Many teens report experiencing anxiety in school, which can negatively impact their well-being. Considering that adolescents tend to adopt the same behaviors as their classmates with whom they spend, on average, 923 h every year, the current exploratory study (1) assessed whether an association exists between a student’s state anxiety score and his/her classmates’ average trait anxiety scores and (2) examined whether this association differed between boys and girls, as well as between elementary school and high school students. During two consecutive school years, 1044 Canadian students (59% girls) from six elementary schools (aged 10–12) and seven high schools (aged 15–17) completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. Multilevel analyses revealed a same-sex peer effect of classmates’ anxiety in girls only (β = 0.40, p < 0.001). This effect was similar for elementary and high school girls (β = 0.07, p = 0.27). Interestingly, no association was found for boys, same-sex peers (β = 0.11, p = 0.25), or opposite-sex peers (β = −0.01, p = 1.00). Our results suggest that factors related to sex may reinforce anxiety in school settings. Future studies should confirm these results and explore the mechanisms involved in this sex-specific difference. Full article

Infertility is a problem that affects millions of couples around the world. It is known as a disease of couples, not individuals, which makes diagnosis difficult and treatment unclear. Male infertility can have many causes, from mechanical ones to abnormal spermatogenesis or spermiogenesis. Semen quality is determined by a number of factors, including those dependent on men themselves, with the number of infertile men growing every year. These include, e.g., diet, physical activity, sleep quality, stress, among many others. As these factors co-exist with insulin resistance, which is a disease closely related to lifestyle, it has been singled out in the study due to its role in affecting semen quality. In order to examine connections between lifestyle, insulin resistance, and semen quality, a review of literature published from 1989 to 2020 in the following databases PubMed/Medline, EMBASE (Elsevier), Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar was performed. Hence, semen quality, environment, and insulin resistance are interrelated, thus it is difficult to indicate which aspect is the cause and which is the effect in a particular relationship and the nature of possible correlations. Since the influence of lifestyle on semen quality has been extensively studied, it is recommended that more thorough research be done on the relationship between insulin resistance and semen quality, comparing the semen quality of men with and without insulin resistance. Full article

The goal of this research was to provide an overview of the role of trust in determining COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Trust proved to be a key issue in all the strategic phases of the pandemic, a decisive element for the success of the worldwide vaccination campaign. By introducing a comprehensive systematic review of the state-of-the-art (N = 43), we intend to shed light on the various forms of trust that have been considered and how these relate to citizens’ vaccine acceptance. The analysis shows that trust has been used extensively, with particular reference to the COVID-19 vaccine, governments, manufacturers, healthcare systems, and science. A more in-depth analysis has also allowed us to evaluate the role that these factors have had and the social phenomena in which they have been decisive. Most notably, we proved that, in the different contributions, trust in the COVID-19 vaccine has a strong correlation with vaccine acceptance (R = 0.78, p < 0.01). Overall, vaccine acceptance emerges as a complex phenomenon that needs to be understood through the strictly interlaced relations of trust in the various factors coming into play. Besides clarifying what happened in previous years, the considerations included in this work also represent an important and useful interpretative framework to help public institutions and the healthcare system in the future. Full article

Health misinformation about nutrition and other health aspects on social media is a current public health concern. Healthcare professionals play an essential role in efforts to detect and correct it. The present study focuses on analyzing the use of competencies associated with training in methodology, health literacy, and critical lecture in order to detect sources of health misinformation that use scientific articles to support their false information. A qualitative study was conducted between 15 and 30 January 2022, wherein the participants were recruited from active users from a nutrition conversation on Twitter, diets, and cancer and defined themselves as healthcare professionals. This study demonstrates that health literacy and critical lecture competencies allow for the detection of more misinformation messages and are associated with a high rate of responses to users that spread the misinformation messages. Finally, this study proposes the necessity of developing actions to improve health literacy and critical lecture competencies between healthcare professionals. However, in order to achieve this, health authorities must develop strategies to psychologically support those healthcare professionals faced with bullying as a result of their activity on social media debunking health hoaxes. Full article

Introduction: The aim of the study was to assess the influence of the implemented therapeutic programme, which consisted of body posture correction and of change of habits, on the pelvic floor muscle function in women with stress urinary incontinence. Material and methods: The 60 women were randomly divided into two groups: the study population and the clinical control group (subjects received envelopes with numbers of the group: 1- study population aged 38.3 ± 5.54, 2- clinical control group aged 35.5 ± 4.7. We used the following research methods: A personal questionnaire with subjects’ demographics and with questions related to the type of work, physical activity, childbirths and any issues related to the pelvic floor (pre-test), Pelvic floor muscle assessment with the use of the PERFECT Scheme and the Oxford scale palpation examination, sEMG with intravaginal electrode and manometry with an intravaginal probe—pre-test and post-test. Subjective assessment of body posture in the sagittal plane according to the McKenzie methodology. Results: In both groups, VRP (resting vaginal pressure) and resting PFM tension were significantly reduced. The strength and endurance of PFM, tension during MVC and VSP (intravaginal pressure during contraction) increased, with no difference between the groups. SUI decreased significantly, and quality of life improved significantly in both groups. Conclusions: Education of the pelvic floor and changing habits significantly affected the activity of PFM and improved the quality of life in the group of patients with SUI. The posture correction therapy with manual therapy and stretching exercises did not increase this effect. Full article

The present work concerns the impact of safety harnesses on the human body in the context of suspension trauma. Phenomena at the man/harness interface were studied on a group of men professionally working at a height and using personal protective equipment (PPE). In the study, subjects wearing a safety harness were suspended for 3 min in controlled conditions. Three types of safety harnesses of different design were used. The harnesses were evaluated on the basis of the subjects’ opinions expressed in a questionnaire administered following trials. The most important phenomena observed were the compression exerted by textile straps, inconvenient body position, as well as straps tightening around the neck and torso. The results of trials involving human subjects were convergent and complementary with tests using an anthropomorphic dummy, enabling an evaluation of the basic designs of safety harnesses. Full article

Current scientific evidence points to the importance of studying the link between mental health and problematic video game use in adolescents. The aim of this study was to analyse the correlation between gender and stage of adolescence and problematic video game use, as well as to study the correlation between internalizing and externalizing symptomatology, prosocial behaviour and video game use, and the correlation between video gaming and mental health issues in Spanish 12- to 18-year-olds (M = 14.51; SD = 1.57). For this purpose, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Video Game-Related Experiences Questionnaire (VGEQ) were administered to 1448 secondary school students in Extremadura (Spain), of which 50.8% were women and 49.8% men. The results show that (a) males present more problematic video game use, (b) prosocial behaviour negatively correlates with problematic video game use, and (c) mental health issues and problematic video game use correlate in a negative way. However, the stage of adolescence was not seen to have any effect on the problematic video game use. In conclusion, this study points the effects that problematic video game use can have on the mental health of adolescents and the possible protective role that prosocial behaviours can have on the prevention of problematic video game use. Full article

A self-built house collapsed in Changsha City, Hunan Province, on 29 April 2022, causing 53 people to be trapped and 39 people to go missing. The tragedy caused a huge loss of life, so the stability of self-built houses has a non-negligible impaction on public safety. This report presents causes of the incident, rescue operations, cause analysis, and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The main conclusions about the reasons for the collapse include: (a) reckless heightening, (b) unreasonable structure, (c) adverse geological conditions, (d) architectural vulnerabilities, (e) negligence of competent authorities, and (f) lack of security awareness. This paper provides a reference for avoiding similar security incidents in the future. Full article

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death globally. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs’ benefits are overall consensual; however, during exercise, progressive physiological effects have not been studied yet in cardiac patients. Our study aims to analyze physiological parameters of thermography, heart rate variability (HRV), blood pressure, central nervous system (CNS) fatigue, and cortical arousal in heart attack patients (HAP) who belong to CR programs of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Moderate-intensity Continuous Training (MICT) compared to healthy participants. In this case control study, two HAP patients (both male, age 35 and 48, respectively) and two healthy people (both male, age 38 and 46, respectively) were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1:1 allocation ratio to one of four groups: cardiac MICT, cardiac HIIT, control MICT, and control HIIT. The HIIT at ≈85–95% of peak heart rate (HR) was followed by a one-minute recovery interval at 40% peakHR, and MICT at ≈70–75% of peakHR. Outcome measurements included thermography, HRV, blood pressure, CNS fatigue, and cortical arousal; The HAP presents more than twice the CNS fatigue in MICT than control participants, but HIIT has almost the same CNS fatigue in HAP and control. In addition, both of the HAP groups presented higher temperatures in the chest. The HIIT protocol showed better physiological responses during exercise, compared to MICT in HAP. Full article

Accessibility of health services signifies the quality and equitability of universal health provision. The hierarchical medical system recently implemented in China offers the policy instruments to improve medical services to the elderly in an aging society. As the critical primary care gateway, accessibility to community hospitals has significant impacts on people’s health. However, current research has paid little attention to spatial accessibility within walking distance of community hospitals, especially for the elderly. This study selected four districts with different urbanization levels in the rapidly developing Beijing metropolis. The spatial interaction model was applied to measure the accessibility of community hospitals for the elderly at the community level. An attractiveness index was computed based on key hospital traits. The results showed that: (1) community hospitals could cover 82.66% of elderly residents, and 77.63% of the communities were within walking distance. The served elderly proportion was relatively high in central urban areas and low in the suburbs. (2) The attractiveness indices of hospitals varied notably between districts, with higher values in more urbanized areas. (3) The spatial accessibility for the elderly of hospitals differed significantly between the four districts, with a descending gradient from central to suburban and rural areas, as indicated by the Gini coefficients and Lorenz curves. (4) The accessibility index was strongly related to the served elderly population and the hospital–residence distance. The findings provide policy directions to the government, including providing more primary-care resources to suburban and rural areas, building new community hospitals in identified provision gaps, upgrading some clinics to hospitals in rural areas, and planning hospitals according to the projected trend of the elderly population in terms of quantity and distribution. The considerable provision disparity between core urban, suburban and rural areas can be addressed by refined spatial health planning informed by research. Full article

There is sufficient evidence showing that greater sleep quality improves weight loss outcomes achieved through dietary modifications; however, the effects of dietary modifications such as caloric restriction on sleep outcomes is less established. Caloric restriction is a commonly recommended weight-loss method, yet it may result in short-term weight loss and subsequent weight regain, known as “weight cycling”, which has recently been shown to be associated with both poor sleep and worse cardiovascular health. The purpose of this brief narrative review was to summarize the evidence from recent studies of the effects of caloric restriction on sleep. Six articles were identified that specifically measured effects of a caloric restriction-based intervention on aspects of sleep as primary or secondary outcomes. Most research to date indicates that caloric restriction improves sleep outcomes including sleep quality and sleep onset latency. However, the relation between caloric restriction and sleep duration is less clear. Given the mixed results and the potential for severe caloric restriction to lead to weight cycling, future studies are needed to clarify how caloric restriction affects sleep and the potential implications for weight-management efforts. Full article

Being exposed to and believing in misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines is a challenge for vaccine acceptance. Yet, how countervailing factors such as news literacy could complicate “the information exposure—belief in vaccine misinformation—vaccination” path needs to be unpacked to understand the communication of scientific information about COVID-19. This study examines (1) the mediating role of belief in vaccine misinformation between COVID-19 information exposure and vaccination behavior and (2) the moderating role of news literacy behaviors. We examine these relationships by collecting data in two distinct societies: the United States and South Korea. We conducted online surveys in June and September 2021 respectively for each country (N = 1336 [the U.S.]; N = 550 [South Korea]). Our results showed a significant moderated mediation model, in which the association between digital media reliance and COVID-19 vaccination was mediated through vaccine misperceptions, and the relationship between digital media reliance and misinformed belief was further moderated by news literacy behavior. Unexpectedly, we found that individuals with stronger news literacy behavior were more susceptible to misinformation belief. This study contributes to the extant literature on the communication of COVID-19 science through probing into the mediating role of belief in vaccine-related misinformation and the moderating role of news literacy behavior in relation to COVID-19 information exposure and vaccination behaviors. It also reflects the concept of news literacy behavior and discusses how it could be further refined to exert its positive impact in correcting misinformation beliefs. Full article

The study examined the effects of exercise on health-fitness, health related quality of life (HRQOL), and psychological measures in college-aged smokers. Outcomes included HRQOL, hemodynamic, anthropometric, lung function, and cardiorespiratory endurance. Sixty physically inactive college-aged male smokers (18–30 years) were randomly assigned into three groups: high-intensity interval training (HIIT), continuous aerobic training (CAT), and a control (CON). Both HIIT and CAT groups completed 8 weeks of non-consecutive cycling sessions thrice weekly. The CON group were not subjected to the exercise intervention. Sixty participants met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 48 (HIIT: n = 18, CAT: n = 16, CON: n = 14) participants completed the study and were included in the final analysis. Compared to CON, HIIT significantly (p = 0.01) improved forced expiratory flow (FEF_75%) more than the CAT group (p = 0.29). HIIT provided a significant (p = 0.04) improvement in FEF_75% compared to CAT. Recovery heart rate (RHR) was significantly improved in participants assigned to HIIT (p = 0.00) and CAT (p = 0.002) groups compared with the CON. A significant difference in RHR was found in HIIT compared to CAT. The study findings indicate that both HIIT and CAT exercise interventions significantly improve markers of lung function and cardiorespiratory endurance, respectively. However, findings suggested that HIIT should be the preferred form of exercise regime among college-aged smokers for more significant, healthier benefits. Full article

Music therapy is increasingly being used to promote physical health. Emotion semantic recognition is more objective and provides direct awareness of the real emotional state based on electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. Therefore, we proposed a music therapy method to carry out emotion semantic matching between the EEG signal and music audio signal, which can improve the reliability of emotional judgments, and, furthermore, deeply mine the potential influence correlations between music and emotions. Our proposed EER model (EEG-based Emotion Recognition Model) could identify 20 types of emotions based on 32 EEG channels, and the average recognition accuracy was above 90% and 80%, respectively. Our proposed music-based emotion classification model (MEC model) could classify eight typical emotion types of music based on nine music feature combinations, and the average classification accuracy was above 90%. In addition, the semantic mapping was analyzed according to the influence of different music types on emotional changes from different perspectives based on the two models, and the results showed that the joy type of music video could improve fear, disgust, mania, and trust emotions into surprise or intimacy emotions, while the sad type of music video could reduce intimacy to the fear emotion. Full article

Background: Critical Care Providers (CCPs) experience situations that challenge their ethics and professional standards and may entail moral distress (MD). Aim: To analyze MD perceived by CCPs in intensive care units (ICUs) or emergency departments (EDs) and further clarify whether CCPs who rely on spiritual resources differ in their perception of MD from those who do not utilize these resources. Methods: A cross-sectional anonymous survey was administered using a modified version of the German language version of the Moral Distress Scale (MDS) with 2 × 12 items to assess the frequency and the respective perceived burden of specific situations by applying a 5-point Likert scale. Explorative factor analysis was performed and the sub-constructs of the respective items regarding MD frequency and burden were identified. Job burden and professional satisfaction were measured using visual analogue scales (VAS) and a four-point Likert scale, respectively. The 15-item SpREUK questionnaire was applied to measure spiritual attitudes and behaviours and to differentiate between religious and spiritual persons. Data from 385 German-speaking CCPs were included (55% physicians, 45% nurses). Results: Conflict situations are similar for physicians and nurses although they are perceived as more burdensome by nurses. Among physicians, the MDS factor Looking away/Resignation scores highest for assistant physician residents, whereas distress caused by looking away is more often perceived by specialist physicians without a managerial position. Work satisfaction is inversely associated with MD and emotional exhaustion is positively associated with it. Participants’ spirituality is marginally associated with MD. The best predictors of both MD frequency and burden are emotional exhaustion with further influences of work satisfaction, being a nurse, and being a non-believer on the frequency of MD perception. Being a nurse, participants’ experience in ICU/ED, and being of the male gender are further predictors of MD burden. Conclusions: MD is experienced differently by different groups of CCPs depending on their place in the hierarchy of responsibility. As MD perception is best predicted by emotional exhaustion, these situations should be avoided. Although some CCPs may rely on spiritual resources, all need individual and team support to cope with MD. Full article