Sex Differences in COVID-19 Infection Fear in a Community Sample of Korean Adults Using Quantile Regression.

This study aims to explore the impact of distributional changes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection fear with sex differences. A quota sampling strategy was followed and 483 Korean adults were surveyed in a community sample. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess COVID-19 infection fear, depressive symptoms, and general characteristics. Quantile regression was used to explore the regression relationship of COVID-19 infection fear and an individual's sex. There was a significant difference in COVID-19 infection fear (P = 0.001) and depression (P = 0.008) between the sexes - male and female. The differences between sexes at the 20th and 30th percentiles were significant (ß = 2.04, P = 0.006; ß = 1.5, P = 0.004, respectively). The results demonstrate that sex significantly predicts COVID-19 infection fear and women had significantly greater fear than men in the mild-level of COVID-19 infection fear.

Enhancing Data Literacy On-demand: LLMs as Guides for Novices in Chart Interpretation.

With the growing complexity and volume of data, visualizations have become more intricate, often requiring advanced techniques to convey insights. These complex charts are prevalent in everyday life, and individuals who lack knowledge in data visualization may find them challenging to understand. This paper investigates using Large Language Models (LLMs) to help users with low data literacy understand complex visualizations. While previous studies focus on text interactions with users, we noticed that visual cues are also critical for interpreting charts. We introduce an LLM application that supports both text and visual interaction for guiding chart interpretation. Our study with 26 participants revealed that the in-situ support effectively assisted users in interpreting charts and enhanced learning by addressing specific chart-related questions and encouraging further exploration. Visual communication allowed participants to convey their interests straightforwardly, eliminating the need for textual descriptions. However, the LLM assistance led users to engage less with the system, resulting in fewer insights from the visualizations. This suggests that users, particularly those with lower data literacy and motivation, may have over-relied on the LLM agent. We discuss opportunities for deploying LLMs to enhance visualization literacy while emphasizing the need for a balanced approach.

Effect of Childhood Adversity and Positive Psychological Resources on Stress Response-Comparison Between Depressed and Nondepressed Young Adults.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between stress response, childhood adversity, and positive psychological resources in young adults, to investigate the mediation effect of positive psychological resources, and to compare the moderated mediation effects between depressed and non-depressed groups. Methods: A total of 360 young adults (165 outpatients diagnosed with depression and 195 non-depressed participants) were recruited. Data were collected using the Adverse Childhood Events questionnaire, Positive Resources Test, and Stress Response Inventory. Models 4 and 14 of the PROCESS macro were used to test the mediating and moderated mediating effects. Results: In both groups, the stress response was negatively correlated with positive psychological resources and positively correlated with childhood adversity. Positive psychological resources mediated childhood adversity and depression. In the depression group, positive resources had a moderated mediation effect on the relationship between childhood adversity, positive psychological resources, and stress response. Conclusion: The findings suggest the importance of enhancing positive psychological resources, especially in patient groups, to help overcome childhood adversity and cope with stress more effectively.

Isolation of a polyethylene-degrading bacterium, Acinetobacter guillouiae, using a novel screening method based on a redox indicator.

Plastic, a polymer synthesized from petrochemicals, is used worldwide. However, natural degradation of plastic is difficult, causing environmental pollution, with microplastics posing a serious threat to human health. In this study, we aimed to use a new screening method based on the oxidation-reduction indicator, 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol, to isolate a polyethylene-degrading bacterium, Acinetobacter guillouiae, from insect larvae. Plastic-degrading strains are identified by the color change in the redox indicator from blue to colorless as plastic metabolism occurs. Polyethylene biodegradation by A. guillouiae was verified through weight loss, surface erosion, physiological evidence, and chemical changes on the plastic surface. In addition, we analyzed the characteristics of hydrocarbon metabolism in polyethylene-degrading bacteria. Results suggested that alkane hydroxylation and alcohol dehydrogenation were key steps in polyethylene degradation. This novel screening method will pave the way for high-throughput screening of polyethylene-degrading microorganisms and extending its application to other types of plastics may potentially address plastic pollution.

Past, present, and future perspectives of transcription factor EB (TFEB): mechanisms of regulation and association with disease.

Transcription factor EB (TFEB), a member of the MiT/TFE family of basic helix-loop-helix leucine zipper transcription factors, is an established central regulator of the autophagy/lysosomal-to-nucleus signaling pathway. Originally described as an oncogene, TFEB is now widely known as a regulator of various processes, such as energy homeostasis, stress response, metabolism, and autophagy-lysosomal biogenesis because of its extensive involvement in various signaling pathways, such as mTORC1, Wnt, calcium, and AKT signaling pathways. TFEB is also implicated in various human diseases, such as lysosomal storage disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, cancers, and metabolic disorders. In this review, we present an overview of the major advances in TFEB research over the past 30 years, since its description in 1990. This review also discusses the recently discovered regulatory mechanisms of TFEB and their implications for human diseases. We also summarize the moonlighting functions of TFEB and discuss future research directions and unanswered questions in the field. Overall, this review provides insight into our understanding of TFEB as a major molecular player in human health, which will take us one step closer to promoting TFEB from basic research into clinical and regenerative applications.

Development and Evaluation: A Behavioral Activation Mobile Application for Self-Management of Stress for College Students.

College students are at a high risk of mental health problems due to continuous exposure to considerable stress as they transition into adulthood. It is necessary to reflect on young people's needs and provide brief, personalized support interventions via mobile applications. This study aimed to (1) describe the co-design development process of a behavioral activation (BA) mobile health application called MEndorphins to help youth manage stress; and (2) evaluate the ease of use and quality of the application and its effects on psychological distress. College students aged 18-25 in South Korea participated as co-designers throughout the MEndorphins development process, which involved prototyping workshops. Thirty-five students also evaluated the application's ease of use and quality, as well as its effects on psychological distress, using a self-reported online questionnaire. In the pilot evaluation, ease of use scored 74.21 out of 100 and quality 3.72 out of 5. There were statistically significant decreases in depression, anxiety, and stress after using MEndorphins (p ≤ 0.001 for depression and anxiety, p = 0.001 for stress) for 7 days. In this developed BA based mobile application, participants could monitor their mood, plan stress self-management strategies, and gain motivation by sharing experiences.

The self-annealing phenomenon of electrodeposited nano-twin copper with high defect density.

Electroplated copper was prepared under typical conditions and a high defect density to study the effect of the defects on its self-annealing phenomenon. Two conditions, grain growth and stress relaxation during self-annealing, were analyzed with electron backscattered diffraction and a high-resolution X-ray diffractometer. Abnormal grain growth was observed in both conditions; however, the grown crystal orientation differed. The direction and relative rate at which abnormal grain growth proceeds were specified through textured orientation, and the self-annealing mechanism was studied by observing the residual stress changes over time in the films using the sin2Ψ method.

Voice processing for COVID-19 scanning and prognostic indicator.

COVID-19 pandemic has posed serious risk of contagion to humans. There is a need to find reliable non-contact tests like vocal correlates of COVID-19 infection. Thirty-six Asian ethnic volunteers 16 (8M & 8F) infected subjects and 20 (10M &10F) non-infected controls participated in this study by vocalizing vowels /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/. Voice correlates of 16 COVID-19 positive patients were compared during infection and after recovery with 20 non-infected controls. Compared to non-infected controls, significantly higher values of energy intensity for /o/ (p = 0.048); formant F1 for /o/ (p = 0.014); and formant F3 for /u/ (p = 0.032) were observed in male patients, while higher values of Jitter (local, abs) for /o/ (p = 0.021) and Jitter (ppq5) for /a/ (p = 0.014) were observed in female patients. However, formant F2 for /u/ (p = 0.018), mean pitch F0 for /e/, /i/ and /o/ (p = 0.033; 0.036; 0.047) decreased for female patients under infection. Compared to recovered conditions, HNR for /e/ (p = 0.014) was higher in male patients under infection, while Jitter (rap) for /a/ (p = 0.041); Jitter (ppq5) for /a/ (p = 0.032); Shimmer (local, dB) for /i/ (p = 0.024); Shimmer (apq5) for /u/ (p = 0.019); and formant F4 for vowel /o/ (p = 0.022) were higher in female patients under infection. However, HNR for /e/ (p = 0.041); and formant F1 for /o/ (p = 0.002) were lower in female patients compared to their recovered conditions. Obtained results support the hypothesis since changes in voice parameters were observed in the infected patients which can be correlated to a combination of acoustic measures like fundamental frequency, formant characteristics, HNR, and voice perturbations like jitter and shimmer for different vowels. Thus, voice analysis can be used for scanning and prognosis of COVID-19 infection. Based on the findings of this study, a mobile application can be developed to analyze human voice in real-time to detect COVID-19 symptoms for remedial measures and necessary action.