible to acquire and process beam signals in the optical domain. This paper describes recent developments in the application of these technologies to accelerator beam diagnostics. The design and construction of an optical notch filter used for a stochastic cooling system is used as an example. Conceptual ideas for future beam detectors are also presented

Development and Validation of the Behavioral Tendencies Questionnaire

At a fundamental level, taxonomy of behavior and behavioral tendencies can be described in terms of approach, avoid, or equivocate (i.e., neither approach nor avoid). While there are numerous theories of personality, temperament, and character, few seem to take advantage of parsimonious taxonomy. The present study sought to implement this taxonomy by creating a questionnaire based on a categorization of behavioral temperaments/tendencies first identified in Buddhist accounts over fifteen hundred years ago. Items were developed using historical and contemporary texts of the behavioral temperaments, described as “Greedy/Faithful”, “Aversive/Discerning”, and “Deluded/Speculative”. To both maintain this categorical typology and benefit from the advantageous properties of forced-choice response format (e.g., reduction of response biases), binary pairwise preferences for items were modeled using Latent Class Analysis (LCA). One sample (n1 = 394) was used to estimate the item parameters, and the second sample (n2 = 504) was used to classify the participants using the established parameters and cross-validate the classification against multiple other measures. The cross-validated measure exhibited good nomothetic span (construct-consistent relationships with related measures) that seemed to corroborate the ideas present in the original Buddhist source documents. The final 13-block questionnaire created from the best performing items (the Behavioral Tendencies Questionnaire or BTQ) is a psychometrically valid questionnaire that is historically consistent, based in behavioral tendencies, and promises practical and clinical utility particularly in settings that teach and study meditation practices such as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

MysiRNA-designer: a workflow for efficient siRNA design

The design of small interfering RNA (siRNA) is a multi factorial problem that has gained the attention of many researchers in the area of therapeutic and functional genomics. MysiRNA score was previously introduced that improves the correlation of siRNA activity prediction considering state of the art algorithms. In this paper, a new program, MysiRNA-Designer, is described which integrates several factors in an automated work-flow considering mRNA transcripts variations, siRNA and mRNA target accessibility, and both near-perfect and partial off-target matches. It also features the MysiRNA score, a highly ranked correlated siRNA efficacy prediction score for ranking the designed siRNAs, in addition to top scoring models Biopredsi, DISR, Thermocomposition21 and i-Score, and integrates them in a unique siRNA score-filtration technique. This multi-score filtration layer filters siRNA that passes the 90% thresholds calculated from experimental dataset features. MysiRNA-Designer takes an accession, finds conserved regions among its transcript space, finds accessible regions within the mRNA, designs all possible siRNAs for these regions, filters them based on multi-scores thresholds, and then performs SNP and off-target filtration. These strict selection criteria were tested against human genes in which at least one active siRNA was designed from 95.7% of total genes. In addition, when tested against an experimental dataset, MysiRNA-Designer was found capable of rejecting 98% of the false positive siRNAs, showing superiority over three state of the art siRNA design programs. MysiRNA is a freely accessible (Microsoft Windows based) desktop application that can be used to design siRNA with a high accuracy and specificity. We believe that MysiRNA-Designer has the potential to play an important role in this area