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Frontiers in Public Health 2024During public health emergencies, online rumors spread widely on social media, causing public information anxiety and emotional fluctuations. Analyzing the co-evolution...
INTRODUCTION
During public health emergencies, online rumors spread widely on social media, causing public information anxiety and emotional fluctuations. Analyzing the co-evolution patterns of online rumor themes and emotions is essential for implementing proactive and precise governance of online rumors during such events.
METHODS
Rumor texts from mainstream fact-checking platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic were collected and analyzed in phases based on the crisis lifecycle theory. The LDA topic model was applied to analyze the distribution of rumor themes at different stages. The Baidu AI Sentiment Analysis API was used to study the emotional tendencies of rumors at different stages. Line graphs were utilized to analyze the co-evolution characteristics of rumor themes and emotions.
RESULTS
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the themes of online rumors can be categorized into five types: epidemic prevention and control, panic-inducing, production and livelihood, virus dissemination, and social figures. These themes exhibited repetition and fluctuation at different stages of the pandemic. The emotions embedded in pandemic-related online rumors evolved with the progression of the pandemic. Panic-inducing rumors co-evolved with negative emotions, while epidemic prevention and control rumors co-evolved with positive emotions.
CONCLUSION
The study results help to understand the public's focus and emotional tendencies at different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby enabling targeted public opinion guidance and crisis management.
Topics: COVID-19; Humans; Emotions; Social Media; Pandemics; SARS-CoV-2; Information Dissemination; Public Health
PubMed: 38919926
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1375731 -
Quality of Life Research : An... Jun 2024This study aimed to produce a patient-centered understanding of mental health symptoms of people with the post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS).
OBJECTIVES
This study aimed to produce a patient-centered understanding of mental health symptoms of people with the post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS).
METHODS
A cross-sectional analysis of 414 participants in a longitudinal study was carried out involving people who self-identified as having symptoms of PCS. People were asked to name their most frequent and most bothersome mental health symptoms affected by PCS using the structure of the Patient Generated Index (PGI). The text threads from the PGI were grouped into topics using BERTopic analysis.
RESULTS
20 topics were identified from 818 text threads referring to PCS mental health symptoms. 35% of threads were identified as relating to anxiety, discussed in terms of five topics: generalized/social anxiety, fear/worry, post-traumatic stress, panic, and nervous. 29% of threads were identified as relating to low mood, represented by five topics: depression, discouragement, emotional distress, sadness, and loneliness. A cognitive domain (22% of threads) was covered by four topics referring to concentration, memory, brain fog, and mental fatigue. Topics related to frustration, anger, irritability. and mood swings (7%) were considered as one domain and there were separate topics related to motivation, insomnia, and isolation.
CONCLUSIONS
This novel method of digital transformation of unstructured text data uncovered different ways in which people think about classical mental health domains. This information could be used to evaluate whether existing measures cover the content identified by people with PCS, to initiate a clinical conversation, or to justify the development of a new measure of the mental health impact of PCS.
PubMed: 38916660
DOI: 10.1007/s11136-024-03719-8 -
Frontiers in Pediatrics 2024Nocturnal enuresis is associated with severe social and psychological problems that affect one's self-esteem, later in life, harmed adolescent and adult life, emotional...
Effects of sex, toilet training, stress, and caffeine on nocturnal enuresis among school children in Gondar Town, the metropolitan city of Ethiopia: a community-based study in 2023.
BACKGROUND
Nocturnal enuresis is associated with severe social and psychological problems that affect one's self-esteem, later in life, harmed adolescent and adult life, emotional stress on the family, and poor school performance. Moreover, enuresis children may cause panic attacks, mood disorders, and depression. This study aims to assess the prevalence and associated factors of nocturnal enuresis among children aged 5-14 years in Gondar city, Northwest Ethiopia, 2023.
METHODS
A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted from April 1, 2023, to May 30, 2023. A stratified multistage sampling technique was used to select study subject from kebeles in Gondar city. The data were collected by using a structured, interviewer-administer Questionnaire. The data were entered using EPI DATA version 4.6.02 software, and processed,and analyzed using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 25. All variables with ≤ 0.25 in the bivariate analysis were included in the final model of multivariate analysis. The multivariate binary logistic regression was used to assess the association between the independent and outcome variable. The direction and strength of statistical association were measured with an adjusted odds ratio along with 95% CI and a -value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULT
The overall prevalence of nocturnal enuresis among children aged 5-14 years was 162 (22.2%). The findings showed that being boys [AOR = 0.54; 95% CI (0.31, 0.93)], child and no toilet training practices [AOR = 2.50; 95% CI (1.02, 6.15)], Having no caffeine [AOR = 0.16; 95% CI (0.09, 0.29)], and exposure to stressful events [AOR = 20; 95% CI (11.12, 33.34)] had a significant association with nocturnal enuresis, -value <0.05.
CONCLUSION
In this study, the prevalence of nocturnal enuresis children age 5-14 years was higher than that in previous studies. Sex of child, toilet training practices, caffeine c before bed, and presences of stressful event were a significant predictor of nocturnal enuresis.
PubMed: 38915871
DOI: 10.3389/fped.2024.1366430 -
Journal of Affective Disorders Jun 2024In South Africa, there is limited mental health infrastructure and resources. Valid screening tools are needed to facilitate identification and linkage to care. We...
INTRODUCTION
In South Africa, there is limited mental health infrastructure and resources. Valid screening tools are needed to facilitate identification and linkage to care. We evaluated the performance of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Primary Care Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5), and the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) among adults in South Africa against a diagnostic gold standard.
METHODS
Adults present at healthcare facilities were screened with the PHQ-9, GAD-7, PC-PTSD-5, and the C-SSRS. Nurses used a structured diagnostic interview to identify depression, anxiety, panic disorder, PTSD and elevated suicide risk. We assessed the internal consistency, criterion validity, and the sensitivity and specificity of these tools.
RESULTS
Of the 1885 participants, the prevalence of common mental disorders and suicide risk was 24.4 % and 14.9 %, respectively. The PHQ-9, GAD-7, and PC-PTSD-5 showed good internal consistency (0.80-0.89). All screeners demonstrated good criterion validity. For depression, a cut-off of ≥5 on the PHQ-9 yielded sensitivity of 84.24 %, while ≥10 yielded sensitivity of 48.77 %. For anxiety, the GAD-7 performed similarly. A cut-off of ≥4 on the PC-PTSD yielded sensitivity of 61.96 %. The C-SSRS yielded lower sensitivity than expected.
LIMITATIONS
The prevalence data is not generalizable to the larger South African adult population given the use of a targeted, healthcare facility-based sampling and recruitment strategy.
CONCLUSIONS
The performance of the PHQ-9, GAD-7, and PC-PTSD-5 demonstrated good internal consistency and criterion validity, though sensitivity and specificity trade-offs were enhanced with lower cut-offs. Further research into suicide risk screening is warranted.
PubMed: 38908555
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.06.071 -
Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology &... Jun 2024CO exposure has been used to investigate the panicogenic response in patients with panic disorder. These patients are more sensitive to CO, and more likely to experience...
CO exposure has been used to investigate the panicogenic response in patients with panic disorder. These patients are more sensitive to CO, and more likely to experience the "false suffocation alarm" which triggers panic attacks. Imbalances in locus coeruleus noradrenergic (LC-NA) neurotransmission are responsible for psychiatric disorders, including panic disorder. These neurons are sensitive to changes in CO/pH. Therefore, we investigated if LC-NA neurons are differentially activated after severe hypercapnia in mice. Further, we evaluated the participation of LC-NA neurons in ventilatory and panic-like escape responses induced by 20% CO in male and female wild type mice and two mouse models of altered LC-NA synthesis. Hypercapnia activates the LC-NA neurons, with males presenting a heightened level of activation. Mutant males lacking or with reduced LC-NA synthesis showed hypoventilation, while animals lacking LC noradrenaline present an increased metabolic rate compared to wild type in normocapnia. When exposed to CO, males lacking LC noradrenaline showed a lower respiratory frequency compared to control animals. On the other hand, females lacking LC noradrenaline presented a higher tidal volume. Nevertheless, no change in ventilation was observed in either sex. CO evoked an active escape response. Mice lacking LC noradrenaline had a blunted jumping response and an increased freezing duration compared to the other groups. They also presented fewer racing episodes compared to wild type animals, but not different from mice with reduced LC noradrenaline. These findings suggest that LC-NA has an important role in ventilatory and panic-like escape responses elicited by CO exposure in mice.
PubMed: 38908504
DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2024.111063 -
Archives of Suicide Research : Official... Jun 2024Mental health problems seemed to have increased among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. To deepen our understanding of the pandemic's effects in this...
INTRODUCTION
Mental health problems seemed to have increased among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. To deepen our understanding of the pandemic's effects in this population, we conducted qualitative research to investigate any perceived changes in students during the pandemic, differentiating the sample based on the presence or absence of current suicidal ideation (SI).
METHODS
A wide sample of Italian university students (n = 1,214) completed an online questionnaire during the COVID-19 pandemic, March 2020-June 2021. We conducted a computer-assisted content analysis of an open-ended question about the perceived changes that occurred to them during the pandemic.
RESULTS
(1) Four thematic clusters were identified: "The psychological impact of the pandemic," "New ties and new loneliness," "An uncertain forethought" and "Discovering the value of relationships." (2) In subjects characterized by severe SI, the state of confinement at home was related to the most intense emotional states and worries. (3) Students with severe SI were different from the others, in particular using the lemma "panic," which was the only psychological state specifically associated with this group.
CONCLUSIONS
Students with current severe SI experienced higher level of psychological distress and suffering compared to the other groups during the pandemic.
PubMed: 38904483
DOI: 10.1080/13811118.2024.2365289 -
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Jun 2024Treating oily wastewater streams such as produced water has a huge potential to resolve the issue of wastewater disposal and generate useful water for reuse. Among...
Treating oily wastewater streams such as produced water has a huge potential to resolve the issue of wastewater disposal and generate useful water for reuse. Among different techniques employed for oily wastewater (oil-in-water; O/W emulsion) treatment, membrane-based separation is advantageous owing to its lower energy consumption, recycling, ease of operation, and wider scope of tuning the active layer chemistry for enhanced performance. In line with the possibilities of enhancing the performance of the membranes for efficient O/W emulsion separation, the current work is designed to yield five different variants of polyaniline (PANI) active layers with special surface wettability features (superhyrophilic and underwater superoleophobic) on a ceramic alumina support. To achieve variants of PANI on ceramic alumina supports, emulsion polymerization was carried out, and different concentrations of initiator ammonium persulfate (APS) were applied to lead to PANI-A@Aluminum Oxide membrane, PANI-B@Aluminum Oxide membrane, PANI-C@Aluminum Oxide membrane, PANI-D@Aluminum Oxide membrane, and PANI-E@Aluminum Oxide membrane corresponding to 0.15, 0.25, 0.35, 0.5, and 1.0 M concentrations of initiator. The variation in initiator concentration resulted in different PANI growth patterns; hence, the resultant membranes showed different structural, physical, and performance features. Different characterization techniques including H NMR, SEM, FE-TEM, AFM, water contact angle, XRD, EDX, and ATR-FTIR confirmed a more uniform and continuous growth of PANI (PANI-B) using a 0.25 M initiator concentration. The resultant PANI-B@Aluminum Oxide membrane showed an excellent surfactant stabilized crude O/W emulsion separation reaching >99% with a permeate flux of 2154 L m h (LMH) at 4 bar using a 100 ppm surfactant stabilized crude oil-in-water emulsion. The fouling and cleaning cycles revealed that the membrane can be reused with a 70% recovery of the initial permeate flux.
PubMed: 38904348
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c05543 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024Developing a sense of internal safety and security depends mainly on others: numerous neuromodulators play a significant role in the homeostatic process, regulating the... (Review)
Review
Developing a sense of internal safety and security depends mainly on others: numerous neuromodulators play a significant role in the homeostatic process, regulating the importance of proximity to a caregiver and experiencing feelings that enable us to regulate our interdependence with our conspecifics since birth. This array of neurofunctional structures have been called the SEPARATION DISTRESS system (now more commonly known as the PANIC/ GRIEF system). This emotional system is mainly involved in the production of depressive symptoms. The disruption of this essential emotional balance leads to the onset of feelings of panic followed by depression. We will focus on the neuropeptides that play a crucial role in social approach behavior in mammals, which enhance prosocial behavior and facilitate the consolidation of social bonds. We propose that most prosocial behaviors are regulated through the specific neuromodulators acting on salient intersubjective stimuli, reflecting an increased sense of inner confidence (safety) in social relationships. This review considers the neurofunctional link between the feelings that may ultimately be at the base of a sense of and the central neuromodulatory systems. This link may shed light on the clinical implications for the development of early mother-infant bonding and the depressive clinical consequences when this bond is disrupted, such as in post-partum depression, depressive feelings connected to, addiction, neurofunctional disorders, and psychological trauma.
PubMed: 38903479
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1395247 -
Nursing Open Jun 2024Being front-line healthcare professionals is associated with possible severe information anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Investigating signs of information anxiety...
AIM
Being front-line healthcare professionals is associated with possible severe information anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Investigating signs of information anxiety is the first and key step of its targeted medical intervention. This study aims to explore the signs of front-line healthcare professionals' information anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.
DESIGN
This study is qualitative research. Grounded theory was used to classify information anxiety signs of front-line healthcare professionals.
METHODS
Twenty-four front-line healthcare professionals from a general hospital with over 5000 beds in Wuhan were recruited to participate in semi-structured interviews. According to the frequency and frequency variation of signs appearing in interviews, the trends of signs during the virus encounter, lockdown, flattening and second wave were compared. Based on the interviews, those signs that were conceptually related to each other were extracted to construct a conceptual model.
RESULTS
Psychological signs (emotion, worry, doubt, caution, hope), physical signs (insomnia, inattention, memory loss, appetite decreased) and behavioural signs (panic buying of goods, be at a loss, pay attention to relevant information, change habits) could be generalized from 13 subcategories of information anxiety signs. Psychological signs were the most in every period of the pandemic. Furthermore, psychological signs decreased significantly during lockdown, while behavioural and physical signs increased. Finally, severe psychological and behavioural signs were associated with physical signs.
Topics: Humans; COVID-19; Grounded Theory; China; Anxiety; Female; Male; Qualitative Research; Adult; SARS-CoV-2; Health Personnel; Pandemics; Middle Aged
PubMed: 38899516
DOI: 10.1002/nop2.2207 -
Journal of Clinical Medicine May 2024: Mental health and substance use disorders (MHDs and SUDs) affect cardiac allograft and VAD recipients and impact their quality of life and compliance. Limited research...
: Mental health and substance use disorders (MHDs and SUDs) affect cardiac allograft and VAD recipients and impact their quality of life and compliance. Limited research currently exists on MHDs and SUDs in this population. : This study compares the incidence of MHDs and SUDs in the transplant list, VAD, and post-transplant patients with that in heart failure patients. Study cohorts were derived from the TriNetX database using ICD-10 codes. Differences in incidence were examined using the log-rank test. Adults with MHDs and SUDs before the window of time were excluded. All comparisons were made between propensity-matched cohorts. Statistical significance was set at < 0.05. : Transplant waitlist patients showed a significant increase in the incidence of anxiety, depression, panic, adjustment, mood, alcohol use, and eating disorders. Post-transplant patients showed a significant increase in depression and opioid use. VAD patients showed a significant increase in depression and a decrease in panic disorder and anxiety. These results allow for further investigations on prevention and coping strategies. : The deterioration of mental health can significantly impact medication compliance, survival, and quality of life. Opioid use for pain management in the early postoperative period should be further investigated to assess its impact on long-term substance use and addiction.
PubMed: 38892862
DOI: 10.3390/jcm13113151