Timing Matters: A Longitudinal Study Examining the Effects of Physical Activity Intensity and Timing on Adolescents' Mental Health Outcomes.

Physical activity is universally acknowledged for its benefits to mental health; however, the specific intensities and timings that best benefit adolescents' mental health, crucial due to their significant influence on daily schedules, have not been thoroughly investigated. This study addresses the substantive research gap by exploring the varied effects of physical activity intensity (light versus moderate to vigorous) and timing (weekdays versus weekends and holidays) on adolescent mental health. Utilizing a large-scale longitudinal dataset (NT1 = 84,054; NT2 = 44,623) from 158 schools, this research describes the current state of adolescent physical activity and investigates the effects of physical activity on mental health outcomes, including positive (i.e., life satisfaction, positive mental health) and negative indicators (depression, anxiety), over a 6-month period. Participants were adolescents aged 9-19 years (mean age = 12.73 ± 2.43 years, 48.9% female), with the analysis adjusted for potential confounding factors. Results showed that as adolescents grow older, their engagement in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during both weekdays and weekends/holidays tends to decrease, while light physical activity during weekdays increases. Multilevel regression analysis indicated that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during weekends/holidays at Time 1 positively correlated with better mental health outcomes at Time 2 (six months later), featuring enhanced positive indicators and reduced negative ones. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on weekdays at Time 1 was positively linked to mental health at Time 2. Light physical activity during weekends/holidays at Time 1 positively predicted life satisfaction and positive mental health at Time 2. In contrast, light physical activity on weekdays at Time 1 negatively correlated with life satisfaction at Time 2. The study underscores the importance of promoting moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, particularly on weekends and holidays, to improve mental health outcomes among adolescents.

Childhood maltreatment and insomnia in college students: The role of alexithymia and psychological distress.

Insomnia, which is highly prevalent among college students, has been identified as one of the negative consequences of childhood maltreatment. While prior studies have uncovered distinct correlations between childhood maltreatment, insomnia, and other variables, the potential underlying mechanisms need to be further explored. This study focused on the chain-mediating role of alexithymia and psychological distress in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and insomnia. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among Chinese college students, yielding 999 valid questionnaires that included demographic information, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). A chain-mediating model was then tested. The results revealed significant positive correlations between each pair of the four variables. Alexithymia and psychological distress separately mediated the link between childhood maltreatment and insomnia (effect of alexithymia was 0.06 with 95 % CI [0.03, 0.09]; effect of psychological distress was 0.24 with 95 % CI [0.19, 0.29]). Additionally, a chain-mediating effect of alexithymia and psychological distress was observed (chain-mediating effect was 0.12 with 95 % CI [0.09, 0.15]). The findings suggest that emotional interventions may mitigate the long-term effect of childhood maltreatment on sleep problems among college students, by improving the ability to recognize emotions and decreasing emotional problems.

Problematic mobile phone use and time management disposition in Chinese college students: the chain mediating role of sleep quality and cognitive flexibility.

BACKGROUND: With the widespread adoption of smartphones, there has been a notable increase in problematic mobile phone use (PMPU), particularly prevalent among college students. Research suggests that apart from being associated with various problematic behaviors, this excessive mobile phone use might also have an impact on individual personality traits, such as time management disposition (TMD), which plays a significant role in individual motivation and psychological well-being. While previous literature has identified a negative relationship between PMPU and TMD, few studies have delved into the underlying mediating mechanism. Thus, the main aim of this study was to examine the chain mediating effect of sleep quality and cognitive flexibility on the relationship between PMPU and TMD. METHODS: A total of 921 Chinese college students completed the questionnaire. We collected basic information about the participants and assessed their PMPU, TMD, sleep quality, and cognitive flexibility using the Problematic Mobile Phone Use Scale-10, Adolescence Time Management Disposition Inventory, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scale and Cognitive Flexibility Inventory. RESULTS: The results indicated a significant correlation among all the variables. Moreover, we noted that both sleep quality and cognitive flexibility fully mediated the association between PMPU and TMD. Additionally, a chain mediating effect involving sleep quality and flexibility in this relationship was also identified. CONCLUSION: We found that sleep quality and cognitive flexibility had a series of multiple mediating effects in the pathway from PMPU to TMD, and both significantly mediated TMD. These findings indicated that impaired cognitive function and sleep quality may contribute to time management difficulties resulting from PMPU, suggesting that problematic behaviors like PMPU can impact one's personality traits. Therefore, interventions should be enhanced to mitigate the adverse effects of PMPU.

Viscosity measurement of molten alumina and zirconia using aerodynamic levitation, laser heating and droplet oscillation techniques.

Reliable thermophysical properties of core melt (corium) are essential for the accurate prediction of the severe accident progression in light water reactors. Zirconia is one of the most important materials in corium. Despite the high interest in the viscosity of molten zirconia, few experimental data have been reported due to its high melting temperature and high vapor pressure. In the present study, the viscosity of molten zirconia was measured using aerodynamic levitation, laser heating and droplet oscillation techniques. A material sample was levitated by argon gas flow in a conical nozzle and then melted into a droplet by laser beams. The initial quiescent droplet was forced to oscillate by the excitation of a loudspeaker, and the viscosity was deduced based on the characteristics of the droplet damped oscillation after the loudspeaker was turned off. The viscosity of molten alumina was first measured for verification of the measurement system. Afterwards the viscosity of molten zirconia was measured. The results showed that the viscosity of molten zirconia at melting temperature (2988K) was 12.87 ± 1.03 mPa s and decreased with increasing temperature. The measurement uncertainties are within 21 %.

Comparison of ACE-IQ and CTQ-SF for child maltreatment assessment: Reliability, prevalence, and risk prediction.

BACKGROUND: Child maltreatment has profound effects on mental health. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short Form (CTQ-SF) and the Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ) are commonly used retrospective assessment tools for evaluating child maltreatment. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to conduct a comprehensive comparison of the CTQ-SF and ACE-IQ, encompassing internal consistency, prevalence, and the predictive efficacy of trauma-related outcomes. It also seeks to enhance the scoring method of ACE-IQ based on the established comparability between the two instruments. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: 1484 college students from northern China were recruited, assessing demographic characteristics and outcomes related to traumatic experiences, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), borderline personality disorder (BPD), anxiety, and depression. METHODS: A contingency correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the degree of agreement between the CTQ-SF and ACE-IQ. Binary logistic regression models were utilized to compare the predictive capabilities of distinct instruments. RESULTS: CTQ-SF and ACE-IQ instruments display favorable internal consistency and notable correlations across shared categories. However, the predictive relationships between trauma type and adverse outcomes are inconsistent across instruments. The ACE-IQ, encompassing 13 trauma categories, demonstrate a lower AIC and BIC index, indicating a superior model fit for elucidating outcomes. CONCLUSION: This study introduces a scoring methodology for ACE-IQ, improving the comparability of the two measures and emphasizing the importance of capturing the full range of maltreatment types a child may have experienced. These findings have significant implications for clinical and epidemiological research, providing valuable insights for understanding the impact of child maltreatment.

Diurnal Cortisol in Left-Behind Adolescents: Relations to Negative Family Expressiveness and Internalizing Problems.

Despite the accumulating evidence for increased risks for behavioral problems in left-behind adolescents in China, little research has explored their HPA axis functioning, which is hypothesized to play a central role in the association between early adversity and health. In the present study, we designed a longitudinal study to examine HPA axis function in left-behind adolescents and its mediating role in the association between family emotional expressiveness and internalizing problems. Participants were 81 adolescents (44 female; 37 male) aged 11-16 years. Salivary cortisol samples were collected six times a day for two consecutive days on regular school days. Negative family expressiveness (NFE) and internalizing problems were measured using self-report questionnaires. The results showed that NFE was negatively associated with diurnal cortisol, and diurnal cortisol was negatively associated with internalizing problems. Further analysis showed that diurnal cortisol secretion measured by AUC (area under the curve) mediated the association between NFE and internalizing problems. Our findings extended the existing literature about left-behind children via a psychoneuroendocrinological perspective, documenting the negative consequences of the family environment for youth health and development.

Comparison of the predictive performance of risk of malignancy indexes 1-4, HE4 and risk of malignancy algorithm in the triage of adnexal masses.

OBJECTIVES: For patients presenting with adnexal mass, it is important to correctly distinguish whether the mass is benign or malignant for the purpose of precise and timely referral and implication of correct line of management. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of Risk of malignancy Indexes (RMI) 1-4, Human Epididymis Protein 4 (HE4) and Risk of Malignancy Algorithm (ROMA) in differentiating the adnexal mass into benign and malignant. METHODS: A retrospective study using 155 patients diagnosed with adnexal mass between January 2014 to December 2014 in The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University was conducted. The patient records were assessed for age, menopausal status, serum CA125 and HE4 levels, ultrasound characteristics of the pelvic mass and the final pathological diagnosis of the mass. RMI1, RMI2, RMI3, RMI4, ROMA were calculated for each patient and the sensitivity, specificity and the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curves were determined for each test to evaluate their performance. RESULTS: Among 155 patients with adnexal masses meeting inclusion criteria, 120 (77.4%) were benign, 8 (5.2%) borderline and 27 (17.4%) were malignant. RMI2 and RMI4 had the highest sensitivity (66.7%) while HE4 had the highest specificity (96.9%).Although ROMA had the highest area under the curve (AUC) of 0.886 it was not found to be statistically superior to the other tests. For epithelial ovarian cancers, ROMA (80%), HE4 (96.9%) and RMI 4 (0.868) had the highest sensitivity, specificity and AUC respectively however, the AUC characteristics were not statistically significant between any groups. Compared to the postmenopausal group (sensitivity 72.2-77.8%) all the tests showed lower sensitivity (42.9%) for the premenopausal group of patients. CONCLUSIONS: RMI 1-4, ROMA and HE4 were all found to be useful for differentiating benign/borderline adnexal masses from malignant ones for deciding optimal therapy, however no test was found to be significantly better than the other. None were able to differentiate between benign and borderline tumors. All of the tests demonstrated increased sensitivity when borderline tumors were considered low-risk, and when only epithelial ovarian cancers were considered.