Instruments Assessing Problematic Use of the Internet and Their Associations with Psychological Distress among Ghanaian University Students

Background:The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of Problematic Internet Use(PIU)instruments and their correlation with psychological distress and time spent on Internet activities among university students in Ghana.Methods:In the present cross-sectional survey design study,520 participants(35.96% female)were recruited with a mean age of 19.55 years(SD=1.94)from several university departments(i.e.,Behavioral Sciences,Materials Engineering,Nursing and Midwifery,and Biochemistry and Biotechnology)of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology(KNUST)between 19 July and 04 August,2023.Participants completed a survey that included the following measures:the Gaming Disorder Test(GDT),Gaming Disorder Scale for Adolescents(GADIS-A),Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form(IGDS9-SF),Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale(BSMAS),Smartphone Application Based Addiction Scale(SABAS),Nomophobia Questionnaire(NMP-Q),and the external criterion measure:Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21(DASS-21).Confirmatory factor analysis(CFA)was carried out to evaluate the structure of the instruments.Cronbach’s α,McDonald’s ω,and composite reliability were used to evaluate internal consistency.Pearson correlation was used to examine the associations between the scores of instruments assessing PIU,time spent on Internet activities,and the level of psychological distress.Results:Model fits confirmed the(i)unidimensional structure of the GDT,BSMAS,SABAS,IGDS9-SF,(ii)two-factor structure of the GADIS-A,and(iii)four-factor structure of the NMP-Q.Additionally,the study found that different types of PIU were significantly associated with psychological distress and time spent on related Internet activities.Conclusion:The six instruments validated in the present study demonstrated very good to excellent psychometric properties when applied to university students in Ghana.The significant associations between Internet-related disorders,time spent on Internet-related activities,and psychological distress highlight the importance of addressing issues of PIU among this population.

Tendency to Avoid Physical Activity and Sport:Associations with Weight Stigma,and Psychological Distress in a Two-Wave Longitudinal Study

Background:Physical inactivity is a major public health problem worldwide that results in physical and mental health problems.One major issue for physical inactivity is weight stigma(WS),especially perceived WS,which could lead to a tendency to avoid physical activity(PA).To better understand the association between perceived WS and PA,knowledge of the likely mediators in this association such as weight bias internalization(WBI)and psychological distress were investigated in the present study.Methods:Using a two-wave longitudinal study and convenient sampling,388 Taiwan residents participants(55%females;mean age=29.7 years[SD±6.3])completed two surveys six months apart.Body mass index(BMI),Perceived Weight Stigma Scale(PWSS),Weight Bias Internalization Scale(WBIS),Depression,Anxiety,Stress Scale(DASS-21),and Tendency to Avoid Physical Activity and Sport Scale(TAPAS)were assessed.Results:A mediation model controlling for age,gender,and BMI with 5000 bootstrapping resamples was performed.Perceived WS exerted significant direct effects on WBI(β=0.25;p<0.001),psychological distress(β=0.15;p=0.003),and tendency to avoid PA(β=0.10;p=0.027);WBI exerted a significant direct effect on tendency to avoid PA(β=0.47;p<0.001).Standardized indirect effects of WBI and psychological distress on the association between perceived WS and tendency to avoid PA were 0.12 and 0.01,respectively.Conclusion:Given the direct association of perceived WS on the tendency to avoid PA and the mediating role of WBI in this association,interventions addressing perceived WS and WBI may contribute to promoting PA.Therefore,health interventionists(both when planning and executing PA programs)need to consider weight stigmawhen encouraging physical activity.

Fabrication and thermal stability of Ni-P coated diamond powder using electroless plating

Ni-P coated diamond powder was fabricated successfully by using electroless plating.Effects of active solutions,plating time,reaction temperature,and the components of the plating bath on the Ni-P coating were investigated systematically.Moreover,a study on the thermal stability of Ni-P coated diamond under various atmospheres was performed.The results indicate that Pd atoms absorbed on the diamond surface as active sites can consequently enhance the deposition rate of Ni effectively.The optimized plating bath and reaction conditions improve both the plating speed and the coverage rate of Ni-P electroless plating on the diamond surface.Compared to the diamond substrate,the diamond coated with Ni-P films exhibits very high thermal stability and can be processed up to 900°C in air and 1300°C in protective atmosphere such as H2.

Is endoscopic retrograde appendicitis therapy a better modality for acute uncomplicated appendicitis? A systematic review and metaanalysis

BACKGROUND Previous studies had shown endoscopic retrograde appendicitis therapy(ERAT)is an effective treatment for acute appendicitis.However,different studies reported conflicting outcomes regarding the effectiveness of ERAT in comparison with laparoscopic appendectomy(LA).AIM To compare the effectiveness of ERAT with LA.METHODS Randomized controlled trials(RCTs)and retrospective studies of ERAT for acute uncomplicated appendicitis were searched in PubMed,Cochrane Library,Web of Science,Embase database,China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),the WanFang Database,and Chinese Scientific Journals Database(VIP)from the establishment date to March 12021.Heterogeneity was assessed using the Isquared statistic.Pooled odds ratios(OR),weighted mean difference(WMD),and standard mean difference(SMD),with 95%confidence intervals(CI)were calculated through either fixed-effects or random-effects model.Sensitivity analysis was also performed.Publication bias was tested by Egger's test,and Begg’s test.The quality of included RCT were evaluated by the Jadad scale,while Newcastle-Ottawa scale is adopted for assessing the methodological quality of case-control studies.All statistical analysis was performed using Stata 15.1 statistical software.All statistical analysis was performed using Stata 15.1 statistical software.This study is registered with PROSPERO,CRD42021243955.RESULTS After screening,10 RCTs and 2 case-control studies were included in the current systematic review.Firstly,the length of hospitalizations[WMD=-1.15,95%CI:-1.99,-0.31;P=0.007]was shorter than LA group.Secondly,the level of postoperative CRP[WMD=-10.06,95%CI:(-17.39,-2.73);P=0.007],TNF-α[WMD=-7.70,95%CI:(-8.47,-6.93);P<0.001],and IL-6 Levels[WMD=-9.78,95%CI:(-10.69,-8.88);P<0.001;P<0.001]in ERAT group was significantly lower than LA group.Thirdly,ERAT group had a lower incidence of intestinal obstruction than LA group.[OR=0.19,95%CI:(0.05,0.79);P=0.020].Moreover,the quality of 10 RCTs were low with 0-3 Jadad scores,while the methodological quality of two case-control studies were fair with a score of 2(each).CONCLUSION Compared with LA,ERAT reduces operation time,the level of postoperative inflammation,and results in fewer complications and shorter recovery time,with preserving the appendix and its immune and biological functions.

Two-dimensional In_(2)Se_(3):A rising advanced material for ferroelectric data storage

Ferroelectric memory is a promising candidate for next-generation nonvolatile memory owing to its outstanding performance such as low power consump-tion,fast speed,and high endurance.However,the ferroelectricity of conven-tional ferroelectric materials will be eliminated by the depolarization field when the size drops to the nanometer scale.As a result,the miniaturization of ferroelectric devices was hindered,which makes ferroelectric memory unable to keep up with the development of integrated-circuit(IC)miniaturization.Recently,a two-dimensional(2D)In2Se3 was reported to maintain stable ferro-electricity at the ultrathin scale,which is expected to break through the bottle-neck of miniaturization.Soon,devices based on 2D In2Se3,including the ferroelectric field-effect transistor,ferroelectric channel transistor,synaptic fer-roelectric semiconductor junction,and ferroelectric memristor were demon-strated.However,a comprehensive understanding of the structures and the ferroelectric-switching mechanism of 2D In2Se3 is still lacking.Here,the atomic structures of different phases,the dynamic mechanism of ferroelectric switching,and the performance/functions of the latest devices of 2D In2Se3 are reviewed.Furthermore,the correlations among the structures,the properties,and the device performance are analyzed.Finally,several crucial problems or challenges and possible research directions are put forward.We hope that this review paper can provide timely knowledge and help for the research commu-nity to develop 2D In2Se3 based ferroelectric memory and computing technol-ogy for practical industrial applications.

Treatment of turtle aquaculture effluent by an improved multi-soil-layer system

Concentrated turtle aquaculture effluent poses an environmental threat to water bodies, and therefore needs to be treated prior to disposal. This study was conducted to assess the effect of multi-soil-layer（MSL） systems treating turtle aquaculture effluent with adding different amounts of sludge. Four MSL systems were constructed with dry weight ratios of sludge with 0%, 5%, 10%, and 20%（MSL 1, MSL 2, MSL 3, and MSL 4, respectively）. The turtle aquaculture effluent had an average chemical oxygen demand（COD）, ammonia nitrogen（NH4^＋-N） and total nitrogen（TN） concentration of 288.4, 213.4, and 252.0 mg/L, respectively. The COD/TN（C/N） ratio was 1.2. The results showed that the four MSL systems could effectively treat the COD, NH4^＋-N, and TN, and MSL 4 showed significantly improved NH4^＋-N removal efficiency, suggesting the potential of sludge addition to improve the turtle aquaculture effluent treatment. The average COD, TN, and NH4^＋-N removal efficiencies of MSL 4 were 70.3%, 66.5%, and 72.7%, respectively. To further interpret the contribution of microorganisms to the removal, the microbial community compositions and diversities of the four MSL systems were measured. Comparisons of the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis（DGGE） profiles revealed that the amount of nitrifying bacteria and diversity in MSL 4 were higher than those in the other three systems. We concluded that adding 20% of sludge improved the NH4^＋-N removal and stability of the system for nitrification, due to the enrichment of the nitrifying bacteria in MSL 4.

Mass transport phenomena in copper nanowires at high current density

Electromigration in Cu has been extensively investigated as the root cause of typical breakdown failure in Cu interconnects. In this study Cu nanowires connected to Au electrodes are fabricated and observed using in situ transmission electron microscopy to investigate the electro- and thermo-migration processes that are induced by direct current sweeps. We observe the dynamic evolution of different mass transport mechanisms. A current density on the order of 106 A/cm^2 and a temperature of approximately 400 ℃ are sufficient to induce electro- and thermo-migration, respectively. Observations of the migration processes activated by increasing temperatures indicate that the migration direction of Cu atoms is dependent on the net force from the electric field and electron wind. This work is expected to support future design efforts to improve the robustness of Cu interconnects.