Chinese college students COVID-19 phobia and negative moods: Moderating effects of physical exercise behavior.

Objective: We investigated the effects of COVID-19 fear on negative moods among college students, and assessed the efficacy of physical exercise behavior as a moderator variable. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Students from three colleges and universities in Shangqiu City, Henan Province and Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province were enrolled in this study, which was performed during the COVID-19 pandemic using an online questionnaire. A total of 3,133 college students completed the questionnaire. Measurement tools included the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S), Depression-Anxiety-Stress Self-Rating Scale (DASS), and the Physical Activity Behavior Scale (PARS-3). Results: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the rates of depression, anxiety, and stressful negative moods among college students were 35.5, 65.5, and 10.95%, respectively; there was a positive correlation between COVID-19 fear and negative moods among college students (r = 0.479, p < 0.001), which was negatively correlated with physical exercise behavior (r = -0.4, p < 0.001); the regulating effects of physical exercise behavior were significant (ΔR2 = 0.04, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The rate of negative moods among college students is high, and the fear for COVID-19 is one of the key factors that lead to negative moods. Physical exercise can modulate the impact of COVID-19 fear among college students on negative moods. Studies should elucidate on mental health issues among different populations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Epidemiological Study of Physical Activity, Negative Moods, and Their Correlations among College Students.

OBJECTIVE: Negative moods in college students have caused frequent extreme behaviors. This study analyzed the current status and correlation between physical activity and negative moods in college students. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was used in the present research. Data on college students' physical activity and negative moods were collected using the Sports Questionnaire Star software. The questionnaires were administered to college students in five colleges and universities in Henan and Jiangsu Provinces, China, and a total of 3711 correctly completed questionnaires were returned. Data on sociological and demographic information, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF), and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) were collected. The research was conducted in December 2021. RESULTS: The low-intensity physical activity rate among college students was 55.56%, while depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms were detected in 35.14%, 65.29%, and 10.99%of the college students, respectively. Depression (K = 35.58, p < 0.001) and anxiety (K = 15.56, p < 0.001) rates were significantly different among the different physical activity intensity groups. The proportion of students who perform high-intensity physical activities was lower than those who perform low- and moderate-intensity physical activities. CONCLUSION: Low physical activity and high anxiety are evident among college students, and prolonged moderate-to-low-intensity physical activity (including static behavior) induces depression and anxiety. In the future, further studies can be conducted on improving the physical activity intensity of college students, improving the mental health monitoring and intervention systems of college students, and exploring the dose-effect relationship between physical activity and negative moods.

Physical Fitness, Exercise Behaviors, and Sense of Self-Efficacy Among College Students: A Descriptive Correlational Study.

Background: Self-efficacy is an important component of the mental well-being of college students. This study aimed to evaluate the development and the correlation between physical fitness (PF), exercise behavior, and self-efficacy in college students. To examine whether PF in individual college students can predict self-efficacy, and whether exercise behavior mediates this relationship. Methods: This was an observational study of 1923 randomly selected college students (50.5% girl). Measures included the Physical Activity Rating Scale, the Self-Efficacy Scale, and PF testing. Results: Self-efficacy was weakly correlated to both PF (r = 0.240) and exercise behavior (r = 0.248). In regression analysis, PF explained 24.7% of the variance in self-efficacy, increasing to 29.4% when exercise behavior was considered. Therefore, the predictive effect of PF on self-efficacy is partially realized through healthy exercise behavior. Conclusion: Physical fitness can predict self-efficacy among college students, with exercise behavior being an important mediation of this relationship. Strategies to improve positive exercise behaviors and PF could improve students' self-efficacy and overall mental health.

Chinese College Students' Physical-Exercise Behavior, Negative Emotions, and Their Correlation during the COVID-19 Outbreak.

BACKGROUND: In the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the level of college students' physical exercise, the detection rate of negative emotions, and their correlation should attract extensive attention. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the correlation between college students' physical exercise and negative emotions. METHODS: Data were collected via a web-based cross-sectional survey. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 3118 college students from five universities in Shanghai in March 2022. In addition to sociodemographic information, measures included Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3) and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS). The chi-squared test and logistic regression were used to analyze the differences and test the relative risk of negative emotions caused by different amounts of physical exercise. RESULTS: Most students (66.1%) performed a small amount of physical exercise. Male students' physical-exercise level was higher than female students', and the detection rate of negative emotions was lower than that of female students. Moderate and low physical-exercise levels were associated with a higher risk of depression (beta of 0.289 and 0.345, respectively) and anxiety (beta of 0.301 and 0.418) symptoms than high physical-exercise level. CONCLUSIONS: The anxiety symptoms of college students were significant during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The physical-exercise behavior of college students was closely related to negative emotions, and the weakening of physical-exercise behavior was one of the factors that induced negative emotions in college students.

Optofluidic lenticular lens array for a 2D/3D switchable display.

In this paper, we propose an optofluidic lenticular lens array (OLLA) for a two-dimensional/three-dimensional (2D/3D) switchable display. The OLLA includes a bottom substrate layer with lenticular lens structure, a microfluidic layer with microchannels, and a top substrate layer with inlets as well as outlets. A micro gap is formed between the lenticular lens of the bottom substrate layer and the top substrate layer. When air is in the micro gap, the OLLA behaves as a lenticular lens array, which can realize 3D display. When fluid is filled in the micro gap, because the refractive index of the fluid is the same with the lenticular lens structure, the OLLA equivalents to a transparent flat panel, which can realize a 2D display. Experiments verify that a switchable 2D/3D display prototype based on this OLLA and a smartphone achieves both high-resolution 2D display and high-quality 3D display.

1550 nm infrared/visible light switchable liquid optical switch.

In this paper, a liquid optical switch is proposed, and the 1550 nm infrared/visible switching function based on hydraulic control can be realized. An infrared light switch cavity, a visible light cavity and a liquid control cavity are stacked to form the main framework of the device. The glycerol, dyed liquid, and transparent liquid are filled in the cavities, respectively. Two elastic films are fabricated between the cavities for controlling the liquid volume of the cavities. With such a structure, in the initial state, the 1550 nm infrared light and visible light are absorbed by the glycerol and dyed liquid, respectively. The device shows infrared light-off and visible light-off states. When the elastic film is actuated by the liquid pressure, the shape of the elastic film can be changed. Once the elastic film touches to the substrate, a light channel can be formed so that the infrared light or visible light can pass through it. It shows infrared light-on or visible light-on states. In this way, the device can be worked as an infrared light and visible light switchable optical switch. The experiments show that the device can obtain the optical attenuation from ∼1.02 dB to ∼18.24 dB for 1550 nm infrared light optical switch and ∼0.66 dB to ∼8.70 dB @ λ=450 nm; ∼0.62 dB to ∼8.74 dB @ λ=532 nm; ∼0.77 dB to ∼9.00 dB @ λ=633 nm for visible light optical switch. The device has potential applications in the fields of optical fiber communications, variable optical attenuators, and light shutters.

A network approach for researching political feasibility of healthcare reform: the case of universal healthcare system in Taiwan.

This study evaluates the political feasibility of healthcare reform taking place in Taiwan in the past decade. Since Taiwan adopted National Health Insurance (NHI) in 1995, it has provided coverage for virtually all of the island's citizens. However, the imbalance between expenditure and revenue has resulted in a cycle of unsustainable spending which has necessitated financial reforms and political confrontations. By applying social network analysis, this paper examines multiple types of ties between policy elites and power distribution that have evolved in crucial policy events of the NHI's financial reforms between 1998 and 2010. Data sources include official documents and 62 social network interviews that were held with government officials and related unofficial policy participants. Blockmodeling and multidimensional scaling (MDS) are used to determine the major participants and network structures in the NHI domain, as well as the influential policy actors, based on information transmission, resource exchange, reputation attribution and action-set coalition networks in Taiwan's current political situation. The results show that although both public actors and all medical associations are the leading actors in the NHI reform, without good communication with societal actors, the promotion of reform proposals ends in failure. As a tool of political feasibility evaluation, social network analysis can map the political conflict between policy stakeholders systematically when policy makers pursue the result of policy adoption.