Techno-Stress Creators, Burnout and Psychological Health among Remote Workers during the Pandemic: The Moderating Role of E-Work Self-Efficacy.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, remote working was pervasively implemented, causing an increase in technology-related job demands. Concurrently, there was an increase in psychological problems in the occupational population. This study on remote workers tested a moderated mediation model positing burnout, conceptualized according to the Burnout Assessment Tool, as the mediator between techno-stressors and psychological health outcomes and e-work self-efficacy as a protective personal resource. A sample of 225 remote workers filled out anonymous questionnaires measuring techno-stressors, e-work self-efficacy, burnout, and psychological health symptoms (i.e., depressive mood and anxiety symptoms). The data were analyzed using structural equation mediation and moderated mediation models, adopting a parceling technique. The results showed that burnout totally mediated the relationship between techno-stressors and depressive mood, while partially mediating the association between techno-stressors and anxiety symptoms. Moreover, e-work self-efficacy buffered the positive effects of techno-stressors on depressive mood and anxiety symptoms through burnout. The present research attested to the relevance of techno-stressors for the psychological health of remote workers and supported burnout as a mediator of this process, although anxiety symptoms were also directly related to techno-stressors. Moreover, the protective role of domain-specific self-efficacy was confirmed in the realm of remote working. Limitations and practical implications are discussed.

Galactic neutrinos in the Milky Way.

A source of neutrinos may lie within the midplane of the Galaxy.

A faster approach to ECG analysis in emergency situations.

Every day, a substantial number of people need to be treated in emergencies and these situations imply a short timeline. Especially concerning heart abnormalities, the time factor is very important. Therefore, we propose a full-stack system for faster and cheaper ECG taking aimed at paramedics, to enhance Emergency Medical Service (EMS) response time. To stick with the golden hour rule, and reduce the cost of the current devices, the system is capable of enabling the detection and annotation of anomalies during ECG acquisition. Our system combines Machine Learning and traditional Signal Processing techniques to analyze ECG tracks to use it in a glove-like wearable. Finally, a graphical interface offers a dynamic view of the whole procedure.

Acetone-induced polymerisation of 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) as revealed by NMR spectroscopy.

We followed the reactivity of acetone with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, a potential organosilane coupling agent, by (1)H, (13)C and (29)Si NMR spectroscopy. Selective 1D and 2D-edited NMR experiments significantly contributed to simplify the spectral complexity of reaction solution and elucidated molecular structures within progressive reaction phases. The course of the 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane reaction with acetone was shown by a progressive decrease of both reactants, and a concomitant appearance of water and methanol, due to formation of imine and hydrolysis of alkoxysilane groups, respectively. The occurrence of multiple siloxane linkages in a progressively larger cross-linked macromolecular structure was revealed by DOSY-NMR experiments and new signals in (29)Si-NMR spectra at different reaction times. The NMR approach described here may be applied to investigate the reactivity of other γ-aminopropylalkoxysilanes and contribute to define procedures for the preparation of silica-based materials.