Search Results (20)

Relevant biopsychosocial factors, including testosterone (T) and cortisol (C) levels, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and difficulties in emotion regulation, have been implicated in IPV perpetration. However, further research is needed to clarify how biomarkers and psychosocial variables interact. The authors herein predicted that emotion regulation difficulties would moderate the association between ACES and IPV perpetration. The sample consisted of 30 IPV perpetrators aged 18 to 51 (M = 30.80, SD = 8.43) and 30 control non-perpetrator participants aged 18–35 (M = 24.13; SD = 4.28). All participants provided saliva samples to assess T and C levels and completed a sociodemographic questionnaire that included questions related to ACEs, and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Higher levels of T and T/C, greater difficulties in emotion regulation, and higher prevalence of ACEs were found to significantly differentiate the IPV perpetrators from the non-IPV perpetrators. However, difficulties in emotional regulation did not emerge as a significant moderator between these variables, and only one of four subscales of the DERS, emotional awareness, was significantly associated with both testosterone and IPV. These results are in accord with meta-analytic results which found that DERS scores are higher in IPV perpetrators than non-perpetrators but that there was a very small association between emotional dysregulation and IPV (0.14), and emotional awareness was not associated with IPV. Similarly, effect sizes for ER variables are strong as differentiators of perpetrators and non-perpetrators.. Given the relative strength of psychological variables as moderators of childhood trauma and IPV, anger would appear to be a much stronger moderator as it is a much stronger predictor of IPV than emotional dysregulation. Full article

This eye-tracking investigation employed a 2 × 2 experimental design to examine multimodal lexical encoding processes. Eighty participants were systematically assigned to four conditions: Group A (text-only), Group B (text + image), Group C (text + sound), and Group D (text + image + sound). The results demonstrated significantly superior recall accuracy in Group D (92.00%) compared with unimodal conditions (Group B: 82.07%; Group C: 76.00%; Group A: 59.60%; p < 0.001), confirming robust audiovisual synergy. The novel Multimodal Coupling Strength Index (MCSI) dynamically quantified crossmodal integration efficacy through eye-tracking metrics (Attentional Synchronization Coefficient, ASC; Saccade Duration–Fixation Duration differential, SD-FD), revealing significantly stronger coupling in audiovisual conditions (C/D: 0.71; B/D: 0.54). Crucially, the established MCSI provides a transferable diagnostic framework for evaluating multimodal integration efficiency in learning environments. Full article

Character strengths encompass a set of positive traits that can be manifested through thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. To measure the 24 character strengths, the Character Strengths-Semantic Differential Scale (CS-SDS) was used. The aim of the study was to (a) test the factor structure of CS-CDS and (b) test the convergent validity of CS-CDS with life satisfaction and positive affect, and the divergent validity of CS-SDS with negative affect. In total, 283 Singaporean students (96 males, 35.3%), with a median age of 24–26 years old (42.9%), participated in this study. Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) showed the multi-dimensional nature of CS-SDS. Specifically, EFA demonstrated a four-factor model, while CFA identified a five-factor model, showing the dimensions of interpersonal, emotional, restraint, theological, and intellectual. All factors were significantly related to life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect. It was concluded that CS-SDS is a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring character strengths in the Asian context. This tool can be used for designing strength-based interventions aimed at promoting well-being and character among students in higher education. Full article

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) is a biobased and biodegradable polymer. This polymer is considered promising, but it is also rather expensive. The objective of this study was to compound PHBV with three different organic fillers considered waste: human hair waste (HHW), sawdust (SD) and chitin from shrimp shells. Thus, the cost of the biopolymer is reduced, and, at the same time, waste materials are valorised into something useful. The composites prepared were characterised by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), tensile strength and scanning electron micrograph (SEM). Tests showed that chitin and HHW did not have a reinforcing effect on tensile strength while the SD increased the tensile strength at break to a certain degree. The biodegradation of the different composites was evaluated by a soil burial test for five months. The gravimetric test showed that neat PHBV was moderately degraded (about 5% weight loss) while reinforcing the polymer with organic waste clearly improved the biodegradation. The strongest biodegradation was achieved when the biopolymer was compounded with HHW (35% weight loss). The strong biodegradation of HHW was further demonstrated by characterisation by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Characterisation by SEM showed that the surfaces of the biodegraded samples were eroded. Full article

Over the past decades, research on positive psychology for building strengths has proliferated. The present study aimed to explore the effect of gratitude in a 5-week positive psychology group program for undergraduate engineering students which included an intermediary 2-week gratitude intervention. In a mixed-design, 69 students from three engineering departments of the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (ASPETE), assigned to the intervention (N = 34) and the control group (N = 35), with an average age of 21.52 years (SD = 4.63), were administered the Gratitude Questionnaire—six item form (GQ-6), the Modified Differential Emotions Scale (mDES), the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), and the Life Orientation Test—Revised (LOT-R). The condition experimental vs. control group was designated as the between-subjects factor, and time, that is, baseline vs. post intervention, was set as the within-subjects factor. Students who received the intervention reported significantly higher levels of gratitude. The increase in gratitude was due to the positive psychology group program. In addition, gratitude showed a significant effect on happiness and optimism, but failed to attain a significant impact on positive and negative emotions and resilience. Further research is needed to elucidate the effectiveness of positive psychology programs for undergraduate engineering students and the intervening cognitive processes. Full article

A balanced diet and sufficient physical activity (PA) are known to have positive health effects. The relationship between a vegan diet and PA levels is understudied. This cross-sectional online survey aimed to analyze whether different vegan dietary patterns differ in PA. In total, 516 vegan participants were included (June to August 2022). Different dietary patterns were compiled through principal component analysis, while group differences were calculated using independent tests, or chi-squared tests as well as logistic regression analyses. The population had an average age of 28.0 (SD: 7.7) years and had been living vegan for 2.6 (95% CI: 2.5–3.0) years. Two dietary patterns, the “convenience” and the “health-conscious” group, were identified. People with a convenience dietary pattern had significantly higher odds of sitting more (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.04–1.18) and not achieving aerobic PA (OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.18–2.79) or strength training recommendations (OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.26–2.61) than people with a health-conscious dietary pattern. This study suggests the heterogeneity of vegan diets and that dietary patterns must be differentiated, as they also differ in the level of PA. Additional studies involving complete dietary assessment with a focus on ultraprocessed foods, blood metabolite analysis, and objective PA assessment are required. Full article

Bone tissue engineering is a novel and efficient repair method for bone tissue defects, and the key step of the bone tissue engineering repair strategy is to prepare non-toxic, metabolizable, biocompatible, bone-induced tissue engineering scaffolds of suitable mechanical strength. Human acellular amniotic membrane (HAAM) is mainly composed of collagen and mucopolysaccharide; it has a natural three-dimensional structure and no immunogenicity. In this study, a polylactic acid (PLA)/Hydroxyapatite (nHAp)/Human acellular amniotic membrane (HAAM) composite scaffold was prepared and the porosity, water absorption and elastic modulus of the composite scaffold were characterized. After that, the cell–scaffold composite was constructed using newborn Sprague Dawley (SD) rat osteoblasts to characterize the biological properties of the composite. In conclusion, the scaffolds have a composite structure of large and small holes with a large pore diameter of 200 μm and a small pore diameter of 30 μm. After adding HAAM, the contact angle of the composite decreases to 38.7°, and the water absorption reaches 249.7%. The addition of nHAp can improve the scaffold’s mechanical strength. The degradation rate of the PLA+nHAp+HAAM group was the highest, reaching 39.48% after 12 weeks. Fluorescence staining showed that the cells were evenly distributed and had good activity on the composite scaffold; the PLA+nHAp+HAAM scaffold has the highest cell viability. The adhesion rate to HAAM was the highest, and the addition of nHAp and HAAM could promote the rapid adhesion of cells to scaffolds. The addition of HAAM and nHAp can significantly promote the secretion of ALP. Therefore, the PLA/nHAp/HAAM composite scaffold can support the adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts in vitro which provide sufficient space for cell proliferation, and is suitable for the formation and development of solid bone tissue. Full article

Diabetes-associated bone complications lead to fragile bone mechanical strength and osteoporosis, aggravating the disease burden of patients. Advanced evidence shows that chronic hyperglycemia and metabolic intermediates, such as inflammatory factor, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and advanced glycation end products (AGEs), are regarded as dominant hazardous factors of bone complications, whereas the pathophysiological mechanisms are complex and controversial. By establishing a diabetic Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat model and diabetic bone loss cell model in vitro, we confirmed that diabetes impaired primary cilia and led to bone loss, while adding Icariin (ICA) could relieve the inhibitions. Mechanistically, ICA could scavenge ROS to maintain the mitochondrial and primary cilia homeostasis of osteoblasts. Intact primary cilia acted as anchoring and modifying sites of Gli2, thereby activating the primary cilia/Gli2/osteocalcin signaling pathway to promote osteoblast differentiation. All results suggest that ICA has potential as a therapeutic drug targeting bone loss induced by diabetes. Full article

Background: Skiing is a popular outdoor sport posing different requirements on musculoskeletal and cardiorespiratory function to excel in competition. The extent to which genotypic features contribute to the development of performance with years of ski-specific training remains to be elucidated. We therefore tested whether prominent polymorphisms in genes for angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE-I/D, rs1799752), tenascin-C (TNC, rs2104772), actinin-3 (ACTN3, rs1815739) and PTK2 (rs7460 and rs7843014) are associated with the differentiation of cellular hallmarks of muscle metabolism and contraction in high level skiers. Material & Methods: Forty-three skiers of a world-leading national ski team performed exhaustive cardiopulmonary exercise testing as well as isokinetic strength testing for single contractions, whereby 230 cardiopulmonary measurements were performed in the period from 2015–2018. A total of 168 and 62 data measurements were from the Alpine and Nordic skiing squads, respectively. Ninety-five and one hundred thirty-five measurements, respectively, were from male and female athletes. The average (±SD) age was 21.5 ± 3.0 years, height 174.0 ± 8.7 cm, and weight 71.0 ± 10.9 kg for the analysed skiers. Furthermore, all skiers were analysed concerning their genotype ACE-I/D, Tenascin C, ACTN3, PTK2. Results: The genotype distribution deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium for the ACTN3 genotype, where rs1815739-TT genotypes (corresponding to the nonsense mutation) were overrepresented in world-class skiers, indicating a slow muscle fibre phenotype. Furthermore, the heterozygous rs2104772-AT genotypes of TNC also demonstrated the best scaled peak power output values during ramp exercise to exhaustion. The highest values under maximum performance for heart rate were associated with the rs1799752-II and rs1815739-CC genotypes. The lowest values for peak power of single contractions were achieved for rs1815739-CC, rs1799752-II and rs7843014-CT genotypes. The skiing discipline demonstrated a main influence on cardiorespiratory parameters but did not further interact with genotype-associated variability in performance. Discussion: Classically, it is pointed out that muscles of, for example, alpine skiers do not possess a distinct fibre type composition, but that skiers tend to have a preponderance of slow-twitch fibres. Consequently, our findings of an overrepresentation of ACTN3-TT genotypes in a highly selective sample of elite world class skiers support the potential superiority of a slow fibre type distribution. Conclusions: We suggest that one competitive advantage that results from a slow, typically fatigue-resistant fibre type distribution might be that performance during intense training days is better preserved, whereby simply a higher technical training volume can be performed, yielding to a competitive advantage. Full article

The assessment of motor proficiency is essential across childhood to identify children’s strengths and difficulties and to provide adequate instruction and opportunities; assessment is a powerful tool to promote children’s development. This study aimed to investigate the hierarchal order of the Test of Gross Motor Development-Third Edition (TGMD-3) items regarding difficulty levels and the differential item functioning across gender and age group (3 to 5, 6 to 8, and 9 to 10 years old). Participants are 989 children (3 to 10.9 years; girls n = 491) who were assessed using TGMD-3. For locomotor skills, appropriate results reliability (alpha = 1.0), infit (M = 0.99; SD = 0.17), outfit (M = 1.18; SD = 0.64), and point-biserial correlations (rpb values from 0.14 to 0.58) were found; the trend was similar for ball skills: reliability (alpha = 1.0), infit (M = 0.99; SD = 0.13), outfit (M = 1.08; SD = 0.52); point-biserial correlations (rpb values from 0.06 to 0.59) were obtained. Two motor criteria: gallop, item-1, and one-hand forehand strike, item-4, were the most difficult items; in contrast, run, item-2, and two-hand catch, item-2, were the easiest items. Differential item functioning for age was observed in nine locomotor and ten ball skills items. These items were easier for older children compared to younger ones. The TGMD-3 has items with different difficulty levels capable of differential functioning across age groups. Full article

Prior research has found the differential strength of optimism and pessimism in predicting physical health. However, whether similar findings would be obtained in predicting subjective well-being and the possible underlying mechanisms are still unclear. This study examined the relative strength of optimism and pessimism in predicting adolescent life satisfaction and depression, and further explored the possible mediating mechanisms from the perspective of emotion regulation. A sample of 2672 adolescents (M_age = 13.54 years, SD = 1.04; 55.60% boys) completed a survey assessing optimism and pessimism, the habitual use of reappraisal and acceptance strategies, life satisfaction, and depression. The results from dominance analysis revealed that the presence of optimism was more powerful than the absence of pessimism in predicting adolescent life satisfaction, while the absence of pessimism was more powerful than the presence of optimism in predicting adolescent depression. Moreover, mediation models showed that reappraisal and acceptance mediated both the link between optimism and life satisfaction and the link between pessimism and depression. These findings suggest possible avenues for intervening in different aspects of adolescent subjective well-being. Full article

This paper presents an improvement in the Huber–Mises–Hencky (HMH) material effort hypothesis proposed by Burzyński. Unlike the HMH hypothesis, it differentiates the plastic effort between compression and tensile load states, and links shear with tensile limit. Furthermore, it considers the fact that construction materials do not have infinite resistance in the pure tensile hydrostatic load state, which was proved by the static load experiment performed on St12T heat-resistant steel. The asymmetry between tensile and compressive loads is captured by the elastic region asymmetry coefficient $\varkappa$, which was established by experiment for St12T steel in the temperature range between 20 °C and 800 °C. Full article

The present study examined how prevalent methods for determining maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) impact the experimentally derived functions of graded force-force variability. Thirty-two young healthy subjects performed continuous isometric force tracking (20 s trials) at 10 target percentages (5–95% MVC) normalized to a conventional discrete-point (n = 16), or sustained (n = 16) MVC calculation. Distinct rates and magnitudes of change were observed for absolute variability (standard deviation (SD), root mean squared error (RMSE)), tracking error (RMSE, constant error (CE)), and complexity (detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA)) (all p < 0.05) of graded force fluctuations between the MVC groups. Differential performance strategies were observed beyond ~65% MVC, with the discrete-point group minimizing their SD at force values below that of the criterion target (higher CE/RMSE). Moreover, the sustained group’s capacity to minimize SD/RMSE/CE corresponded to a more complex structure in their force fluctuations. These findings reveal that the time component of MVC estimation has a direct influence on the corrective strategies supporting near-maximal manual force control. While discrete MVC protocols predominate in the study of manual strength/endurance/precision, a 1:1 MVC-task mapping appears more to be ecologically valid if visuo-motor precision outcomes are of central importance. Full article

The present study investigated the time course of repetitive maximal isometric grip strength, depending on the arm position, laterality (dominant vs. non-dominant side), and climbing level. The intervention aimed to provide a feasible indicator of maximal strength-endurance in climbing. Seventeen recreational (climbing level (CL): 6.8 (SD 0.5) on the Union Internationale des Associations d’Alpinisme (UIAA) metric scale) and eleven ambitious (CL: 8.7 (SD 0.6) UIAA metric scale) climbers (age: 27 (8) years; BMI: 21.6 (1.9) kg/m²; ape index (arm span divided by body height): 1.05 (0.18); training volume: 2.2 (1.0) h/week). Participants completed maximal isometric handgrip strength (F_max) tests in four positions (left and right hand beside the trunk as well as left and right hand above the shoulder) plus twelve repetitive work-relief cycles, lasting 4 and 1 s where isometric strength, heart rate, and perceived exertion were recorded. F_max differed between groups in nearly all positions. A large side × position × time × group interaction was observed for repetitive isometric grip strength (p = 0.009, η_p² = 0.71). However, subsequent post-hoc tests did not reveal a significant difference between groups during each testing position. Additional correlation analysis between asymmetry and CL showed an inverse relationship for ambitious climbers (r = −0.71). In conclusion, the degree of grip strength decline did not relevantly differentiate between ambitious and recreational climbers. Thus, the time course of handgrip strength seems to mainly rely on maximal grip strength during the first contraction. Full article

The polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) subjected to hygrothermal aging was applied to nanoindentation tests under different indentation strain rates. The influences of hygrothermal aging on the indentation behaviors of PMMA are discussed. Results show that the indentation elastic modulus and hardness decrease with increasing aging time. Furthermore, the indentation size effects (ISE) can be observed in aged PMMA specimens as they are sensitive to aging time as well as to the indentation strain rate. The quantitative analysis of ISE is proposed on the basis of shear transformation-mediated plasticity and was presented in our companion paper. Full article