Depression, anxiety, stress, and dysmenorrhea: a protocol for a systematic review

Background: Dysmenorrhea is one of the most common menstrual disorders and is influenced by various factors. Psychological disorders including anxiety, depression, and stress have been suggested as influencing dysmenorrhea, but previous findings are inconsistent. This study will investigate the relationship between depression/anxiety/stress and dysmenorrhea using a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: Online databases including PsycINFO, Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, ProQuest, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Embase will be searched. Appropriate keywords and MeSH terms will be used to retrieve the journal papers published from 1990 until the end of December 2019. To improve search coverage, the reference lists of all included studies will be reviewed to find eligible papers. Inclusion criteria include the following: descriptive, cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies; the relationship between depression/anxiety/stress and dysmenorrhea being an objective of the study; and published in peer-reviewed journals. The paper selection, data extraction, and quality assessment of selected studies will be performed independently by two researchers, and disagreements will be resolved through discussions. The Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale will be used to assess the quality of selected studies. A quantitative synthesis will be performed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) via the STATA software, if retrieving enough number of studies with no severe methodological heterogeneities. Otherwise, qualitative synthesis will be used to report the findings. Discussion: To the best of our knowledge, this will be the first systematic review on this topic. Performing an inclusive search in major databases over a wide timescale is one key strength of the proposed study and will maximize the coverage of the original research studies on this topic. Results of present study are expected to lead to deeper understanding the relationship between common mental health conditions and dysmenorrhea

Simultaneous conduction and valence band quantisation in ultra-shallow, high density doping profiles in semiconductors

We demonstrate simultaneous quantisation of conduction band (CB) and valence band (VB) states in silicon using ultra-shallow, high density, phosphorus doping profiles (so-called Si:P $\delta$-layers). We show that, in addition to the well known quantisation of CB states within the dopant plane, the confinement of VB-derived states between the sub-surface P dopant layer and the Si surface gives rise to a simultaneous quantisation of VB states in this narrow region. We also show that the VB quantisation can be explained using a simple particle-in-a-box model, and that the number and energy separation of the quantised VB states depend on the depth of the P dopant layer beneath the Si surface. Since the quantised CB states do not show a strong dependence on the dopant depth (but rather on the dopant density), it is straightforward to exhibit control over the properties of the quantised CB and VB states independently of each other by choosing the dopant density and depth accordingly, thus offering new possibilities for engineering quantum matter.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures and supplementary materia

Determinants of lifestyle behavior in Iranian adults with prediabetes: Applying the theory of planned behavior

© 2017, Academy of Medical Sciences of I.R. Iran. All rights reserved. OBJECTIVE: Prediabetic condition can lead to development of type 2 diabetes, especially in individuals who do not adhere to a healthy lifestyle. The aim of the present study was to investigate the socio-cognitive factors using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) that may be associated with the choice of lifestyle in prediabetic patients. METHODS: A prospective study with one-month follow up was designed to collect data from 350 individuals with prediabetic conditions. A questionnaire was used to collect the information, including demographic variables, exercise behavior, food consumption, as well as the constructs of the TPB (attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intention) regarding physical activity and dietary choice. The correlations between TPB variables and the dependent variables (dietary choice, physical activity) were assessed using Spearman correlation and multiple regression models. RESULT: In total, 303 people participated. The mean age of the participants was 53.0 (SD 11.5) years and 42% were males. Significant correlations were found between all TPB constructs and both dependent variables (healthy eating and exercise behaviors) both at baseline and after one month (P < 0.01). The predictive validity of the TPB over time was proved for both dependent variables where past and future behaviors were significantly correlated with the constructs. Nearly 87% of the variance in exercise behavior and 72% of the variance in healthy eating behavior were explainable by TPB constructs. CONCLUSION: The TPB may be a useful model to predict behaviors of physical activity and dietary choice among prediabetic people. Therefore, it may be used to monitor lifestyle modification to prevent development of diabetes among people with prediabetic conditions

Normally-off Diamond Reverse Blocking MESFET

Schottky contacts have been used to fabricate normally-off lateral reverse-blocking MESFETs on p-type (boron-doped) O-terminated monocrystalline diamond. The devices utilized an ohmic source contact but both gate and drain contacts were Schottky in nature. Boron-doped p-channel diamond MESFETs reported to date display the less attractive normally-on characteristics. Here, the normally-off transistor delivered a current level of ~1.5 μAmm⁻¹ at a negative VGS of 0.8 V and a transconductance (gₘ) of 16 μSmm⁻¹, measured at room temperature (RT); at a temperature of 425 K, these values rose to ~70 μAmm⁻¹ for IDS and a gₘ value of 260 μSmm⁻¹. In both cases, a negligible gate leakage current was measured with no breakdown apparent at the maximum field investigated here (3.7 x 10⁵ V/m⁻¹). The Schottky gate demonstrates a well-behaved control of the channel even at higher temperatures. The high-temperature operation, normally-off behavior, and diamond's inherent radiation hardness make this transistor promising for harsh environment applications

Adaptation and validation of the Online-Fear of Missing Out Inventory into Turkish and the association with social media addiction, smartphone addiction, and life satisfaction

Background: In online environments, fear of missing out (FoMO) is where individuals become constantly preoccupied with what others are doing online and feel unable to log off in case they miss something. FoMO is a concept associated with the use of online social media (OSM; e.g., Facebook use, Instagram use) and various scales have been developed to assess the concept. One such scale is the Online Fear of Missing Out (On-FoMO) Inventory. The present study translated the On-FoMO Inventory into Turkish and its main aim was to test the validity and reliability of the scale. The secondary aim was to investigate the relationships between FoMO, social media addiction, smartphone addiction, and life satisfaction. Methods: A total of 419 participants (289 females and 130 males, mean age = 25.43 years, SD = 6.37) completed a self-report questionnaire including the On-FoMO Inventory, Fear of Missing Out Scale, Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. In the adaptation process of the On-FoMO Inventory, confirmatory factor analysis, concurrent validity, and reliability analyses were performed. Results: The four-factor structure of the On-FoMO Inventory was confirmed and the Turkish version of the scale demonstrated good reliability. Online FoMO was positively related to social media addiction and smartphone addiction, and negatively related to life satisfaction. Conclusion: The results showed that the Turkish version of the On-FoMO Inventory has strong psychometric properties

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

Excimers He2* as tracers of quantum turbulence in He4 in the T=0 Limit

We have studied the interaction of metastable He2*4 excimer molecules with quantized vortices in superfluid He4 in the zero temperature limit. The vortices were generated by either rotation or ion injection. The trapping diameter of the molecules on quantized vortices was found to be 96±6 nm at a pressure of 0.1 bar and 27±5 nm at 5.0 bar. We have also demonstrated that a moving tangle of vortices can carry the molecules through the superfluid helium. © 2013 American Physical Society