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ABSTRACT: The jumping-to-conclusions bias has not been examined in a new religious movement (NRM) group. Twenty-seven delusion-prone NRM individuals were compared with 25 individuals with psychotic disorders and 63 non-delusion-prone individuals on four probabilistic inference tasks, together with measures of psychotic symptoms and delusion proneness. The NRM individuals requested significantly less evidence when compared with the control individuals on both meaningful and nonmeaningful tasks. The NRM individuals requested significantly more evidence on a difficult meaningful task when compared with the individuals with psychotic disorders. A specific reasoning style but not a general reasoning style differentiates the NRM individuals from the individuals with psychotic disorders. These findings may be specific to NRM individuals and may not be generalized to other delusion-prone groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of our study was to compare the use of the Orthopilot Navigation system with conventional non-navigation technique for medial UKA with respect to the intraoperative mechanical limb alignment measurements and correlation with the postoperative radiological measurements. The postoperative mechanical limb alignment axes of 51 consecutive medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty performed by a single surgeon over a 12-month period were measured. The cases were randomly assigned to two groups of which 21 cases were performed using conventional non-navigation based technique and 30 cases were performed using the Orthopilot Navigation System. Computed tomography (CT) scanogram was performed for all cases within the same hospitalization stay to assess the postoperative mechanical limb alignment. Our results showed that the non-navigated group had a more neutral mechanical axis with a narrower range compared to the navigation assisted group. The difference in the mean mechanical axis between the two groups was statistically not significant. There was poor correlation between the intraoperative navigation system measurements and the postoperative radiological measurements. In conclusion, the use of computer navigation in UKA is not as well validated as compared to TKA. We did not demonstrate any improvement in postoperative axial limb alignment measurement in using a computer navigation system compared to conventional non-navigation technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to define the topographical relationship of the anatomical bundles of the human anterior cruciate ligament's (ACL) stump over the tibial insertion site. Between January and April 2007, a total of 36 resected tibial plateaus were retrieved from patients who underwent total knee replacements. These samples had intact cruciate ligaments with no major osteophyte around the ACL tibial insertion footprint. The anatomical bundles of the ACL were identified and mapped, based on the topographical relationship over the tibial insertion footprint. Measurements of the dimensions of the ACL tibial footprint and tibial plateau were performed. The mean width and midsagittal depth of the tibia plateau was 78.7 +/- 6.5 and 46.4 +/- 5.0 mm, respectively. The mean width and midsagittal depth of the ACL tibial footprint was 10.3 +/- 1.9 and 19.5 +/- 2.6 mm, respectively. Out of the 36 freshly dissected ACL stumps, it was not possible to distinguish separate bundles in 14 (38.9%) cases. The average distance between the centers of the two bundles was 9.3 +/- 1.8 mm. The mean AP alignment of the tibial footprint was 89.6 degrees +/- 26.4 degrees , with a very wide range of 23 degrees -158 degrees . Of the 22 specimens with separate anatomical bundles, the alignment of the tibial footprint was AM-PL in six (27.3%), sagittal (85 degrees -95 degrees ) in five (22.7), AL-PM in nine (40.9%), and lateral-medial (L-M) in two (9.1%) cases. This study provides new information about the topographical anatomy of the ACL tibial insertion footprint. Based on gross anatomy, separate anatomical bundles of the ACL can be distinguished in 61.1% [22] of the specimens. The topographical alignment of the separate bundles is varied on a very wide range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurodegenerative disorders (NDDs) are a class of debilitating diseases that progressively impair the protein structure and result in neurological dysfunction in the nervous system. Among these disorders, Alzheimer's disease (AD), prion diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), and Parkinson's disease (PD) are caused by protein misfolding and aggregation at the cellular level. In recent years, transition metal complexes have gained significant attention for their potential applications in diagnosing, imaging, and curing these NDDs. These complexes have intriguing possibilities as therapeutics due to their diverse ligand systems and chemical properties and can interact with biological systems with minimal detrimental effects. This review focuses on the recent progress in transition metal therapeutics as a new era of hope in the battle against AD, CJD, and PD by modulating protein aggregation in vitro and in vivo. It may shed revolutionary insights into unlocking new opportunities for researchers to develop metal-based drugs to combat NDDs., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Purpose: Loneliness and social isolation are risk factors for poor health, but few effective interventions are deployable at scale. This study was conducted to determine whether acts of kindness can reduce loneliness and social isolation, improve mental health, and neighbourhood social cohesion., Method: Three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted in the USA, UK, and Australia, involving a total of 4284 individuals aged 18-90 years old, randomized to the KIND challenge intervention or a waitlist control group. Participants allocated to the intervention were asked to do at least one act of kindness per week within a four-week period. The primary outcome was loneliness and secondary outcomes included measures of social isolation, mental health, and neighbourhood social cohesion., Results: There was a significant, albeit small, intervention effect after four weeks for reduced loneliness in the USA and the UK, but not for Australia. Relative to controls, KIND challenge participants also showed significantly reduced social isolation and social anxiety in the USA, and reduced stress in Australia. There was also reduced neighbourhood conflict in the USA, increased number of neighbourhood contacts in the USA and Australia, greater neighbourhood stability and feelings of neighbourhood importance in the UK, and better neighbourhood social relationships in Australia., Conclusion: Promoting the provision of social support through small acts of kindness to neighbours has the potential to reduce loneliness, social isolation and social anxiety, and promote neighbourhood relationships, suggesting a potential strategy for public health campaigns., Trial Registration: Clinical Trials Registry. NCT04398472. Registered 21 st May 2020., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Cross-sectional studies show associations between loneliness, social isolation and physical inactivity. Cohort studies are shedding light on these relationships and further longitudinal investigations are needed., Purpose: This study aimed to assess the longitudinal and bidirectional associations between loneliness, social isolation, and physical inactivity., Methods: Data were drawn from five annual waves of the Household and Labour Dynamics of Australia Survey (2015-2019), providing a sample of 17,303 persons (mean age = 46.3 years [SD = 18.0], 49.4% female). Relationships between loneliness, social isolation, and physical inactivity were examined using cross-lagged panel modeling, with estimation of simultaneous cross-lagged effects across each wave. Models adjusted for sociodemographic factors, chronic disease status, psychological distress, and mutually for social isolation or loneliness. Moderation of associations by sex was explored., Results: There were modest lagged effects of physical inactivity on loneliness across the survey waves (odds ratio 1.16 [95% confidence interval 1.04-1.29] to 1.20 [1.07, 1.33]). A lagged effect of physical inactivity upon social isolation was only present across three of the waves (odds ratio 1.20 [1.02-1.41] to 1.23 [1.05-1.42]). While loneliness and social isolation showed lagged effects upon physical inactivity, these did not persist with adjustment for psychological distress., Conclusions: Longitudinal analysis found that physical inactivity consistently predicted loneliness, but not social isolation. After adjustment for confounding, loneliness and social isolation were not predictive of physical inactivity. While the strength of the associations was modest, further investigation is warranted of the type and dose of physical activity that is most beneficial for reducing loneliness., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.)

Background: Accurate occupation classification is essential in various fields, including policy development and epidemiological studies. This study aims to develop an occupation classification model based on DistilKoBERT., Methods: This study used data from the 5th and 6th Korean Working Conditions Surveys conducted in 2017 and 2020, respectively. A total of 99,665 survey participants, who were nationally representative of Korean workers, were included. We used natural language responses regarding their job responsibilities and occupational codes based on the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations (7th version, 3-digit codes). The dataset was randomly split into training and test datasets in a ratio of 7:3. The occupation classification model based on DistilKoBERT was fine-tuned using the training dataset, and the model was evaluated using the test dataset. The accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score were calculated as evaluation metrics., Results: The final model, which classified 28,996 survey participants in the test dataset into 142 occupational codes, exhibited an accuracy of 84.44%. For the evaluation metrics, the precision, recall, and F1 score of the model, calculated by weighting based on the sample size, were 0.83, 0.84, and 0.83, respectively. The model demonstrated high precision in the classification of service and sales workers yet exhibited low precision in the classification of managers. In addition, it displayed high precision in classifying occupations prominently represented in the training dataset., Conclusions: This study developed an occupation classification system based on DistilKoBERT, which demonstrated reasonable performance. Despite further efforts to enhance the classification accuracy, this automated occupation classification model holds promise for advancing epidemiological studies in the fields of occupational safety and health., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Korean Society of Occupational & Environmental Medicine.)

Purpose: This study aimed to reveal the relationship of the days of experiencing sickness presentism and depressive symptoms among Korean workers. Sickness presenteeism which defined as the act of going to work despite being feeling unhealthy triggers various adverse effects on mental health, including increased risks of depression. Furthermore, Sickness presenteeism is a major social issue causing substantial socioeconomic costs., Methods: The data of 25120 participants from sixth Korean Working Condition Survey was utilized in this cross-sectional study. Sickness presenteeism was defined using a self-reported questionnaire and depressive symptoms were assessed by WHO well-being index. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to calculate the odd ratios for depressive symptoms regarding the number of days experiencing sickness presenteeism. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for depressive symptoms after categorizing participants into three groups based on the duration of experiencing sickness presenteeism, using cut-off values of 3 and 5 days., Results: Workers who have experienced sickness presenteeism for more than 5 days were at highest risk for depressive symptoms than referent group (OR 2.87; 95% CI 2.17-3.76 in male, OR 3.86; 95% CI 3.02-4.91 in female). Furthermore, there was a trend of increasing risk for depressive symptom as the duration of experiencing sickness presenteeism extended., Conclusion: This study presents the association between experiencing sickness presenteeism in the previous 12 months and depressive symptoms. Based on the results, we provide individual and organizational strategies of reducing sickness presenteeism. Also, screening for workers who have experienced sickness presenteeism are needed to ensure good mental health., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Loneliness is recognised as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease development. However, it is unclear whether loneliness itself or other closely related mental health symptoms, such as depression and social anxiety, are associated with the development of cardiovascular disease. In the present study, we examined the relationship between loneliness and several early cardiovascular disease markers in young adults, after controlling for depression and social anxiety. Sixty-six young adults (18-35 years old, M age  = 22.70; 75.8% females) completed psychological questionnaires and took part in several physiological tests assessing cardiovascular health (e.g., vascular function). Results revealed higher loneliness was significantly associated with shorter pulse transit time (β = - 0.70, p = 0.002; shorter pulse transit time is a subclinical marker for arterial stiffness). Additionally, results show that while loneliness and depression were both related to vascular dysfunction in young adults, the underlining physiological mechanisms through which they affect vascular function may be different. Specifically, higher loneliness was associated with increased arterial stiffness, whereas depression was associated with increased endothelial dysfunction (β = - 0.43, p = 0.04). Our findings indicate that presence of loneliness and depression in young adults may be accompanied by early indicators of poor cardiovascular health, such as arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction. Results from the study further support the link between loneliness and cardiovascular disease development., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: There is wide acknowledgement in the literature that social connection is protective against loneliness and depression. More robust research, however, is needed to evaluate interventions that promote social connection. This protocol paper outlines the evaluation of a community-wide social connection program, Connect Local , in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia to support people 65 years and older to increase access to local community services/activities; and to ascertain impact on social connection, loneliness, depressive symptoms, physical and mental wellbeing, and use of health services., Methods: A Type 1 Hybrid design, including program effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and implementation evaluation of the Connect Local program, will be undertaken. Eighty-eight participants aged ≥65 years with one or more chronic health condition, who are also either experiencing or at risk of loneliness, social isolation and depressive symptoms will be invited to participate in the evaluation. Outcomes, measured at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months, include loneliness, social isolation, depressive symptoms, social anxiety, goal attainment, wellbeing, quality of life and health care utilisation. A gender and age matched comparator group of 88 individuals will be recruited from outside the intervention local government area. Impact of the intervention on community service providers in the target region will be evaluated using mixed methods, where triangulation will be used to combine the qualitative and quantitative data using a deductive-simultaneous design. Changes in wellbeing and quality of life of community volunteers will also be measured. All groups will be interviewed to ascertain their experience and perceptions of the program. The economic evaluation will use a Social Return on Investment (SROI) approach, to include outcomes at the individual, community, and system levels. Implementation outcomes will consider Reach, Adoption, Feasibility, Acceptability, Appropriateness, Fidelity, and Sustainability of the intervention., Discussion: This study will provide a better understanding of the impacts of a community-wide social connection approach in older adults, the community and broader system., Clinical Trial Registration: https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=385192; Identifier ACTRN12623000968673., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The reviewer AJ declared a shared affiliation with the author(s) ML to the handling editor at the time of review., (Copyright © 2024 Ogrin, Robinson, Rendell, Alrababah, Fineberg, Fiddes, Yerolemou, Lim, Engel and Lowthian.)

Temporary employment is associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular diseases and mortality. This study explored the association between temporary employment and dietary quality in middle-aged workers. This cross-sectional study included a nationwide sample of middle-aged Korean workers (n = 6467). Employment type was categorized into regular, fixed-term, and daily employment, based on labor contract duration. Dietary quality was assessed using the Korean Health Eating Index (KHEI), which ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating superior dietary quality. Linear regression was used to estimate beta coefficients ( β ) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The survey-weighted proportion of regular, fixed-term, and daily employment was 79.0%, 14.2%, and 6.8%, respectively. Fixed-term and daily employment were associated with a reduced KHEI compared with regular employment ( β [95% CI]: -1.07 [-2.11, -0.04] for fixed-term and -2.46 [-3.89, -1.03] for daily employment). In sex-stratified analysis, the association between temporary employment and dietary quality was more pronounced in men ( β [95% CI]: -1.69 [-3.71, 0.33] for fixed-term and -2.60 [-4.63, -0.53] for daily employment than in women. In conclusion, this study suggests that temporary employment is a social determinant of dietary quality in middle-aged workers.

Objectives: Long working hours and overwork are growing public health concerns in the Western-Pacific region. We explored the relationship between working hours and smoking behaviors of Korean workers., Methods: This study included 284 782 observations (50 508 workers) from four nationwide cohort studies in Korea. Using generalized estimating equations, we estimated the associations of working hours with current smoking status, smoking initiation, and smoking cessation within each cohort. Cohort-specific estimates were combined through random-effect meta-analysis. Effect sizes were presented as odds ratios (OR) and 95 confidence intervals (CI)., Results: The overall smoking prevalence was 26.8% within the cohorts. The adjusted OR (95% CI) of the association between working hours and current smoking were 1.01 (0.94-1.08) for <35 hours/week, 1.04 (1.01-1.09) for 41-48 hours/week, 1.06 (1.01-1.10) for 49-54 hours/week, and 1.07 (1.04-1.10) for ≥55 hours/week compared with 35-40 hours/week. The adjusted OR (95% CI) of the association between working hours and smoking cessation in the follow-up were 0.93 (0.85-1.02) for <35 hours/week, 0.89 (0.83-0.96) for 41-48 hours/week, 0.87 (0.81-0.95) for 48-54 hours/week, and 0.91 (0.85-0.98) for ≥55 hours/week compared with 35-40 hours/week. No clear associations were observed between working hours and smoking initiation., Conclusion: Long working hours are associated with high current smoking risk and reduced likelihood of smoking cessation among Korean workers. Policy interventions are required to promote smoking cessation and reduce excess overwork for individuals experiencing long working hours.

Background: Patient isolation units (PIUs) can be an effective method for effective infection control. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is commonly used for PIU design; however, optimizing this design requires extensive computational resources. Our study aims to provide data-driven models to determine the PIU settings, thereby promoting a more rapid design process., Method: Using CFD simulations, we evaluated various PIU parameters and room conditions to assess the impact of PIU installation on ventilation and isolation. We investigated particle dispersion from coughing subjects and airflow patterns. Machine-learning models were trained using CFD simulation data to estimate the performance and identify significant parameters., Results: Physical isolation alone was insufficient to prevent the dispersion of smaller particles. However, a properly installed fan filter unit (FFU) generally enhanced the effectiveness of physical isolation. Ventilation and isolation performance under various conditions were predicted with a mean absolute percentage error of within 13%. The position of the FFU was found to be the most important factor affecting the PIU performance., Conclusion: Data-driven modeling based on CFD simulations can expedite the PIU design process by offering predictive capabilities and clarifying important performance factors. Reducing the time required to design a PIU is critical when a rapid response is required., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Coxsackievirus A6 (CV-A6) has emerged as the predominant causative agent of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in young children. Since the declaration of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a global pandemic, the incidence of infectious diseases, including HFMD, has decreased markedly. When social mitigation was relaxed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, the re-emergence of HFMD was observed in Gwangju, South Korea, and seasonal characteristics of the disease appeared to have changed. To investigate the molecular characteristics of enterovirus (EV) associated with HFMD during 2022, 277 specimens were collected. Children aged younger than 5 years accounted for the majority of affected individuals. EV detection and genotyping were performed using real-time RT-PCR and nested RT-PCR followed by sequence analysis. The EV detection rate was found to be 82.3%, and the main genotype identified was CV-A6. Sixteen CV-A6 samples were selected for whole genome sequencing. According to phylogenetic analysis, all CV-A6 strains from this study belonged to the sub-genotype D3 clade based on VP1 sequences. Analysis of 3D polymerase phylogeny showed that only the recombinant RF-A group was identified. In conclusion, circulating EV types should be continuously monitored to understand pathogen emergence and evolution during the post-pandemic era.

Although magnetic nanoparticles demonstrate significant potential as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents, their negative contrasts, liver accumulation, and limited excretion hinder their application. Herein, we developed ultrasmall Mn-doped iron oxide nanoparticles (UMIOs) with distinct advantages as T 1 MRI contrast agents. Exceptionally small particle sizes ( ca. 2 nm) and magnetization values (5 emu g Mn+Fe -1 ) of UMIOs provided optimal T 1 contrast effects with an ideally low r 2 / r 1 value of ∼1. Furthermore, the use of Mn as a dopant facilitated hepatocyte uptake of the particles, allowing liver imaging. In animal studies, UMIOs exhibited significantly enhanced contrasts for sequential T 1 imaging of blood vessels and the liver, distinguishing them from conventional magnetic nanoparticles. UMIOs were systematically cleared via dual hepatobiliary and renal excretion pathways, highlighting their safety profile. These characteristics imply substantial potential of UMIOs as T 1 contrast agents for the accurate diagnosis of liver diseases., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Background Previous studies have suggested that employment insecurity is associated with adverse health outcomes. We explored the association between temporary employment and smoking behaviors.Methods We analyzed 11,795 workers (51,867 observations) from the Korea Health Panel Study (2009-2018). Employment types were categorized as regular, fixed-term, or daily, based on the duration of labor contract. The outcomes were current smoking status and changes in smoking behavior (initiation or cessation) in the following year. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).Results The proportions of fixed-term and daily workers were 41.2% and 16.4% for women and 23.6% and 12.4% for men, respectively. Temporary employment was associated with increased odds of current smoking, while also demonstrating prospective associations with changes in smoking behaviors. For instance, in prospective analyses, male workers with fixed-term and daily employments were associated with a decreased likelihood of smoking cessation (OR:0.77; 95% CI:0.65-0.91 for fixed-term employment and OR:0.66; 95% CI:0.52-0.83 for daily employment) in the following year compared to those with regular employment. Moreover, those experiencing consecutive temporary employment was most inversely associated with smoking cessation in both men (OR:0.56; 95% CI:0.44-0.71) and women (OR:0.37; 95% CI:0.16-0.85) compared to those experiencing consecutive regular employment. However, no clear association between temporary employment and smoking initiation was observed in both men and women.Conclusions Temporary employment is directly associated with current smoking and inversely associated with smoking cessation. Policies are needed to improve job insecurity among temporary employees.

Deep learning has been increasingly utilized in the medical field and achieved many goals. Since the size of data dominates the performance of deep learning, several medical institutions are conducting joint research to obtain as much data as possible. However, sharing data is usually prohibited owing to the risk of privacy invasion. Federated learning is a reasonable idea to train distributed multicenter data without direct access; however, a central server to merge and distribute models is needed, which is expensive and hardly approved due to various legal regulations. This paper proposes a continual learning framework for a multicenter study, which does not require a central server and can prevent catastrophic forgetting of previously trained knowledge. The proposed framework contains the continual learning method selection process, assuming that a single method is not omnipotent for all involved datasets in a real-world setting and that there could be a proper method to be selected for specific data. We utilized the fake data based on a generative adversarial network to evaluate methods prospectively, not ex post facto. We used four independent electrocardiogram datasets for a multicenter study and trained the arrhythmia detection model. Our proposed framework was evaluated against supervised and federated learning methods, as well as finetuning approaches that do not include any regulation to preserve previous knowledge. Even without a central server and access to the past data, our framework achieved stable performance (AUROC 0.897) across all involved datasets, achieving comparable performance to federated learning (AUROC 0.901)., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Parkin interacting substrate (PARIS) is a pivotal transcriptional regulator in the brain that orchestrates the activity of various enzymes through its intricate interactions with biomolecules, including nucleic acids. Notably, the binding of PARIS to insulin response sequences (IRSs) triggers a cascade of events that results in the functional loss in the substantia nigra, which impairs dopamine release and, subsequently, exacerbates the relentless neurodegeneration. Here, we report the details of the interactions of PARIS with IRSs via classical zinc finger (ZF) domains in PARIS, namely, PARIS(ZF2-4). Our biophysical studies with purified PARIS(ZF2-4) elucidated the binding partner of PARIS, which generates specific interactions with the IRS1 (5'-TATTTTT, K d = 38.9 ± 2.4 nM) that is positioned in the promoter region of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1α (PGC-1α). Mutational and metal-substitution studies demonstrated that Zn(II)-PARIS(ZF2-4) could recognize its binding partner selectively. Overall, our work provides submolecular details regarding PARIS and shows that it is a transcriptional factor that regulates dopamine release. Thus, PARIS could be a crucial target for therapeutic applications.

Intracellular C-terminal cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) is elevated in the brains of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and produces a peptide labeled APP-C31 that is suspected to be involved in the pathology of AD. But details about the role of APP-C31 in the development of the disease are not known. Here, this work reports that APP-C31 directly interacts with the N-terminal and self-recognition regions of amyloid-β 40 (Aβ 40 ) to form transient adducts, which facilitates the aggregation of both metal-free and metal-bound Aβ 40 peptides and aggravates their toxicity. Specifically, APP-C31 increases the perinuclear and intranuclear generation of large Aβ 40 deposits and, consequently, damages the nucleus leading to apoptosis. The Aβ 40 -induced degeneration of neurites and inflammation are also intensified by APP-C31 in human neurons and murine brains. This study demonstrates a new function of APP-C31 as an intracellular promoter of Aβ 40 amyloidogenesis in both metal-free and metal-present environments, and may offer an interesting alternative target for developing treatments for AD that have not been considered thus far., (© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Introduction: There is a growing global interest in the issue of precarious employment. We aimed to analyze the characteristics and socio-demographic distribution of precarious employment using a summative score approach., Methods: To operationalize precarious employment, we utilized data from the Korean Working Conditions Survey and focused on three distinct dimensions: employment insecurity, income inadequacy, and a lack of rights and protections. By constructing a summative scale ranging from -16 to 2, with lower scores indicating higher precariousness, we measured employment precariousness among Korean wage workers. To compare employment precariousness according to survey participant characteristics, we employed the Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test., Results: We analyzed a weighted number of 38,432 workers. The overall sample showed a median (Q1, Q3) summative scale score of -3 (-6, -1). The median summative score was lower for women compared to men (men: -2; women: -5; p  < 0.001), as well as for young or older workers compared to middle-aged workers (young: -4; middle-aged: -2; older: -5; p  < 0.001). Similarly, workers with lower educational levels (middle school or below: -8; high school: -5; college or above: -2; p  < 0.001) and non-white collar workers (blue collar: -5; service/sales worker: -6; white collar: -2; p  < 0.001) experienced higher levels of employment precariousness., Conclusion: Our findings indicate that certain vulnerable groups, such as women, young or older adults, workers with low educational attainment, and caregiving or low-skilled elementary workers, are disproportionately exposed to high employment precariousness. Active policy interventions are needed to improve the employment quality of vulnerable groups., Competing Interests: All authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Background: Organoids are self-organized three-dimensional culture systems and have the advantages of both in vitro and in vivo experiments. However, each organoid has a different degree of self-organization, and methods such as immunofluorescence staining are required for confirmation. Therefore, we established a system to select organoids with high tissue-specific similarity using deep learning without relying on staining by acquiring bright-field images in a non-destructive manner., Methods: We identified four biomarkers in RNA extracted from airway organoids. We also predicted biomarker expression by image-based analysis of organoids by convolution neural network, a deep learning method., Results: We predicted airway organoid-specific marker expression from bright-field images of organoids. Organoid differentiation was verified by immunofluorescence staining of the same organoid after predicting biomarker expression in bright-field images., Conclusion: Our study demonstrates the potential of imaging and deep learning to distinguish organoids with high human tissue similarity in disease research and drug screening., (© 2023. Korean Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society.)

Background and Aims: Previous studies have found that job satisfaction is closely associated with various health outcomes of workers. Our study measured the association between job satisfaction and current smoking and change in smoking behavior., Design: Data from the longitudinal Korea Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) that consist of nationally representative samples were used. The repeated measures analysis was conducted., Setting: South Korea, 2005-2021., Participants: In total, 21 154 workers in Korea followed from 2005 to 2021 (145 120 observations) were included as study participants., Measurements: The main predictor variable, job satisfaction, was assessed using a five-item general job satisfaction questionnaire. Job satisfaction was classified into 'dissatisfied', 'neutral' and 'satisfied', according to the tertiles of the sum of scores. The outcomes of interest were current smoking and initiation and cessation of smoking in the subsequent year., Findings: Compared with those with a neutral level of job satisfaction, those who reported dissatisfaction with their job had an increased risk of smoking initiation [odds ratio (OR) = 1.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01-1.22)]. Workers satisfied with their jobs were associated with a decreased likelihood of current smoking (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.94-0.98) and smoking initiation (OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.81-0.99). There was a positive relationship between cumulative years of job dissatisfaction and smoking risk: > 4 years of experiencing job dissatisfaction was positively related to current smoking (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.06-1.24) and smoking initiation (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.00-1.49) and negatively related to smoking cessation (OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.72-0.99)., Conclusions: In Korea, job dissatisfaction appears to be associated with an increased risk of smoking initiation., (© 2023 Society for the Study of Addiction.)

Background : Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and panic disorder (PD) are debilitating psychiatric conditions, yet their underlying neurobiological differences remain underexplored. This study aimed to directly compare resting-state EEGs in patients with OCD and PD, without a healthy control group, using the eLORETA method. Methods : We collected retrospective EEG data from 24 OCD patients and 22 PD patients who were hospitalized due to significant impairment in daily life functions. eLORETA was used to analyze the EEG data. Results : Heightened theta activity was observed in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of OCD patients compared to PD patients (PD vs. OCD, t = -2.168, p < 0.05). Conversely, higher gamma activity was found in the medial frontal gyrus (MFG) and paracentral lobule (PCL) in PD patients (PD vs. OCD, t = 2.173, p < 0.05). Conclusions : Our findings highlight neurobiological differences between OCD and PD patients. Specifically, the increased theta activity in the ACC for OCD patients and elevated gamma activity in the MFG and PCL for PD patients offer preliminary insights into the neural mechanisms of these disorders. Further studies are essential to validate these results and delve deeper into the neural underpinnings.

Prior research has established adolescent vulnerability to delinquent behavior. This single-arm, noninterventional, observational study investigated the effect of sand play therapy on the psychopathologies of adolescents with delinquent behavior. A total of 68 adolescents participated in the study. Participants were treated with 8 weekly sessions of sand play therapy, lasting 50 minutes each and conducted in groups of 3 to 4 members. The psychopathologies of depression, anxiety, self-esteem, impulsiveness, characteristics of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and impulsiveness were measured using self-reporting scales. Following therapy, depression (t = 3.28; P = .002; ES = 0.399) and anxiety (t = 4.00; P < .001; ES = 0.485) decreased significantly with moderate effect size. ADHD characteristics (t = 2.73; P = .008) and impulsiveness (t = 2.73; P = .009) also decreased significantly with effect size of 0.330 and 0.327, respectively. Self-esteem (t = -2.06, P = .043; ES = 0.251) was found to have significantly increased. The high-risk group within each psychopathology showed significantly higher improvement than the low-risk group. Results showed that group sand play therapy is effective in improving internalizing problems such as depression and anxiety, as well as externalizing problems of ADHD features and impulsiveness among adolescents with deviant behaviors., Competing Interests: The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background and Objectives: Complete identification of the glucose dynamics for a patient generally requires prior clinical procedures and several measurements for the patient. However, these steps may not be always feasible. To address this limitation, we propose a practical approach integrating learning-based model predictive control (MPC), adaptive basal and bolus injections, and suspension with minimal requirements of prior knowledge of the patient., Methods: The glucose dynamic system matrices were periodically updated using only input values, without any pretrained models. The optimal insulin dose was calculated based on a learning-based MPC algorithm. Meal detection and estimation modules were also introduced. The basal and bolus insulin injections were fine-tuned using the performance of glucose control from the previous day. To validate the proposed method, evaluations with 20 virtual patients from a type 1 diabetes metabolic simulator were employed., Results: Time-in-range (TIR) and time-below-range (TBR) were 90.8% (84.1% - 95.6%) and 0.3% (0% - 0.8%), as represented by the median, first (Q1), and third quartiles (Q3), respectively, when meal intakes were fully announced. When one out of three meal intake announcements was missing, TIR and TBR were 85.2% (75.0% - 88.9%) and 0.9% (0.4% - 1.1%), respectively., Conclusions: The proposed approach obviates the need for prior tests from patients and shows effective regulation of blood glucose levels. From the perspective of practical implementation in clinical environments, to deal with minimal prior information of the patient, our study demonstrates how essential clinical knowledge and learning-based modules can be integrated into a control framework for an artificial pancreas., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This paper explored how multidimensional employment precariousness (MEP) mediates the relationship between educational attainment and subjective well-being., Methods: A nationwide sample of 46 919 Korean workers participated in surveys between 2017 and 2020. Educational attainment was divided into four categories: elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. Subjective well-being was assessed using the 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index, and MEP was evaluated using a modified version of the Employment Precariousness Scale (ERPES-E), with scores ranging from 0 to 100 and higher scores indicating worse employment precariousness. A counterfactual-based logistic mediation analyses were used to estimation., Results: The mean MEP score was 36.0 [standard deviation (SD) 12.1] for college education, 44.3 (SD 11.5) for high school, 49.5 (SD 10.1) for middle school, and 51.1 (SD 10.0) for elementary school. The prevalence of poor subjective well-being was 24.0% for college education, 31.3% for high school, 40.6% for middle school, and 44.8% for elementary school. Odds ratios (OR) for the total effect of education on the poor subjective well-being were 1.44 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37-1.53] for high school, 2.19 (95% CI 1.98-2.24) for middle school, and 2.40 (95% CI 2.04-2.82) for elementary school when compared to college education. The OR for the indirect effect mediated through MEP were 1.27 (95% CI 1.25-1.29) for high school, 1.46 (95% CI 1.42-1.51) for middle school, and 1.53 (95% CI 1.48-1.59) for elementary school, accounting for 63.9%, 48.5%, and 48.6% of the total effect, respectively., Conclusion: Our study suggests that MEP is an important contributor to the disparities in subjective well-being resulting from educational gradients.

Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: Both authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://jtd.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/jtd-2023-10/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Blood-brain barrier (BBB) models are important tools for studying CNS drug delivery, brain development, and brain disease. In vitro BBB models have been obtained from animals and immortalized cell lines; however, brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) derived from them have several limitations. Furthermore, obtaining mature brain microvascular endothelial-like cells (BME-like cells) from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) with desirable properties for establishing BBB models has been challenging. Here, we developed an efficient method for differentiating hPSCs into BMECs that are amenable to the development and application of human BBB models. The established conditions provided an environment similar to that occurring during BBB differentiation in the presence of the co-differentiating neural cell population by the modulation of TGF-β and SHH signaling. The developed BME-like cells showed well-organized tight junctions, appropriate expression of nutrient transporters, and polarized efflux transporter activity. In addition, BME-like cells responded to astrocytes, acquiring substantial barrier properties as measured by transendothelial electrical resistance. Moreover, the BME-like cells exhibited an immune quiescent property of BBB endothelial cells by decreasing the expression of adhesion molecules. Therefore, our novel cellular platform could be useful for drug screening and the development of brain-permeable pharmaceuticals.

Children who have been sexually abused may experience various short- and long-term psychological sequelae and behavioral problems. This study assessed the mental health of sexually abused children using the Korean-Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL) and examined differences from a control group. The participants were 97 children who had been sexually abused and who visited a local Sunflower Center, and 178 control participants. Data were collected via the K-CBCL and analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. T-tests, cross-tabulation, and logistic regression analyses were performed. Scores from the K-CBCL Problem Behavior Syndrome scale were compared between sexually abused children and the control participants. Significant differences were observed between the 2 groups in all the subscales. Compared to the control group, children who were sexually abused showed statistically significant differences in the total problem behavior, internalization, anxiety/depression, withdrawal/depression (withdrawn), somatic symptoms, externalization, rule-breaking behavior (delinquency), aggressive behavior, social immaturity, thought problems, attention problems, and other subscale scores. Sexual violence hurts the overall mental health of children who are abused, including their emotional, behavioral, and social factors. Our findings suggest that multidisciplinary assessment and treatment are required for children who have experienced sexual abuse., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background: Occupational injuries and diseases are life events that significantly impact an individuals' identity. In this study, we examined the trajectories of self-esteem among victims of occupational injury and disease and their relation to health., Methods: The Panel Study of Workers' Compensation Insurance conducted annual follow-ups on workers who had experienced occupational injury or disease. A total of 2,000 participants, who had completed medical care, were followed from 2013 to 2017. Growth mixture modeling was utilized to identify latent classes in the self-esteem trajectory. Additionally, logistic regressions were conducted to explore the association between trajectory membership, baseline predictors, and outcomes., Results: Three distinct trajectory classes were identified. Total 65.8% of the samples (n = 1,316) followed an increasing self-esteem trajectory, while 31.1% (n = 623) exhibited a constant trajectory, and 3.1% (n = 61) showed a decreasing trajectory. Individuals with an increasing trajectory were more likely to have a higher educational attainment (odds ratio [OR], 1.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20-2.88), an absence of a moderate-to-severe disability rating (OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.25-0.96), no difficulty in daily living activities (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.75-0.88), and were economically active (re-employed: OR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.52-3.98; returned to original work: OR, 4.46; 9% CI, 2.65-7.50). Those with a decreasing self-esteem trajectory exhibited an increased risk of poor subjective health (OR, 1.89; 95% CI, 0.85-4.85 in 2013 to OR, 3.17; 95% CI, 1.04-13.81 in 2017), whereas individuals with an increasing trajectory showed a decreased risk (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.43-0.68 in 2013 to OR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.33-0.57 in 2017)., Conclusion: Our findings emphasize the diversity of psychological responses to occupational injury or disease. Policymakers should implement interventions to enhance the self-esteem of victims., Competing Interests: The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose., (© 2023 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.)

Loneliness and social isolation have been identified as critical global health issues in the aftermath of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis. While there is robust scientific evidence demonstrating the impact of loneliness and social isolation on health outcomes and mortality, there are fundamental issues to resolve so that health authorities, decision makers, and practitioners worldwide are informed and aligned with the latest evidence. Three priority actions are posited to achieve a wider and more substantial impact on loneliness and social isolation. They are 1) strengthening the evidence base; 2) adopting a whole-of-systems approach; 3) developing policy support for governments worldwide. These priority actions are essential to reduce the pervasive impact of loneliness and social isolation as social determinants of health., Competing Interests: None declared.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the mechanisms underlying loneliness, social anxiety, depression and emotion dysregulation, as well as how these relationships differ based on social isolation risk., Design: We employed an online survey study to measure variables cross-sectionally., Methods: A total of 1239 (77.2% Female, M age  = 21.52, SD = 2.32) participants completed measures of loneliness, social isolation risk, social anxiety, depression and emotion dysregulation. A moderated serial mediation model was conducted to determine whether emotion dysregulation and depression jointly mediate the relationship between loneliness and social anxiety and to determine whether these relationships are moderated by risk of social isolation., Results: Loneliness was found to predict social anxiety and was mediated by emotion dysregulation and depression both independently and combined. Participants with a low risk of social isolation were found to be protected against poor mental health., Conclusions: Our studies replicate previous findings showing a relationship between loneliness and social anxiety. We also extend current knowledge to show the importance of social contact for protecting against elevated levels of social anxiety and depression. Overall, we provide empirical evidence for the role of social connection in managing mental health symptoms., (© 2023 The British Psychological Society.)

Prediction of bacteremia is a clinically important but challenging task. An artificial intelligence (AI) model has the potential to facilitate early bacteremia prediction, aiding emergency department (ED) physicians in making timely decisions and reducing unnecessary medical costs. In this study, we developed and externally validated a Bayesian neural network-based AI bacteremia prediction model (AI-BPM). We also evaluated its impact on physician predictive performance considering both AI and physician uncertainties using historical patient data. A retrospective cohort of 15,362 adult patients with blood cultures performed in the ED was used to develop the AI-BPM. The AI-BPM used structured and unstructured text data acquired during the early stage of ED visit, and provided both the point estimate and 95% confidence interval (CI) of its predictions. High AI-BPM uncertainty was defined as when the predetermined bacteremia risk threshold (5%) was included in the 95% CI of the AI-BPM prediction, and low AI-BPM uncertainty was when it was not included. In the temporal validation dataset (N = 8,188), the AI-BPM achieved area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.754 (95% CI 0.737-0.771), sensitivity of 0.917 (95% CI 0.897-0.934), and specificity of 0.340 (95% CI 0.330-0.351). In the external validation dataset (N = 7,029), the AI-BPM's AUC was 0.738 (95% CI 0.722-0.755), sensitivity was 0.927 (95% CI 0.909-0.942), and specificity was 0.319 (95% CI 0.307-0.330). The AUC of the post-AI physicians predictions (0.703, 95% CI 0.654-0.753) was significantly improved compared with that of the pre-AI predictions (0.639, 95% CI 0.585-0.693; p-value < 0.001) in the sampled dataset (N = 1,000). The AI-BPM especially improved the predictive performance of physicians in cases with high physician uncertainty (low subjective confidence) and low AI-BPM uncertainty. Our results suggest that the uncertainty of both the AI model and physicians should be considered for successful AI model implementation., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Rhodium (Rh) acylnitrene complexes are widely implicated in catalytic C-H amidation reactions but have eluded isolation and structural characterization. To overcome this challenge, we designed a chromophoric octahedral Rh complex with a bidentate dioxazolone ligand, in which photoinduced metal-to-ligand charge transfer initiates catalytic C-H amidation. X-ray photocrystallographic analysis of the Rh-dioxazolone complex allowed structural elucidation of the targeted Rh-acylnitrenoid and provided firm evidence that the singlet nitrenoid species is primarily responsible for acylamino transfer reactions. We also monitored in crystallo reaction of a nucleophile with the in situ-generated Rh-acylnitrenoid, which provided a crystallographically traceable reaction system to capture mechanistic snapshots of nitrenoid transfer.

The underlying causes of Alzheimer's disease (AD) remain a mystery, with multiple pathological components, including oxidative stress, acetylcholinesterase, amyloid-β, and metal ions, all playing a role. Here we report a strategic approach to designing flavonoids that can effectively tackle multiple pathological elements involved in AD. Our systematic investigations revealed key structural features for flavonoids to simultaneously target and regulate pathogenic targets. Our findings led to the development of a highly promising flavonoid that exhibits a range of functions, based on a complete structure-activity relationship analysis. Furthermore, our mechanistic studies confirmed that this flavonoid's versatile reactivities are driven by its redox potential and direct interactions with pathogenic factors. This work highlights the potential of multi-target-directed flavonoids as a novel solution in the fight against AD., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the greatest contributor to global morbidity and mortality. Poor social health plays a critical role in CVD incidence. Additionally, the relationship between social health and CVD may be mediated through CVD risk factors. However, the underlying mechanisms between social health and CVD are poorly understood. Certain social health constructs (social isolation, low social support and loneliness) have complicated the characterisation of a causal relationship between social health and CVD., Aim: To provide an overview of the relationship between social health and CVD (and its shared risk factors)., Method: In this narrative review, we examined published literature on the relationship between three social health constructs (social isolation, social support, and loneliness) and CVD. Evidence was synthesised in a narrative format, focusing on the potential ways in which social health affects CVD, including shared risk factors., Results: The current literature highlights an established relationship between social health and CVD with a likelihood for bi-directionality. However, there is speculation and varied evidence regarding how these relationships may be mediated through CVD risk factors., Conclusions: Social health can be considered an established risk factor for CVD. However, the potential bi-directional pathways of social health with CVD risk factors are less established. Further research is needed to understand whether targeting certain constructs of social health may directly improve the management of CVD risk factors. Given the health and economic burdens of poor social health and CVD, improvements to addressing or preventing these interrelated health conditions would have societal benefits., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Loneliness and social isolation, experienced more long-term, has been shown to increase mortality and lead to poorer health outcomes in specific cohorts. However, it is unclear what the prevalence of chronic loneliness and social isolation is, and which demographic groups are most at risk of reporting more chronic forms. A psychometrically validated classification system was used to identify people who met criteria for episodic and chronic loneliness and social isolation using the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey waves 14-18. The prevalence of loneliness (overall 34%; 21% episodic, 13% chronic) far exceeded that of social isolation (overall 17%; 13% episodic, 4% chronic). There was consistency in the demographic characteristics (from age, sex, household type, income) of those who experienced loneliness and social isolation. However, people with a long-term health condition had an elevated risk of episodic loneliness (AOR 1.24, 95% CI 1.11-1.39) and a markedly higher risk of chronic loneliness (AOR 2.01, 95% CI 1.76-2.29), compared with those without a long-term health condition. Loneliness, both episodic and chronic subtypes, is more prevalent than social isolation. However, both chronic loneliness and social isolation remains neglected and poorly targeted within current practice and policy., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Long working hours are associated with adverse health outcomes. We investigated the association between working hours and suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms. We analyzed a nationally representative sample of 11,116 Korean workers, comprising 64,661 observations from 2012 to 2022, to investigate how working hours were associated with mental health problems. To account for repeated measurements in each participant, we employed a generalized estimating equation to estimate risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Of the total observations, 13.1% reported working ≥55 h/week. The RR (95% CI) of the association between long working hours and onset of suicidal ideation in the subsequent year was 1.20 (0.95-1.53) for 41-48 h, 1.35 (1.02-1.78) for 49-54 h, and 1.56 (1.23-1.98) for ≥55 h/week, compared to 35-40 h/week. The RR (95% CI) of the association between long working hours and onset of depressive symptoms in the subsequent year was 1.19 (1.07-1.34) for 41-48 h, 1.11 (0.97-1.28) for 49-54 h, and 1.24 (1.10-1.40) for ≥55 h per week, compared to 35-40 h/week. Those working fewer than 35 h/week also had an increased risk of suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms. Policy interventions are needed to reduce excess working hours and protect workers' mental health., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None to declare., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to identify and compare central post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms experienced by rape and sexual harassment victims, and the differences between the 2 groups. This study included 935 female victims of sexual violence who visited Sunflower Center in Korea between 2014 and 2020. Of the 935 victims, 172 were rape victims and 763 were sexually harassed. The Korean version of the Post-traumatic Diagnosis Scale was used to evaluate PTSD symptoms, and network analysis was performed to examine the differences in symptoms. The central symptom was "Physical reactions (PDS05)" for the group of rape victims and Less interest in activities (PDS09)' for the group of sexual harassment victims. For the group of sexual harassment victims, the most distinct central edge was the one between "Being over alert (PDS16)" and "Being jumpy or easily startled (PDS17)," and for the group of rape victims, it was the edge between "Upset when reminded of the trauma (PDS04)," and "Physical reactions (PDS05)." Network analysis revealed differences in central PTSD symptoms and central edges between sexual harassment and rape victims. Although re-experiencing and avoidance symptom clusters were most central in both groups, the specific central symptoms and edges differed between the 2 groups., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Age differences in the prevalence of loneliness have been a key focus among researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. However, the degree to which those reflect genuine differences in the experience of loneliness or the way individuals understand and respond to loneliness measures is yet to be examined. The current study explored the age measurement invariance of the 20-item Revised University of California Los Angeles, Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LSR) and its shorter forms in a U.K. sample of adults aged 18 to 99 years ( M = 50.6, SD = 19.7). The fit of different structures/versions was explored through multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; N = 4,375) and local structural equation modeling ( N = 19,521). Results indicated a poor and/or inconsistent structure for the 20-item UCLA-LSR and many of its shorter forms. Of the structures considered, 12 showed acceptable model fit and received age measurement invariance testing through multigroup CFA and alignment; 10 of these achieved full, partial, or approximate measurement invariance. Our findings suggest that the age measurement invariance of loneliness measures should not be assumed, and crucially, this must be explored before accurate and meaningful age comparisons can be made. Implications for measurement research, and clinical and community practice, are discussed.

Neurodegeneration is characterized by a disturbance in neurotransmitter-mediated signaling pathways. Recent studies have highlighted the significant role of transition metal ions, including Cu(i/ii), Zn(ii), and Fe(ii/iii), in neurotransmission, thereby making the coordination chemistry of neurotransmitters a growing field of interest in understanding signal dysfunction. This review outlines the physiological functions of transition metal ions and neurotransmitters, with the metal-binding properties of small molecule-based neurotransmitters and neuropeptides. Additionally, we discuss the structural and conformational changes of neurotransmitters induced by redox-active metal ions, such as Cu(i/ii) and Fe(ii/iii), and briefly describe the outcomes arising from their oxidation, polymerization, and aggregation. These observations have important implications for neurodegeneration and emphasize the need for further research to develop potential therapeutic strategies., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interests., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

This is the protocol for an evidence and gap map. The objectives are as follows: This EGM aims to map available evidence on the effects of in-person interventions to reduce social isolation and/or loneliness across all age groups in all settings., (© 2023 The Authors. Campbell Systematic Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Campbell Collaboration.)