Development and Validation of the Parents\u27 Perceived Self-Efficacy to Manage Children\u27s Internet Use Scale for Parents of Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Background and aims: This study developed and validated the Parents’ Perceived Self-Efficacy to Manage Children’s Internet Use Scale (PSMIS) in the parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: In total, 231 parents of children with ADHD were invited to complete the PSMIS, followed by the Chen Internet Addiction Scale and the short version of Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham, Version IV Scale – Chinese version for analyzing Internet addiction severity and ADHD symptoms, respectively. Results: The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the four-factor structure of the 18-item PSMIS. The significant difference in the levels of parents’ perceived self-efficacy between the parents of children with and without Internet addiction supported the criterion-related validity of the PSMIS. The internal consistency and 1-month test–retest reliability were acceptable. Conclusion: The results indicate that the PSMIS has acceptable validity and reliability and can be used for measuring parents’ perceived self-efficacy to manage children’s Internet use among parents of children with ADHD

Robust quantitative trait association tests in the parent-offspring triad design: Conditional likelihood-based approaches.

[[abstract]]Association studies, based on either population data or familial data, have been widely applied to mapping of genes underlying complex diseases. In family-based association studies, using case-parent triad families, the popularly used transmission/disequilibrium test (TDT) was proposed for avoidance of spurious association results caused by other confounders such as population stratification. Originally, the TDT was developed for analysis of binary disease data. Extending it to allow for quantitative trait analysis of complex diseases and for robust analysis of binary diseases against the uncertainty of mode of inheritance has been thoroughly discussed. Nevertheless, studies on robust analysis of quantitative traits for complex diseases received relatively less attention. In this paper, we use parent-offspring triad families to demonstrate the feasibility of establishment of the robust candidate-gene association tests for quantitative traits. We first introduce the score statistics from the conditional likelihoods based on parent-offspring triad data under various genetic models. By applying two existing robust procedures we then construct the robust association tests for analysis of quantitative traits. Simulations are conducted to evaluate empirical type I error rates and powers of the proposed robust tests. The results show that these robust association tests do exhibit robustness against the effect of misspecification of the underlying genetic model on testing powers

The impact of centralized electronic bidding system on procurement prices for generic medicines: A case study from Thailand

A centralized electronic bidding (e-bidding) system has recently become a key government strategy in developing mechanisms for public drug purchasing systems in Thailand. From the previous literature, e-bidding can be an effective tool for controlling the purchase price of a product in various industries. However, this system is still uncommon in pharmaceutical procurement. Thus, this study aims to determine the impact of the e-bidding system on the pricing of generic medicines. Drug procurement data from Thailand for all generic products of omeprazole injection from 2018 to 2019 were used to analyze drug price changes before and after the adoption of the e-bidding system. The results showed that the effect of the e-bidding system was consistent with a 17.35% drop in the mean prices. In addition, the distribution of purchase prices was greatly reduced compared to the traditional system

Repurposing Metformin for Lung Cancer Management

In this article, we introduced the background knowledge of lung cancer management and considered repurposing old drugs to overcome therapy bottleneck. We chose metformin to prove both its antihyperglycemia and antitumor formation effects. Based on the metformin-related AMPK-dependent pathway, we tried to explore the AMPK-independent pathway in inhibition of lung tumorigenesis by metformin. Using preclinical data mining from clinical settings with a literature review, we attempted to clarify the role of metformin in lung cancer management. Additional objective and strong evidence are needed using randomized control studies to verify the benefit of metformin in clinical practice. Furthermore, we proposed two lung cancer animal models and showed the establishment processes thoroughly. We hope that these two lung cancer animal models provide a useful platform for furthering old drug repurposing as well as new drug investigations in the future

Hypolipidemic Effects of Three Purgative Decoctions

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), purgation is indicated when a person suffers an illness due to the accumulation of evil internal heat. Obese individuals with a large belly, red face, thick and yellow tongue fur, constipation, and avoidance of heat are thought accumulates of evil internal heat, and they are also treated with purgatives such as Ta-Cheng-Chi-Tang (TCCT), Xiao-Chen-Chi-Tang (XCCT), and Tiao-Wei-Chen-Chi-Tang (TWCCT) by TCM doctors. In previous studies, our group found that TCCT has potent anti-inflammatory activity, and that XCCT is an effective antioxidant. Since rhubarb is the principle herb in these three prescriptions, we will first present a thorough review of the literature on the demonstrated effect (or lack of effect) of rhubarb and rhubarb-containing polyherbal preparations on lipid and weight control. We will then continue our research with an investigation of the anti-obesity and lipid-lowering effect of TCCT, XCCT, TWCCT, and rhubarb extracts using two animal models. TWCCT lowered the serum triglyceride concentration as much as fenofibrate in Triton WR-1339-treated mice. Daily supplementation with XCCT and TWCCT significantly attenuated the high-fat-diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in rats. In addition, TWCCT also significantly lowered the high-fat-diet-induced hypertriglycemia. Although feeding high-fat diet rats with these extracts did not cause loose stools or diarrhea or other deleterious effects on renal or hepatic function. None of these extracts lowered the body weight of rats fed on high-fat diet. In conclusion, the results suggest that XCCT and TWCCT might exert beneficial effects in the treatment of hyperlipidemia

Preparation of Monodisperse Iron Oxide Nanoparticles via the Synthesis and Decomposition of Iron Fatty Acid Complexes

Iron fatty acid complexes (IFACs) are prepared via the dissolution of porous hematite powder in hot unsaturated fatty acid. The IFACs are then decomposed in five different organic solvents under reflux conditions in the presence of the respective fatty acid. The XRD analysis results indicate that the resulting NPs comprise a mixture of wustite, magnetite, and maghemite phases. The solvents with a higher boiling point prompt the formation of larger NPs containing wustite as the major component, while those with a lower boiling point produce smaller NPs with maghemite as the major component. In addition, it is shown that unstable NPs with a mixed wustite–magnetite composition can be oxidized to pure maghemite by extending the reaction time or using an oxidizing agent

Insomnia Status of Middle School Students in Indonesia and Its Association with Playing Games before Sleep: Gender Difference

The excessive use of online gaming before sleep in adolescents could be a risk factor of sleep disorders such as insomnia. This study aimed to assess the association between playing online games before sleep and insomnia based on gender perspective among middle school students in Indonesia. This was a retrospective study and the data came from a cross-sectional survey that included 315 of Grade 8 and 9 students from four middle schools in Jakarta, Indonesia. Self-reported data were collected via a structured questionnaire, which consisted of demographic variables, sleep duration per day, frequency of playing online games before sleep and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Insomnia status was classified into “none or mild” and “moderate to severe” according to ISI score. The proportions of male and female students who often or always played online games before sleep were 50.3% and 21.7%, respectively. Grade 9 students were more likely to have moderate to severe insomnia than Grade 8 students for males (odds ratio—OR = 4.34, p = 0.005) but not for females (OR = 0.69, p = 0.363). However, female students who often or always played online games before sleep were more likely to have moderate to severe insomnia (OR = 4.60, p = 0.001); such an association was relatively smaller for male students (OR = 3.09, p = 0.061). Gender differences should be taken into account when developing health education or interventions

Development and validation of the Parents’ Perceived Self-Efficacy to Manage Children’s Internet Use Scale for parents of adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Background and aims This study developed and validated the Parents’ Perceived Self-Efficacy to Manage Children’s Internet Use Scale (PSMIS) in the parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods In total, 231 parents of children with ADHD were invited to complete the PSMIS, followed by the Chen Internet Addiction Scale and the short version of Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham, Version IV Scale – Chinese version for analyzing Internet addiction severity and ADHD symptoms, respectively. Results The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the four-factor structure of the 18-item PSMIS. The significant difference in the levels of parents’ perceived self-efficacy between the parents of children with and without Internet addiction supported the criterion-related validity of the PSMIS. The internal consistency and 1-month test–retest reliability were acceptable. Conclusion The results indicate that the PSMIS has acceptable validity and reliability and can be used for measuring parents’ perceived self-efficacy to manage children’s Internet use among parents of children with ADHD