14 pages, 371 KiB  
Article
COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance among Social Media Users: A Content Analysis, Multi-Continent Study
by Ramy Shaaban 1,†, Ramy Mohamed Ghazy 2,†, Fawzia Elsherif 3,*, Nancy Ali 4, Youssef Yakoub 4, Maged Osama Aly 5, Rony ElMakhzangy 6, Marwa Shawky Abdou 3, Bonny McKinna 7, Amira Mohamed Elzorkany 8, Fatimah Abdullah 9, Amr Alnagar 10, Nashwa ElTaweel 11, Majed Alharthi 12, Ali Mohsin 13, Ana Ordóñez-Cruickshank 7, Bianca Toniolo 14, Tâmela Grafolin 14, Thit Thit Aye 15, Yong Zhin Goh 7, Ehsan Akram Deghidy 16, Siti Bahri 17, Jarntrah Sappayabanphot 18, Yasir Ahmed Mohammed Elhadi 19, Salma Mohammed 20, Ahmed Nour El-Deen 21, Ismail Ismail 22, Samar Abd ElHafeez 3, Iffat Elbarazi 23, Basema Saddik 24, Ziad El-Khatib 25, Hiba Mohsin 26 and Ahmed Kamal 27add Show full author list remove Hide full author list
1 Department of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84321, USA
2 Tropical Health Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21561, Egypt
3 Epidemiology Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21561, Egypt
4 Department of Communications Media, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA 15705, USA
5 Nutrition Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21561, Egypt
6 Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21545, Egypt
7 Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany
8 Training and Biostatistics Administration, Ministry of Health and Population, Alexandria 21561, Egypt
9 Internal Medicine Department, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21526, Egypt
10 General Surgery Department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21561, Egypt
11 University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire, Coventry CV2 2DX, UK
12 Faculty of Communication and Media, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 22254, Saudi Arabia
13 Biomedical Engineering Department, Collage of Engineering, Wraith Al-Anbiyaa University, Karbala 56001, Iraq
14 LabCom Research Unit, University of Beira Interior, Foundation for Science and Technology, 6201-001 Covilha, Portugal
15 Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
16 Department of Biomedical Informatics and Medical Statistics, Medical Research Institute, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21526, Egypt
17 Pharmacy Department, Rompin Hospital, Ministry of Health Malaysia, 62590 Putrajaya, Malaysia
18 Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
19 Department of Public Health, Medical Research Office, Sudanese Medical Research Association, Khartoum 11111, Sudan
20 Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden
21 Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Assiut 71524, Egypt
22 Department of Neurology, Ibn Sina Hospital, Safat, Kuwait City 13115, Kuwait
23 Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
24 College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates
25 Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden
26 College of Pharmacy, Al-Zahraa University for Women, Karbala 56001, Iraq
27 Hepatology Unit, Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21131, Egypt
† These authors contributed equally to this work.
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Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5737; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095737 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 7231
Abstract
Vaccine hesitancy (VH) is defined as a delayed in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccination services. This multinational study examined user interaction with social media about COVID-19 vaccination. The study analyzed social media comments in 24 countries from five continents. [...] Read more.
Vaccine hesitancy (VH) is defined as a delayed in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccination services. This multinational study examined user interaction with social media about COVID-19 vaccination. The study analyzed social media comments in 24 countries from five continents. In total, 5856 responses were analyzed; 83.5% of comments were from Facebook, while 16.5% were from Twitter. In Facebook, the overall vaccine acceptance was 40.3%; the lowest acceptance rates were evident in Jordan (8.5%), Oman (15.0%), Senegal (20.0%) and Morocco (20.7%) and the continental acceptance rate was the lowest in North America 22.6%. In Twitter, the overall acceptance rate was (41.5%); the lowest acceptance rate was found in Oman (14.3%), followed by USA (20.5%), and UK (23.3%) and the continental acceptance rate was the lowest in North America (20.5%), and Europe (29.7%). The differences in vaccine acceptance across countries and continents in Facebook and Twitter were statistically significant. Regarding the tone of the comments, in Facebook, countries that had the highest number of serious tone comments were Sweden (90.9%), USA (61.3%), and Thailand (58.8%). At continent level, serious comments were the highest in Asia (58.4%), followed by Africa (46.2%) and South America (46.2%). In Twitter, the highest serious tone was reported in Egypt (72.2%) while at continental level, the highest proportion of serious comments was observed in Asia (59.7%), followed by Europe (46.5%). The differences in tone across countries and continents in Facebook and Twitter and were statistically significant. There was a significant association between the tone and the position of comments. We concluded that the overall vaccine acceptance in social media was relatively low and varied across the studied countries and continents. Consequently, more in-depth studies are required to address causes of such VH and combat infodemics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ensure Healthy Lives and Promote Wellbeing for All at All Ages)
18 pages, 840 KiB  
Article
Design and Validation of a Questionnaire to Assess the Leisure Time Physical Activity of Adult Women in Gipuzkoa
by Olaia Eizagirre-Sagastibeltza 1, Uxue Fernandez-Lasa 2,*, Javier Yanci 2, Estibaliz Romaratezabala 2, Ruth Cayero 3, Iñaki Iturrioz 4 and Oidui Usabiaga 2
1 Faculty of Education and Sport, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 01007 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
2 Society, Sport and Physical Activity (GIKAFIT) Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Education and Sport, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Lasarteko Bidea 71, 01007 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
3 Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Education and Sport, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 01007 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
4 Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa, Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, 20004 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5736; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095736 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2959
Abstract
Inactivity is higher among women than among men, and there are few specific questionnaires used to assess physical activity (PA) in women that are truly meaningful to them. This article tackles the design and validation process of an ad hoc multidimensional questionnaire to [...] Read more.
Inactivity is higher among women than among men, and there are few specific questionnaires used to assess physical activity (PA) in women that are truly meaningful to them. This article tackles the design and validation process of an ad hoc multidimensional questionnaire to assess leisure time physical activity (LTPA) among adult women of Gipuzkoa. The questionnaire was completed by 3595 adult women (43.5 ± 12.1 years), 32% of which were inactive and 68% of which were active. Content validation, ecological validation, and internal consistency analysis results were satisfactory. The Gipuzkoa Women’s Physical Activity Questionnaire (GWPAQ) consists of four dimensions and 21 items. Barriers to PA were found related to intrapersonal, environmental, and socio-cultural aspects. The importance of family and spousal support in increasing PA levels was also observed. It is concluded that the GWPAQ is valid for obtaining evidence that can be used by public institutions to optimise women-specific PA promotion policies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity in Women)
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19 pages, 664 KiB  
Article
The Future of Medical Tourism for Individuals’ Health and Well-Being: A Case Study of the Relationship Improvement between the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and South Korea
by Haeok Liz Kim 1 and Sunghyup Sean Hyun 2,*
1 Computational Social Science Center, Hanyang University, 222, Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Korea
2 School of Tourism, Hanyang University, 222, Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Korea
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5735; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095735 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 8705
Abstract
The medical tourism industry has been growing rapidly in recent years as governments seek new sectors for sustainable growth. The increase in medical tourism and cooperation in the health and medical sector may be a path to improving relationships between countries. As a [...] Read more.
The medical tourism industry has been growing rapidly in recent years as governments seek new sectors for sustainable growth. The increase in medical tourism and cooperation in the health and medical sector may be a path to improving relationships between countries. As a result of globalization, international tourism has been growing faster than any other time in the past. The growth of international tourism is being regarded as a contributor to the development of the economy, social cooperation, politics, and cultural relations. This paper suggests that developing medical tourism may act as a basis for increasing tourism in general, thereby enhancing cultural exchanges and improving the relationship between South Korea (Republic of Korea) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), especially by establishing a new cooperative relationship in the health and medical field. This paper focuses on the functions of medical tourism in the past and its potential in the future, which may play a significant role in the relationship between South Korea and the UAE, particularly its influence on South Korea’s policies of cooperation with the UAE in the field of health and medical services. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Satisfaction, Stress, and Mental Health in the Tourism/Hospitality Industry)
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10 pages, 328 KiB  
Article
Impact of Socioeconomic Status on the Perception of Accessibility to and Quality of Healthcare Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Poles—Pilot Study
by Magdalena Tuczyńska 1,*, Rafał Staszewski 2, Maja Matthews-Kozanecka 3 and Ewa Baum 3,4
1 SSC of Maxillofacial and Orthopaedics and Orthodontics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-701 Poznan, Poland
2 Department of Hypertension, Angiology and Internal Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-701 Poznan, Poland
3 Department of Social Sciences and the Humanities, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-701 Poznan, Poland
4 Division of Philosophy of Medicine and Bioethics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-701 Poznan, Poland
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5734; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095734 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5360
Abstract
This pilot study was conducted on the reported hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak had an impact on the accessibility and quality of healthcare services and exacerbated socioeconomic inequalities. The aim was to determine whether economic status and education had an impact on [...] Read more.
This pilot study was conducted on the reported hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak had an impact on the accessibility and quality of healthcare services and exacerbated socioeconomic inequalities. The aim was to determine whether economic status and education had an impact on the perception of access and quality to healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether, according to patients, accessibility and quality had changed significantly compared to the pre-pandemic period in Poland. The study was based on the authors’ questionnaire and the results were statistically analyzed. Two hundred forty-seven feedback responses were received with a responsiveness rate of 93 percent. Statistically significant differences were found when comparing education level and utilization of healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic. A comparison of gender and economic situation, and average monthly income found no statistically significant differences. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly affected the provision of health services in many countries around the world. One result of the pandemic crisis has been widening socioeconomic inequalities among patients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue COVID-19 Pandemic and the Environment)
5 pages, 438 KiB  
Article
Mat-O-Covid: Validation of a SARS-CoV-2 Job Exposure Matrix (JEM) Using Data from a National Compensation System for Occupational COVID-19
by Alexis Descatha 1,2,*, Grace Sembajwe 2, Fabien Gilbert 1, Mat-O-Covid Investigation Group † and Marc Fadel 1
1 Univ. Angers (University of Angers), CHU Angers, Univ. Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, IRSET (Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail)-UMR_S 1085, IRSET-ESTER, SFR ICAT, CAPTV CDC, F-49000 Angers, France
2 Department of Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology and Prevention, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine, Hosftra University Northwell Health, New York, NY 11021, USA
† Mat-O-Covid investigation group (list of inverstigator): Alexis Descatha (CHU/Univ. Angers), Marc Fadel (Univ. Angers/AP-HP), Sabrina Pitet (CHU Angers), Fabien Gilbert (Univ. Angers), Rémi Valter (AP-HP, Paris), Annette Leclerc (Inserm), Catherine Verdun-Esquer (CHU Bordeaux), Yolande Esquirol (CHU/Univ. Toulouse III), Clément Legeay (CHU Angers), Audrey Petit (CHU/Univ. Angers), Aurélien Dinh (AP-HP, Paris Saclay Univ.), Pascal Andujar (Univ. Paris Est Créteil, Créteil Hospital), Jean-Pierre Leclerc (INRS, Nancy), Corinne Letheux (Presanse, Paris), Pascal Duprat (DIRECCT Ile-de-France, Paris), Brigitte Clodoré (Ville de Paris), Sandrine Cartégnie (SISTBI, La Réunion), Céline Dagrenat (CMIE, Paris), William Dab (CNAM, Paris), Bénédicte Clin-Godard (CHU Caen), Jean-François Gehanno (CHU Rouen), Vincent Dubée (Univ. Angers/CHU Angers), Philippe Havette (La Poste, Paris).
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5733; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095733 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1739
Abstract
Background. We aimed to assess the validity of the Mat-O-Covid Job Exposure Matrix (JEM) on SARS-CoV-2 using compensation data from the French National Health Insurance compensation system for occupational-related COVID-19. Methods. Deidentified compensation data for occupational COVID-19 in France were obtained between August [...] Read more.
Background. We aimed to assess the validity of the Mat-O-Covid Job Exposure Matrix (JEM) on SARS-CoV-2 using compensation data from the French National Health Insurance compensation system for occupational-related COVID-19. Methods. Deidentified compensation data for occupational COVID-19 in France were obtained between August 2020 and August 2021. The case acceptance was considered as the reference. Mat-O-Covid is an expert-based French JEM on workplace exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Bi- and multivariable models were used to study the association between the exposure assessed by Mat-O-Covid and the reference, as well as the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and likelihood ratios. Results. In the 1140 cases included, there was a close association between the Mat-O-Covid index and the reference (p < 0.0001). The overall predictivity was good, with an AUC of 0.78 and an optimal threshold at 13 per thousand. Using Youden’s J statistic resulted in 0.67 sensitivity and 0.87 specificity. Both positive and negative likelihood ratios were significant: 4.9 [2.4–6.4] and 0.4 [0.3–0.4], respectively. Discussion. It was possible to assess Mat-O-Covid’s validity using data from the national compensation system for occupational COVID-19. Though further studies are needed, Mat-O-Covid exposure assessment appears to be accurate enough to be used in research. Full article
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10 pages, 954 KiB  
Article
Perturbation of Circadian Rhythm Is Associated with Increased Prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease: Results of the Korean Nationwide Population-Based Survey
by Yina Fang 1, Serhim Son 2, Jihyun Yang 1, Sewon Oh 1, Sang-Kyung Jo 1, Wonyong Cho 1 and Myung-Gyu Kim 1,*
1 Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul 02841, Korea
2 Department of Biostatistics, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul 02842, Korea
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5732; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095732 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3114
Abstract
Disturbances in circadian rhythms cause several health problems, such as psychosis, metabolic syndrome, and cancer; however, their effect on kidney disease remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the association between chronic kidney disease (CKD) and sleep disturbance in a Korean adult population. [...] Read more.
Disturbances in circadian rhythms cause several health problems, such as psychosis, metabolic syndrome, and cancer; however, their effect on kidney disease remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the association between chronic kidney disease (CKD) and sleep disturbance in a Korean adult population. A total of 17,408 participants who completed the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2016 to 2018 were assessed for their sleep patterns and renal function. CKD was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate ≤ 60 mL/min/1.73 m² or a positive dipstick urinalysis. Sleep onset time and sleep duration showed significant differences between the control and CKD groups (p < 0.001). After adjusting for the covariates, sleep onset time rather than sleep duration was independently associated with incidence of CKD, and this association was more significant in people who were older, in women, and in those with low body mass index and no comorbidities. When comparing the prevalence of newly diagnosed CKD according to sleep onset time in a population with no CKD risk factors or no history of CKD, the early bedtime group showed an independent association with incidence of new CKD (odds ratio (OR), 1.535; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.011–2.330) even after adjusting for covariates. Impaired circadian rhythm along with sleep disturbance could be associated with CKD development; therefore, sleep disturbance might be an important therapeutic target for CKD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circadian Health)
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11 pages, 860 KiB  
Article
Relationship between Frailty and Depression in a Population from North-Eastern Romania
by Alexandra Maștaleru 1, Irina Mihaela Abdulan 1,*, Ramona Ștefăniu 2, Nicoleta Lefter 2, Ioana Alexandra Sandu 2, Anca Iuliana Pîslaru 2, Maria Magdalena Leon-Constantin 1,*, Ioana Dana Alexa 2 and Adina Carmen Ilie 2
1 Department of Medical Specialties I, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iași, Romania
2 Department of Medical Specialties II, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iaşi, Romania
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5731; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095731 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2953
Abstract
(1) Background: In the older population, depression often affects people with chronic medical illnesses, cognitive impairment, or disability. Frailty is another important issue affecting older adults, being difficult to clinically distinguish from frailty in advanced old age. Well-designed interventional studies and clinical strategies [...] Read more.
(1) Background: In the older population, depression often affects people with chronic medical illnesses, cognitive impairment, or disability. Frailty is another important issue affecting older adults, being difficult to clinically distinguish from frailty in advanced old age. Well-designed interventional studies and clinical strategies targeting both frailty and depression are rare or nonexistent. (2) Methods: We realized a retrospective study in which we included a total of 411 patients that were admitted to the Geriatric Clinic from “Dr. C. I. Parhon” Hospital from Iasi for a period of 13 months. The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between depression and frailty in a geriatric population due to the fact that the quality of life is negatively influenced by both frailty and depression. (3) Results: The prevalence of the depressive symptoms screened by the GDS-15 was 66.7%, with women being more depressed than men. Furthermore, an obvious relationship between depression and the dependence degree in performing daily activities has been observed. In addition, the mean MMSE score decreased with an increasing degree of depression. (4) Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the association between frailty and depression, one of them being a risk factor in the development of the other. A poor acknowledgment of the problem and an underdiagnosis of these conditions are important public health concerns due to the high healthcare costs. Thus, an active primary prevention would be imperiously needed in order to diagnose frailty and depression at an early stage, increasing the quality of life of the elderly and also their successful aging. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Depressive Symptoms, Cognitive Functioning, Frailty, Multimorbidity and Loneliness among Older Population)
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5 pages, 261 KiB  
Editorial
Leadership in Education, Medical Education and Health
by Diane Ruge 1,2,*, Nicole Pedroarena-Leal 1,2 and Carlos Trenado 1,3,*
1 Laboratoire de Recherche en Neurosciences Cliniques (LRENC), 34725 Montpellier, France
2 Institute of Neurology, University College London (UCL), Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
3 Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5730; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095730 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2753
Abstract
We observe the impact of quality of leadership in our daily lives [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neuroscience and Technology Based Approaches for Education)
12 pages, 1650 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Alcohol Drinking on Oral Microbiota in the Chinese Population
by Ying Liao 1,†, Xia-Ting Tong 1,2,†, Yi-Jing Jia 1,2, Qiao-Yun Liu 1,2, Yan-Xia Wu 1, Wen-Qiong Xue 1, Yong-Qiao He 1, Tong-Min Wang 1, Xiao-Hui Zheng 1, Mei-Qi Zheng 1 and Wei-Hua Jia 1,2,*
1 State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou 510060, China
2 School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510062, China
† These authors contributed equally to this work.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5729; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095729 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 3546
Abstract
The dysbiosis of oral microbiota is linked to numerous diseases and is associated with personal lifestyles, such as alcohol drinking. However, there is inadequate data to study the effect of alcohol drinking on oral microbiota from the Chinese population. Here, we profiled the [...] Read more.
The dysbiosis of oral microbiota is linked to numerous diseases and is associated with personal lifestyles, such as alcohol drinking. However, there is inadequate data to study the effect of alcohol drinking on oral microbiota from the Chinese population. Here, we profiled the oral microbiota of 150 healthy subjects in the Chinese population by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results showed that drinkers had significantly higher alpha diversity than non-drinkers. A significant difference in overall microbiota composition was observed between non-drinkers and drinkers. Additionally, using DESeq analysis, we found genus Prevotella and Moryella, and species Prevotella melaninogenica and Prevotella tannerae were significantly enriched in drinkers; meanwhile, the genus Lautropia, Haemophilus and Porphyromonas, and species Haemophilus parainfluenzae were significantly depleted in drinkers. PICRUSt analysis showed that significantly different genera were mainly related to metabolism pathways. The oxygen-independent pathways, including galactose, fructose and mannose metabolism pathways, were enriched in drinkers and positively associated with genera enriched in drinkers; while the pyruvate metabolism pathway, an aerobic metabolism pathway, was decreased in drinkers and negatively associated with genera enriched in drinkers. Our results suggested that alcohol drinking may affect health by altering oral microbial composition and potentially affecting microbial functional pathways. These findings may have implications for better understanding the potential role those oral bacteria play in alcohol-related diseases. Full article
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18 pages, 3541 KiB  
Article
Effects of Stepwise Temperature Shifts in Anaerobic Digestion for Treating Municipal Wastewater Sludge: A Genomic Study
by Gede Adi Wiguna Sudiartha 1,2, Tsuyoshi Imai 1,* and Yung-Tse Hung 3
1 Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi 755-8611, Japan
2 Environmental Engineering Study Program, Faculty of Engineering, Udayana University, Bali 80361, Indonesia
3 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cleveland State University, FH 112, 2121 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44115, USA
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5728; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095728 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 2945
Abstract
In wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), anaerobic digester (AD) units are commonly operated under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. In some cases, during the dry season, maintaining a stable temperature in the digester requires additional power to operate a conditioning system. Without proper conditioning systems, [...] Read more.
In wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), anaerobic digester (AD) units are commonly operated under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. In some cases, during the dry season, maintaining a stable temperature in the digester requires additional power to operate a conditioning system. Without proper conditioning systems, methanogens are vulnerable to temperature shifts. This study investigated the effects of temperature shifts on CH4 gas production and microbial diversity during anaerobic digestion of anaerobic sewage sludge using a metagenomic approach. The research was conducted in lab-scale AD under stepwise upshifted temperature from 42 to 48 °C. The results showed that significant methanogen population reduction during the temperature shift affected the CH4 production. With 70 days of incubation each, CH4 production decreased from 4.55 L·g−1-chemical oxygen demand (COD) at 42 °C with methanogen/total population (M·TP−1) ratio of 0.041 to 1.52 L·g−1 COD (M·TP−1 ratio 0.027) and then to 0.94 L·g−1 COD ( M·TP−1 ratio 0.026) after the temperature was shifted to 45 °C and 48 °C, respectively. Methanosaeta was the most prevalent methanogen during the thermal change. This finding suggests that the Methanosaeta genus was a thermotolerant archaea. Anaerobaculum, Fervidobacterium, and Tepidanaerobacter were bacterial genera and grew well in shifted-up temperatures, implying heat-resistant characteristics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Second Edition of Municipal Wastewater Treatment)
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15 pages, 644 KiB  
Article
Cigarillo Flavor and Motivation to Quit among Co-Users of Cigarillos and Cannabis: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach
by Allison M. Glasser 1,*, Julianna M. Nemeth 1, Amanda J. Quisenberry 2, Abigail B. Shoben 3, Erika S. Trapl 4 and Elizabeth G. Klein 1
1 Division of Health Behavior and Health Promotion, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
2 Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA
3 Division of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
4 Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5727; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095727 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3119
Abstract
Flavored cigar restrictions have the potential to benefit public health. Flavor availability facilitates cigarillo use, but it is unknown if flavor impacts patterns of co-use of cigarillos and cannabis, an increasingly prevalent behavior among young adults. Data were collected (2020–2021) in a cross-sectional [...] Read more.
Flavored cigar restrictions have the potential to benefit public health. Flavor availability facilitates cigarillo use, but it is unknown if flavor impacts patterns of co-use of cigarillos and cannabis, an increasingly prevalent behavior among young adults. Data were collected (2020–2021) in a cross-sectional online survey administered to a convenience sample of young adults who smoked cigarillos from 15 areas with high cigar use prevalence. We assessed the relationship between flavored cigarillo use and motivation to quit cannabis and cigarillo use among past 30-day co-users (N = 218), as well as several covariates (e.g., cigarillo price and flavor/cannabis policy). Flavored cigarillo perceived appeal and harm were hypothesized parallel mediators. Most co-users reported usually using flavored cigarillos (79.5%), which was not significantly associated with motivation to quit cigarillos or cannabis. Perceived cigarillo harm (β = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.00, 0.33), advertising exposure (β = 0.12, 95% CI = 0.00, 0.24), and income (among racial/ethnic minorities; β = −0.13, 95% CI = −0.25, −0.02) were significant predictors of motivation to quit cigarillos. There were no significant predictors of motivation to quit cannabis. Cigarillo flavor was not associated with motivation to quit, so findings could suggest that banning flavors in cigars may have a neutral impact on co-use with cannabis among young adults. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epidemiology of Tobacco and Cannabis Use)
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19 pages, 840 KiB  
Article
Comparing and Contrasting the Impacts of Macro-Level Factors on Crash Duration and Frequency
by Sai Chand 1,*, Zhuolin Li 1, Abdulmajeed Alsultan 2,* and Vinayak V. Dixit 1
1 Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation (rCITI), School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
2 Department of Civil Engineering, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 16278, Saudi Arabia
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5726; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095726 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2415
Abstract
Road traffic crashes cause social, economic, physical and emotional losses. They also reduce operating speed and road capacity and increase delays, unreliability, and productivity losses. Previous crash duration research has concentrated on individual crashes, with the contributing elements extracted directly from the incident [...] Read more.
Road traffic crashes cause social, economic, physical and emotional losses. They also reduce operating speed and road capacity and increase delays, unreliability, and productivity losses. Previous crash duration research has concentrated on individual crashes, with the contributing elements extracted directly from the incident description and records. As a result, the explanatory variables were more regional, and the effects of broader macro-level factors were not investigated. This is in contrast to crash frequency studies, which normally collect explanatory factors at a macro-level. This study explores the impact of various factors and the consistency of their effects on vehicle crash duration and frequency at a macro-level. Along with the demographic, vehicle utilisation, environmental, and responder variables, street network features such as connectedness, density, and hierarchy were added as covariates. The dataset contains over 95,000 vehicle crash records over 4.5 years in Greater Sydney, Australia. Following a dimension reduction of independent variables, a hazard-based model was estimated for crash duration, and a Negative Binomial model was estimated for frequency. Unobserved heterogeneity was accounted for by latent class models for both duration and frequency. Income, driver experience and exposure are considered to have both positive and negative impacts on duration. Crash duration is shorter in regions with a dense road network, but crash frequency is higher. Highly connected networks, on the other hand, are associated with longer length but lower frequency. Full article
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13 pages, 356 KiB  
Article
Parental Perceptions of Youths’ Desirable Characteristics in Relation to Type of Leisure: A Multinomial Logistic Regression Analysis of Martial-Art-Practicing Youths
by Tony Blomqvist Mickelsson
Centre for Baltic and Eastern European Studies, Department of Social Work, School of Social Sciences, Södertörn University, 141 89 Huddinge, Sweden
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5725; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095725 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2770
Abstract
Parents place their youths in sport with the belief that doing so will produce developmental outcomes. However, it is unclear if parents enroll children in different sports based on different desired characteristics they wish their youth to develop. This paper analyses the link [...] Read more.
Parents place their youths in sport with the belief that doing so will produce developmental outcomes. However, it is unclear if parents enroll children in different sports based on different desired characteristics they wish their youth to develop. This paper analyses the link between youths engaged in martial arts (MA) compared to other leisure activities. MA research has indicated the importance of masculinity and gender ideals that suggest that parents hold certain visions when enrolling their youths in MA. For example, one such vision is for their youths to be able to handle themselves in physical encounters. Two research questions guided the study. First, what characteristics do MA parents desire their children to develop? Secondly, how do these desires correspond to MA youths’ actual characteristics? We utilize multinomial logistic regression analysis on nationally representative data from the Netherlands. The results show that MA parents are younger, their youths are of migration background, and the parents value characteristics such as self-control, responsibility, and acting “gender appropriately”. These results correspond to their youths; MA youths are consistently characterized by more masculinity compared to the youths in other groups. The results bear implications for how MA environments must safeguard against potentially harmful and misleading norms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Martial Arts and Combat Sports on Health)
23 pages, 4403 KiB  
Article
Updating Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Assessment Screening Levels with Machine Learning Models
by Ling-Tim Wong, Kwok-Wai Mui * and Tsz-Wun Tsang
Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5724; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095724 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2980
Abstract
Indoor air quality (IAQ) standards have been evolving to improve the overall IAQ situation. To enhance the performances of IAQ screening models using surrogate parameters in identifying unsatisfactory IAQ, and to update the screening models such that they can apply to a new [...] Read more.
Indoor air quality (IAQ) standards have been evolving to improve the overall IAQ situation. To enhance the performances of IAQ screening models using surrogate parameters in identifying unsatisfactory IAQ, and to update the screening models such that they can apply to a new standard, a novel framework for the updating of screening levels, using machine learning methods, is proposed in this study. The classification models employed are Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm with different kernel functions (linear, polynomial, radial basis function (RBF) and sigmoid), k-Nearest Neighbors (kNN), Logistic Regression, Decision Tree (DT), Random Forest (RF) and Multilayer Perceptron Artificial Neural Network (MLP-ANN). With carefully selected model hyperparameters, the IAQ assessment made by the models achieved a mean test accuracy of 0.536–0.805 and a maximum test accuracy of 0.807–0.820, indicating that machine learning models are suitable for screening the unsatisfactory IAQ. Further to that, using the updated IAQ standard in Hong Kong as an example, the update of an IAQ screening model against a new IAQ standard was conducted by determining the relative impact ratio of the updated standard to the old standard. Relative impact ratios of 1.1–1.5 were estimated and the corresponding likelihood ratios in the updated scheme were found to be higher than expected due to the tightening of exposure levels in the updated scheme. The presented framework shows the feasibility of updating a machine learning IAQ model when a new standard is being adopted, which shall provide an ultimate method for IAQ assessment prediction that is compatible with all IAQ standards and exposure criteria. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue An Exclusive Collection of Papers from Editorial Board Members of the Section "Environmental Science and Engineering")
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11 pages, 1639 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Capacitive and Resistive Electric Transfer Intervention on Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness Induced by Eccentric Exercise
by Masatoshi Nakamura 1,*, Shigeru Sato 2, Ryosuke Kiyono 2, Kaoru Yahata 2, Riku Yoshida 2, Kazuki Kasahara 2 and Andreas Konrad 3,*
1 Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Nishi Kyushu University, 4490-9 Ozaki, Kanzaki 842-8585, Saga, Japan
2 Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, 1398 Shimamicho, Kitaku 950-3198, Niigata, Japan
3 Institute of Human Movement Science, Sport and Health, Graz University, Mozartgasse 14, 8010 Graz, Austria
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5723; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095723 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3340
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the acute effect of capacitive and resistive electric transfer (CRet) intervention on eccentrically damaged muscle. A total of 28 healthy and sedentary male volunteers were randomly allocated to either CRet intervention or control groups. The participants performed a [...] Read more.
This study aimed to investigate the acute effect of capacitive and resistive electric transfer (CRet) intervention on eccentrically damaged muscle. A total of 28 healthy and sedentary male volunteers were randomly allocated to either CRet intervention or control groups. The participants performed a bout of eccentric exercise of the knee extensors with the dominant leg and received 30 min of CRet intervention of the quadriceps 48 h after the exercise. The dependent variables for the analysis were knee flexion range of motion (ROM), muscle soreness and maximum voluntary isometric (MVC-ISO), and concentric contraction (MVC-CON) torque of the knee extensors. These were measured prior to exercise (baseline) and before and after CRet intervention (48 h after the exercise). The results showed that knee flexion ROM, muscle strength (MVC-ISO and MVC-CON), and muscle soreness significantly improved after CRet intervention. CRet intervention may improve muscle soreness and loss of muscle function in an eccentrically damaged muscle. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Interventions for the Improvement of Muscle Strength, Muscle Hypertrophy and Muscle Endurance)
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