University Educator and Staff Well-being and Common Mental Health Symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Philippines

Educators and staff adapted to work-from-home setup amidst the covid-19 pandemic.  The transition to full-online classes and services leads to poor mental health. The current study explored the association of educator and staff personal characteristics, well-being, and mental health.  326 university employees completed the demographic profile, mental health, and well-being scales. Various hierarchical regression was conducted to determine if personal characteristics and well-being predict common mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, and stress). Series of multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to determine the difference between the levels of mental health symptoms according to mental health category, and personal characteristics. The results support the hypothesis with psychological and emotional well-being inversely predicting depression, anxiety, and stress. However, social well-being failed to serve as a significant determinant of common mental health symptoms. MANOVA obtained a significant difference with common mental health symptoms and mental health category and personal characteristics

A preliminary study of an alternative method for evaluating skin sensitizing potential of chemicals

Background: In order to comply with the European legislation concerning the risk assessment of skin sensitizers, considerable progress has been made in developing alternative methods, such as human cell line activation test (h-CLAT). H-CLAT is based on cytometric measurement of fluorescence emitted by anti-CD54 and anti-CD86 antibodies in THP-1 cells. Following this method, a range of substances have been analyzed; the emitted fluorescence, generally at low intensity, has caused problems concerning the interpretation of results. Aim: Find an alternative parameter to h-CLAT for evaluating the sensitizing potential of chemicals. Materials and Methods: Cells have been analyzed with flow cytometry after treatment with sensitizing compounds administered at non-cytotoxic concentrations. Results: Sensitizers were able to inducealterations in cell morphology to a more ‘condensed’ one allowing the identification of cells under microscope as a ‘sensitized’ subpopulation. These variations cause similar modifications in ‘scattering’ parameters, making cells easily monitorable by flow cytometry. No changes have been observed in cells treated with non-sensitizers or in untreated cells. Conclusion: This method based on the analysis of forward scatter and side scatter parameters, can be used as an alternative method for identifying sensitization potential of chemical compounds

A preliminary study of an alternative method for evaluating skin sensitizing potential of chemicals

Background: In order to comply with the European legislation concerning the risk assessment of skin sensitizers, considerable progress has been made in developing alternative methods, such as human cell line activation test (h-CLAT). H-CLAT is based on cytometric measurement of fluorescence emitted by anti-CD54 and anti-CD86 antibodies in THP-1 cells. Following this method, a range of substances have been analyzed; the emitted fluorescence, generally at low intensity, has caused problems concerning the interpretation of results. Aim: Find an alternative parameter to h-CLAT for evaluating the sensitizing potential of chemicals. Materials and Methods: Cells have been analyzed with flow cytometry after treatment with sensitizing compounds administered at non-cytotoxic concentrations. Results: Sensitizers were able to inducealterations in cell morphology to a more ‘condensed’ one allowing the identification of cells under microscope as a ‘sensitized’ subpopulation. These variations cause similar modifications in ‘scattering’ parameters, making cells easily monitorable by flow cytometry. No changes have been observed in cells treated with non-sensitizers or in untreated cells. Conclusion: This method based on the analysis of forward scatter and side scatter parameters, can be used as an alternative method for identifying sensitization potential of chemical compounds

Clinical monitoring of safety and functionality of a non-medicated patch for pain alleviation associated to dysmenorrhea

FIT® Lady patch is an easy-to-use class I medical device, developed to relieve pain associate to menstrual period, without pharmacological substances. The patch is based on far infrared (FIR) electromagnetic waves reflection properties that normally are emitted from the body, as a consequence of body heat dispersion between the difference of cutaneous body and ambient temperature. Consequently, infrared (IR) waves are reflected and resorbed at cutaneous level and thermal energy again locally introduced leads to a better microcirculation. Although biological IR waves properties and mechanisms of action are extensively studied, there are still few references on patches based on FIR properties. The aim of this study was the evaluation of FIR technology applied to FIT® Lady patch thought to be used to alleviate pain associated to menstrual period (dysmenorrhea). The FIT® Lady patch medical device (active patch) was evaluated in comparison with a placebo patch, in order to assess its action in reducing pain related to menstrual period in 40 women patients enrolled according to specific inclusion/exclusion criteria. This study confirmed a good tolerability of the product, by demonstrating the ability to significantly reduce inconvenience and feeling of pain. The mineral that was responsible of the reflection activity (titanium dioxide), conveniently entrapped in a patch, was able to work without any active substances in contact with and absorbed from the skin

Role of Work Engagement, Autonomy Support, Psychological Capital, and Economic Factors to Educator and Staff Well-being in the Philippines

Educational institutions are transitioning their learning modalities to flexible learning from remote education; educators and staff continuously encounter ambiguous work demands that negatively affect their well-being. Literature indicates the influence of autonomy support, psychological capital, work engagement, and economic factors (i.e., financial preparedness and job insecurity) on well-being. We propose that social, psychological, work, and economic factors influence the well-being of university educators and staff. 315 employees voluntarily completed the autonomy support, work engagement, hope, self-efficacy, job insecurity, and financial preparedness scales. We used IBM SPSS Amos for the confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Five separate models were conducted to test the research objective. Results indicate good to excellent model fit indices for the research scales and structural model. We also found that self-efficacy, work engagement, hope, and financial preparedness during emergencies positively predict well-being, while job insecurity is detrimental. Our findings could serve as a basis for mental health programs to address the mental issues of educators and staff