Individual and Collective Positive Health Behaviors and Academic Achievement Among U.S. High School Students, Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2017

Purpose We examined associations between academic grades and positive health behaviors, individually and collectively, among U.S. high school students. Design Cross-sectional study design. Setting: Data were from the 2017 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Response rates were 75% for schools, 81% for students, and 60% overall (n = 14,765 students). Subjects Youth in grades 9th–12th. Measures We focused on youth behaviors that can prevent or delay the onset of chronic health conditions. Seven dietary, 3 physical activity, 2 sedentary screen time, and 4 tobacco product use behaviors were assessed. Variables were dichotomized (0/1) to indicate that a score was given to the positive health behavior response (e.g.,, did not smoke cigarettes = 1). A composite score was created by summing each positive health behavior response among 16 total health behaviors. Analysis Multivariable logistic regression analyses for each individual health behavior, and a multivariable negative binomial regression for the composite score, were conducted with self-reported academic grades, controlling for sex, grade in school, race/ethnicity, and body mass index (BMI) categories. Results Controlling for covariates, students who reported mostly A’s had 2.0 ( P < .001) more positive health behaviors; students who reported mostly B’s had 1.3 ( P < .001) more positive health behaviors; and students who reported mostly C’s had .78 ( P < .001) more positive health behaviors, compared to students who reported mostly D’s/F’s. Conclusions Higher academic grades are associated with more positive individual and cumulative health behaviors among high school students. Understanding these relationships can help inform efforts to create a healthy and supportive school environment and strive for health equity.

Shortage of Personal Protective Equipment and Nurse Safety in the Coronavirus Disease-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Study in Indonesia

BACKGROUND: There has been a substantial scarcity of personal protective equipment (PPE) in several countries during the ongoing pandemic of Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). Nurses in Indonesia also experience a shortage of PPE as the number of COVID-19 patients in Indonesia continues to increase. There is no accurate data yet regarding the exact number of PPE scarcity for nurses. AIM: This study aimed to describe the availability of PPE and adverse consequences long-term used off the PPE and examine the relationship between shortage PPE and nurse behavior response in Indonesia. METHODS: An online-based survey was used to collect data on the nurse, regardless of their discipline, training background, or degree of experience, who are directly involved in managing COVID-19 patients. In this study, a total of 211 questionnaires were gathered. The survey was conducted using the Google form. This study employs univariate and bivariate analysis. RESULTS: Most of the mask N95 provision reaches up to 80%. The second is the hazmat (71%) and the lowest in the gloves (30%). Around 71% of respondents generally resist removing their PPE until the shift is complete. Then, 62% of the respondents are ready to propose to the leaders of the PPE, and 51% show that they are modifying the PPE. Nasal blisters are the most prevalent type of injury sustained by nurses while wearing PPE (86%), followed by headaches and dehydration. This study found that most respondents (60.7%) with insufficient PPE had a positive behavior reaction, whereas just 18% had a poor behavior reaction. CONCLUSION: Most nurses have difficulties accessing N95 and experience some adverse effects of prolonging PPE use. Policymakers should take urgent action to tackle these concerns.

Modifying Natural Behavioral Responses by Enforcing Ethical Values

"According to different theories about neuroscience and ethics, we want to introduce the idea that the ethical values are very good levers to conduct human responses to their perceptions. These theories are based on very currently data about science and the central nervous system explained recently by a very important neuroscientist. In a very basic nervous system, the reptilian brain, humans can solve their fundamental interest and necessities, such as survival, breading, community behavior… In a more complex and posterior temporary nervous system, thanks to the known limbic brain, humans have been able to solve and to respond to their emotional problems, creating the memory center of our emotions. After this second moment and as a result of the global anthropological evolution, the cortical brain allows us to think, to deploy the global intelligences and take human decisions. Thanks to these three brain levels and their neurobiological connections, humans have developed other intangible brains, able to experience the ethics, the esthetics, and the spirituality. Our brain works as a whole. We are the result made up of more than 100.000 million connected neurons that form the brains. In some aspects, our four dimensions, the physical, the emotional, the rational and the transcendental faces act together, hand in hand. Our more ponderous decisions aren’t always rational; more than 80% of them are basically emotional. So, our spiritual manners can be showed by biophysically manifestations; conscientious and unconscientious affects us equally. Human brain is genetically prepared to answer. Historically formed to respond, the central nervous system can be explained as the most complex organ to produce responses to multiple previous perceptions. These perceptions can be tangible or not, external or internal, consciences or not, actual or memorized. Our point of view is that we can introduce ethical values as a non-conscientious response. Working from rational and emotional ways our ethical values, we will introduce them in our transcendental brain. All posterior relationship between the brain areas will influence the behavior response to the real perceptions that we are exposed to. So, to summarize, enforced ethical values can unconscientiously modify our behavioral response. "

Multi-Odor Discrimination by Rat Sniffing for Potential Monitoring of Lung Cancer and Diabetes

The discrimination learning of multiple odors, in which multi-odor can be associated with different responses, is important for responding quickly and accurately to changes in the external environment. However, very few studies have been done on multi-odor discrimination by animal sniffing. Herein, we report a novel multi-odor discrimination system by detection rats based on the combination of 2-Choice and Go/No-Go (GNG) tasks into a single paradigm, in which the Go response of GNG was replaced by 2-Choice, for detection of toluene and acetone, which are odor indicators of lung cancer and diabetes, respectively. Three of six trained rats reached performance criterion, in 12 consecutive successful tests within a given set or over 12 sets with a success rate of over 90%. Through a total of 1300 tests, the trained animals (N = 3) showed multi-odor sensing performance with 88% accuracy, 87% sensitivity and 90% specificity. In addition, a dependence of behavior response time on odor concentrations under given concentration conditions was observed, suggesting that the system could be used for quantitative measurements. Furthermore, the animals’ multi-odor sensing performance has lasted for 45 days, indicating long-term stability of the learned multi-odor discrimination. These findings demonstrate that multi-odor discrimination can be achieved by rat sniffing, potentially providing insight into the rapid, accurate and cost-effective multi-odor monitoring in the lung cancer and diabetes.

The structured modeling framework of anaerobic digestion in Modelica: development of ADMLib package

This paper presents the development of ADMLib, a new high-productivity and efficient Modelica package to model and simulate anaerobic digestion systems inside the structured modeling framework. Library components were organized into subpackages to encompass growth kinetics, non-biochemical reaction kinetics, acid-base, heat transfer, and inhibition processes, as well as the characteristics of substances and gas phase. A validation of the dynamic behavior response was performed where the implemented functions were used to simulate different bibliographic models. A brief performance analysis was carried out, in order to evaluate the component-based approach of ADMLib against the traditional differential algebraic equation (DAE) systems. The implementation testing demonstrated that the developed package was reliable, usable, and performant.

Protective effect of caffeine and/or taurine on the 6-hydroxydopamine-induced rat model of Parkinson’s disease: Behavioral and neurochemical evidence

Background: Caffeine and taurine, which possess neuro-modulatory activity happen to be consumed together as part of the constituents of energy drinks, could have beneficial effects and prevent neuronal deterioration in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Objective: This study aimed to investigate behavioral and neurochemical effects of these two agents in an animal model of PD at two time points to evaluate possible neuro-protective or neuro- modulatory effects. Methods: Stereotaxic injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in rat striatum was used to model PD-like behavior in animals. Motor behavior was assessed by a characteristic rotation behavior response to the apomorphine challenge and dopamine levels in the striatum were quantified using HPLC-ED. Results: A reduction in apomorphine induced rotations following administration of caffeine and/or taurine as compared to the untreated lesioned group (controls) was shown. Significant decreases in dopamine levels were also seen in the ipsilateral side of 6-OHDA group, this effect was not significantly reversed in caffeine and taurine treated groups. Treatments partially restored the content of DA levels in the lesioned striatum. Conclusions: Current results demonstrated beneficial effects for the combination of caffeine and taurine in PD animal model, suggesting that consumption of both agents could be a new added therapeutic target for Parkinson’s disease prevention and treatment.