Differences in family functioning before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: an observational study in Peruvian families

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on family relationships, as several families have lost family members due to COVID-19 pandemic and become physically and emotionally estranged due to lockdown measures and critically economic periods. Our study contrasted two hypotheses: (1) family functioning changed notably before and after the COVID-19 pandemic initiation in terms of cohesion, flexibility, communication and satisfaction; (2) balanced families have a greater capacity to strictly comply with quarantine (i.e., social confinement), compared to unbalanced families. We performed an observational study comparing family functioning between two independent groups, evaluated before and during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru. A total of 7,980 participants were included in the study. For the first hypothesis, we found that, during the pandemic, families became more balanced in terms of cohesion (adjusted before-during mean difference or β1 = 1.4; 95% CI [1.0–1.7]) and flexibility (β2 = 2.0; 95% CI [1.6–2.4]), and families were less disengaged (β3 = −1.9; 95% CI [−2.3 to −1.5]) and chaotic (β4 = −2.9; 95% CI [−3.3 to −2.4]). Regarding the second hypothesis, we confirmed that families with balanced cohesion (adjusted prevalence ratio or aPR = 1.16; 95% CI [1.12–1.19) and flexibility (aPR = 1.23; 95% CI [1.18–1.27]) allowed greater compliance with quarantine restrictions; while disengaged (aPR = 0.91; 95% CI [0.88–0.93]) and chaotic families (aPR = 0.89; 95% CI [0.87–0.92]) were more likely to partially comply or not comply with the quarantine. Finally, family communication (aPR = 1.17; 95% CI [1.11–1.24]) and satisfaction (aPR = 1.18; 95% CI [1.11–1.25]) also played a role in favouring quarantine compliance. This new evidence enlightens the family systems theory while informing future interventions for improving compliance with quarantine measures in the context of social confinement

Nanoscale Thin Film Ordering Produced by Channel Formation in the Inclusion Complex of α-Cyclodextrin with a Polyurethane Composed of Polyethylene Oxide and Hexamethylene

A polyurethane consisting of six blocks of polyethylene glycol and five blocks of hexamethylene diisocyanate was synthesized. The influence of the addition of a-cyclodextrin (a-CyD) on the lower critical solution temperature behavior of the polyurethane was investigated by “cloud point” measurements, and the dependence of the phase state (solution, suspension, and gel) of a-CyD/polyurethane mixtures on the concentration of the two components was determined. The results suggest that the polyurethane forms inclusion complexes with a-CyD and that close to the maximum number of a-CyDs was included. The associative constant of the a-CyD/polyurethane inclusion complex was determined by 1H NMR shift titration using a modified Benesi-Hildebrand equation, and the complex was characterized in the solid state by 13C cross polarization/magic angle spinning NMR and X-ray diffraction. These studies showed that the complexes adopted a channel-like structure. Finally, the morphology of a-CyD/polyurethane complexes in the solid state was visualized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM images of the inclusion complexes spun-cast on to silicon reveal the existence of ordered domains with heights commensurate with the existence of tetra- and higher-order a-CyD channels. The height quanta of these well-ordered, discrete plateaus point to the dominating influence of the size of the polyethylene glycol blocks within the polyurethane and suggest a route to the production of controlled subnanometer structured surfaces