Nudging smokers away from lighting up: A meta-analysis of framing effect in current smokers

Should smoking cessation messages be framed in terms of gains or losses? While the risk-framing hypothesis suggests a persuasive advantage for gain-framed messages, empirical evidence so far has been mixed. In defense of the risk-framing hypothesis, researchers have suggested that the diversity of results in this literature stream can be attributed to differences in issue involvement. The present study examined these predictions by employing a meta-analysis (14 studies) comprising of a Correlated and Hierarchical Effects model with Robust Variance Estimation. There was a small persuasive advantage in favour of gain-framed messages (g = 0.104, SE = 0.049), but this contrast was not statistically significant (p = 0.070, CI95 = -0.011, 0.218). This finding is robust to the values of correlation between sampling errors of the effect sizes, influential outliers, and publication bias. Moreover, issue involvement proxied through nicotine dependence did not moderate the relative persuasiveness of gain and loss-framed messages in encouraging smoking cessation. The conclusion remains unchanged regardless of how nicotine dependence is measured and before and after controlling for study and participant characteristics. These results strongly cast doubt on the applicability of the risk-framing hypothesis that con- tinues to guide research and public-health campaigns

The neglected contributions of self-efficacy to older adults’ financial capacity

An ageing population comes with its own set of challenges such as impaired financial capacity and resultant dependency on others to manage financial affairs. Dependency, in turn, as the evidence suggests, creates opportunities for financial exploitation of older adults. Related studies have primarily examined the clinical features and correlates of financial capacity or have attempted to develop its multidimensional measures. Both of which do little to resolve issues associated with impaired financial capacity. This paper aims to make a case for future researchers to assess older adults’ financial capacity from a non-clinical aspect. Drawing on the notion of self-efficacy, as encapsulated within the social cognitive theory, this paper presents evidence from a host of different domains to demonstrate the potential contributions of self-efficacy to older adults’ financial capacity. The contributions of self-efficacy in preserving older adults’ financial capacity appear to be much more profound than is currently acknowledged in the literature, thereby overlooking potentially promising and cost-effective interventions for autonomous ageing. This paper presents a novel application of self-efficacy to autonomous ageing. Within this context, potential routes to the deployment of self-efficacy-based interventions are also discussed

Evaluation of structural properties of Baghdad-Baquba road pavements

Structural evaluation of the road pavements is an essential concept to ensure their efficiency to carry traffic loads and to archive the data for future usage especially in major highways. Baghdad-Baquba is an important interstate highway as it connects the capital of Iraq with Diyala governorate which is one of the biggest governorates in Iraq. In addition, this highway connects Baghdad city with several governorates in the north of Iraq. However, this highway exhibits low serviceability due to poor condition of its pavements. Therefore, the structure of the pavements must be evaluated to specify the causes those lead to the decrease in its serviceability and to propose the suitable rehabilitation methods. This study aims to adopt a field survey to extract a number of samples from selected section in this highway to evaluate the structural properties of the pavements based on laboratory testing. Four cores and one pit with 1×1 m dimensions were extracted from the pavements in the field. Several tests were implemented on these tests based on standard methods. The results of the tests were adopted to evaluate the capacity of the pavement based on AASHTO 1993 method. The results exhibited that the estimated applied traffic load exceeded the calculated allowable traffic load by more than 12 times which reflect the disastrous situation. Therefore, the study proposed to rehabilitate the pavements by reconstruction. The study proposed to construct three layers: asphaltic layer with thickness of 240 mm, granular base with thickness of 250 mm, and granular subbase with a thickness of 250 mm. The study stated that all layers must have superior quality with high elastic modulus to resist the predicated traffic load

Caught in the Web: A Meta-analysis of Internet Addiction, Excessive Daytime Sleepiness and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents

Purpose In response to growing concerns over the negative consequences of Internet addiction on adolescents’ mental health, coupled with conflicting results in this literature stream, this meta-analysis sought to (1) examine the association between Internet addiction and depressive symptoms in adolescents, (2) examine the moderating role of Internet freedom across countries, and (3) examine the mediating role of excessive daytime sleepiness. Design/methodology/approach In total, 52 studies were analyzed using robust variance estimation and meta-analytic structural equation modeling. Findings There was a significant and moderate association between Internet addiction and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, Internet freedom did not explain heterogeneity in this literature stream before and after controlling for study quality and the percentage of female participants. In support of the displacement hypothesis, this study found that Internet addiction contributes to depressive symptoms through excessive daytime sleepiness (proportion mediated = 17.48%). As the evidence suggests, excessive daytime sleepiness displaces a host of activities beneficial for maintaining mental health. The results were subjected to a battery of robustness checks and the conclusions remain unchanged. Practical implications The results underscore the negative consequences of Internet addiction in adolescents. Addressing this issue would involve interventions that promote sleep hygiene and greater offline engagement with peers to alleviate depressive symptoms. Originality/value This study utilizes robust meta-analytic techniques to provide the most comprehensive examination of the association between Internet addiction and depressive symptoms in adolescents. The implications intersect with the shared interests of social scientists, health practitioners, and policy makers

Effect of Polyvinyl Pyrolidone on Morphology and Performance of Cellulose Acetate Based Dialysis Membrane

Polyvinyl pyrolidone (PVP) was added as filler in cellulose acetate (CA) to produce mixed matrix membrane (MMM) for hemodialysis operation. Phase separation induced by diffusion (DIPS) was used for fabrication of mixed matrix CA/PVP flat sheet membranes. The effect of adding PVP was investigated on the morphology and permeation efficiencies of CA membranes. The surface arrangement of polymer and additives in pure and blended membrane was studied by FTIR, contact angle and SEM. Results revealed homogenous and significant mixing of PVP content into pure CA matrix. Performance efficiency of blended membranes was investigated by means of pure water flux (PWF), urea clearance and % rejection of bovine serum albumin (BSA). The observable decrease of contact angle from 83° to 69° in CA/PVP MMM membranes of varying composition effectively revealed enhancement in hydrophilicity of MMM membrane surface. For protein rejection, all CA/PVP membranes rejected>90% of BSA relative to 25% for pure CA membrane. Furthermore, urea clearance behavior for CA/PVP membranes was 62.4% in comparison to 52% for pure CA membrane. The incorporation PVP i.e 1% by weight (Mpvp1) significantly improved the hydrophilicity, PWF, BSA rejection and urea clearance percentages of modified CA membrane for dialysis application

Dual-acting stapled peptides target both HIV-1 entry and assembly

Background: Previously, we reported the conversion of the 12-mer linear and cell-impermeable peptide CAI to a cell-penetrating peptide NYAD-1 by using an i,i + 4 hydrocarbon stapling technique and confirmed its binding to the C-terminal domain (CTD) of the HIV-1 capsid (CA) protein with an improved affinity (Kd ~ 1 μM) compared to CAI (Kd ~ 15 μM). NYAD-1 disrupts the formation of both immature- and mature-like virus particles in in vitro and cell-based assembly assays. In addition, it displays potent anti-HIV-1 activity in cell culture against a range of laboratory-adapted and primary HIV-1 isolates.<p></p> Results: In this report, we expanded the study to i,i + 7 hydrocarbon-stapled peptides to delineate their mechanism of action and antiviral activity. We identified three potent inhibitors, NYAD-36, -66 and -67, which showed strong binding to CA in NMR and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) studies and disrupted the formation of mature-like particles. They showed typical α-helical structures and penetrated cells; however, the cell penetration was not as efficient as observed with the i,i + 4 peptides. Unlike NYAD-1, the i,i + 7 peptides did not have any effect on virus release; however, they impaired Gag precursor processing. HIV-1 particles produced in the presence of these peptides displayed impaired infectivity. Consistent with an effect on virus entry, selection for viral resistance led to the emergence of two mutations in the gp120 subunit of the viral envelope (Env) glycoprotein, V120Q and A327P, located in the conserved region 1 (C1) and the base of the V3 loop, respectively.<p></p> Conclusion: The i,i + 7 stapled peptides derived from CAI unexpectedly target both CA and the V3 loop of gp120. This dual-targeted activity is dependent on their ability to penetrate cells as well as their net charge. This mechanistic revelation will be useful in further modifying these peptides as potent anti-HIV-1 agents.<p></p&gt

Comparative Study of the Use of Insect Meal from Spodoptera littoralis and Bactrocera zonata for Feeding Japanese Quail Chicks

A transformation of current livestock production towards a more sustainable operation is crucial to face nutritional and environmental challenges. There is an urgent demand for more sustainable high-quality feed sources to reduce environmental costs. Insects pose a potential alternative since they can be reared sustainably on food and feed residues. Know-how in mass rearing already exists for insect species used in biological pest control, such as the African cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis and the peach fruit fly Bactrocera zonata. The impact of a replacement of 50% of soybean meal by S. littoralis and B. zonata meal, respectively, on seven-days-old Japanese quail chicks was investigated in feeding trials. Concomitantly, the chemical compositions of the two insect meals and soybean meal were determined and compared. It was observed that the insect meals had higher protein and fat contents, lower carbohydrate contents and contained more saturated fatty acids than soybean meal. They also had higher methionine, and S. littoralis had a higher lysine content. Feeding trials resulted in improved growth, feed performance parameters, carcass characteristics, and biochemical indices for both insect meals. Consequently, both insect meals represent a promising alternative to soy in the feed of Japanese quail chicks.DFG, 414044773, Open Access Publizieren 2019 - 2020 / Technische Universität Berli

Investigation of factors affecting COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among communities of universities in the United Arab Emirates.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the lives of people living across the world and the development of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 is considered to be one of the most promising solutions to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. In several countries, we are witnessing hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccines, which is a complex phenomenon influenced by a variety of factors. A cross-sectional study was performed to comprehensively investigate the impact of factors like demography, COVID-19 pandemic-induced behavior, and vaccine attitude on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance (VA) among communities of five different universities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). To investigate the effect of demography and COVID-19 pandemic-induced behavioral factors, Analysis of Variance was perfomed. The effect of COVID-19 vaccine attitudes on COVID-19 VA was examined through partial least squares-structural equations modeling. The results of the study showed no difference among the population in accepting COVID-19 vaccines due to their demographic factors. The effect of pandemic-induced behavioral factors on COVID-19 VA suggested that the people of UAE accepted COVID-19 vaccines irrespective of the movement and travel restrictions imposed due to the pandemic. The results on the effect of vaccine attitudes on COVID-19 VA showed that vaccine benefit attitudes, safety concerns, and trust in health-care professionals (TrHP) were found to be significant factors in VA. Furthermore, TrHP was found to reduce the negative effect of safety concerns related to COVID-19 VA. The findings broadly highlight that COVID-19 VA in the UAE was not hampered by demographic factors and the pandemic-induced behavioral constraints. The study also showed that people with co-morbidities had lower level of COVID-19 VA than people with no co-morbidities. To improve COVID-19 VA, the perceived benefits with COVID-19 vaccine and TrHP must be enhanced and simultaneously safety concerns of the vaccines need to be addressed

Internet-of-Video Things Based Real-Time Traffic Flow Characterization

Real-world traffic flow parameters are fundamental for devising smart mobility solutions. Though numerous solutions (intrusive and non-intrusive sensors) have been proposed, however, these have serious limitations under heterogeneous and congested traffic conditions. To overcome these limitations, a low-cost real-time Internet-of-Video-Things solution has been proposed. The sensor node (fabricated using Raspberry Pi 3B, Pi cameral and power bank) has the capability to stream 2 Mbps MJPEG video of 640x480 resolution and 20 frames per second (fps). The Camlytics traffic analysis software installed on a Dell desktop is employed for traffic flow characterization. The proposed solution was field-tested with vehicle detection rate of 85.3%. The novelty of the proposed system is that in addition to vehicle count, it has the capability to measure speed, density, time headway, time-space diagram and trajectories. Obtained results can be employed for road network planning, designing and management