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Tiziana Ramaci,1 Monica Pellerone,1 Caterina Ledda,2 Giovambattista Presti,1 Valeria Squatrito,1 Venerando Rapisarda2 1Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, “Kore” University of Enna, Enna, 2Occupational Medicine, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy Background: Gender beliefs represent cultural schemas for interpreting or making sense of the social and employment world, as they can influence attitudes, career aspirations, and the vocational decision process of young people, especially the adolescence.Materials and methods: This study examined the influence of gender stereotypes on the choice of career in adolescents. A group of 120 students were recruited to complete an ad hoc questionnaire, Scale of Perceived Occupational Self-Efficacy, and Semantic Differentials. The objectives of the study were to analyze the relationship between occupational self-efficacy and professional preference; to measure the influence of independent variables, such as age and gender, on the representation that students have of themselves and of the profession; and to identify the predictor variables of self-efficacy in the vocational decision.Results: Data showed that the distance between professional identity and social identity increases with age. Results underline that males seem to perceive themselves more self-efficient in military, scientific–technological, and agrarian professions than females. Furthermore, the type of job performed by parents appears to be a self-efficacy predictor variable in the choice of professions in the services area.Conclusion: Individuals’ perceived occupational self-efficacy, gender, age, and parents’ profession have implications for exploratory behavior. The conditions that make gender differences salient are more likely to favor self-representations of the career and consistent assessments with these representations. Keywords: adolescent, gender stereotypes, occupational choice

Rhodopsin photosystems convert light energy into electrochemical gradients used by the cell to produce ATP, or for other energy-demanding processes. While these photosystems are widespread in the ocean and have been identified in diverse microbial taxonomic groups, their physiological role in vivo has only been studied in few marine bacterial strains. Recent metagenomic studies revealed the presence of rhodopsin genes in the understudied Verrucomicrobiota phylum, yet their distribution within different Verrucomicrobiota lineages, their diversity, and function remain unknown. In this study, we show that more than 7% of Verrucomicrobiota genomes (n = 2916) harbor rhodopsins of different types. Furthermore, we describe the first two cultivated rhodopsin-containing strains, one harboring a proteorhodopsin gene and the other a xanthorhodopsin gene, allowing us to characterize their physiology under laboratory-controlled conditions. The strains were isolated in a previous study from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and read mapping of 16S rRNA gene amplicons showed the highest abundances of these strains at the deep chlorophyll maximum (source of their inoculum) in winter and spring, with a substantial decrease in summer. Genomic analysis of the isolates suggests that motility and degradation of organic material, both energy demanding functions, may be supported by rhodopsin phototrophy in Verrucomicrobiota. Under culture conditions, we show that rhodopsin phototrophy occurs under carbon starvation, with light-mediated energy generation supporting sugar transport into the cells. Overall, this study suggests that photoheterotrophic Verrucomicrobiota may occupy an ecological niche where energy harvested from light enables bacterial motility toward organic matter and supports nutrient uptake., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Identifying common factors that affect public adherence to COVID-19 containment measures can directly inform the development of official public health communication strategies. The present international longitudinal study aimed to examine whether prosociality, together with other theoretically derived motivating factors (self-efficacy, perceived susceptibility and severity of COVID-19, perceived social support) predict the change in adherence to COVID-19 containment strategies., Method: In wave 1 of data collection, adults from eight geographical regions completed online surveys beginning in April 2020, and wave 2 began in June and ended in September 2020. Hypothesized predictors included prosociality, self-efficacy in following COVID-19 containment measures, perceived susceptibility to COVID-19, perceived severity of COVID-19 and perceived social support. Baseline covariates included age, sex, history of COVID-19 infection and geographical regions. Participants who reported adhering to specific containment measures, including physical distancing, avoidance of non-essential travel and hand hygiene, were classified as adherence. The dependent variable was the category of adherence, which was constructed based on changes in adherence across the survey period and included four categories: non-adherence, less adherence, greater adherence and sustained adherence (which was designated as the reference category)., Results: In total, 2189 adult participants (82% female, 57.2% aged 31-59 years) from East Asia (217 [9.7%]), West Asia (246 [11.2%]), North and South America (131 [6.0%]), Northern Europe (600 [27.4%]), Western Europe (322 [14.7%]), Southern Europe (433 [19.8%]), Eastern Europe (148 [6.8%]) and other regions (96 [4.4%]) were analyzed. Adjusted multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that prosociality, self-efficacy, perceived susceptibility and severity of COVID-19 were significant factors affecting adherence. Participants with greater self-efficacy at wave 1 were less likely to become non-adherence at wave 2 by 26% (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.74; 95% CI, 0.71 to 0.77; P < .001), while those with greater prosociality at wave 1 were less likely to become less adherence at wave 2 by 23% (aOR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.75 to 0.79; P = .04)., Conclusions: This study provides evidence that in addition to emphasizing the potential severity of COVID-19 and the potential susceptibility to contact with the virus, fostering self-efficacy in following containment strategies and prosociality appears to be a viable public health education or communication strategy to combat COVID-19., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic fundamentally disrupted humans' social life and behavior. Public health measures may have inadvertently impacted how people care for each other. This study investigated prosocial behavior, its association well-being, and predictors of prosocial behavior during the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and sought to understand whether region-specific differences exist. Participants ( N = 9,496) from eight regions clustering multiple countries around the world responded to a cross-sectional online-survey investigating the psychological consequences of the first upsurge of lockdowns in spring 2020. Prosocial behavior was reported to occur frequently. Multiple regression analyses showed that prosocial behavior was associated with better well-being consistently across regions. With regard to predictors of prosocial behavior, high levels of perceived social support were most strongly associated with prosocial behavior, followed by high levels of perceived stress, positive affect and psychological flexibility. Sociodemographic and psychosocial predictors of prosocial behavior were similar across regions., 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., (Copyright © 2022 Haller, Lubenko, Presti, Squatrito, Constantinou, Nicolaou, Papacostas, Aydın, Chong, Chien, Cheng, Ruiz, García-Martín, Obando-Posada, Segura-Vargas, Vasiliou, McHugh, Höfer, Baban, Dias Neto, da Silva, Monestès, Alvarez-Galvez, Paez-Blarrina, Montesinos, Valdivia-Salas, Ori, Kleszcz, Lappalainen, Ivanović, Gosar, Dionne, Merwin, Karekla, Kassianos and Gloster.)

A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted during the first COVID-19 wave, to examine the impact of COVID-19 on mental health using an anonymous online survey, enrolling 9565 individuals in 78 countries. The current sub-study examined the impact of the pandemic and the associated lockdown measures on the mental health, and protective behaviors of cancer patients in comparison to non-cancer participants. Furthermore, 264 participants from 30 different countries reported being cancer patients. The median age was 51.5 years, 79.9% were female, and 28% had breast cancer. Cancer participants reported higher self-efficacy to follow recommended national guidelines regarding COVID-19 protective behaviors compared to non-cancer participants ( p < 0.01). They were less stressed ( p < 0.01), more psychologically flexible ( p < 0.01), and had higher levels of positive affect compared to non-cancer participants. Amongst cancer participants, the majority (80.3%) reported COVID-19, not their cancer, as their priority during the first wave of the pandemic and females reported higher levels of stress compared to males. In conclusion, cancer participants appeared to have handled the unpredictable nature of the first wave of the pandemic efficiently, with a positive attitude towards an unknown and otherwise frightening situation. Larger, cancer population specific and longitudinal studies are warranted to ensure adequate medical and psychological care for cancer patients.

Objective: Healthcare personnel across Italy were called to arms during COVID-19 emergency beginning March 2020. Despite their medical training, not all of them were able to fight in first line. Volunteering for COVID-19 Lombardy ICU Network Coordination Centre (C19-LINCC) was an opportunity to volunteer without being under biological threat: a smart-working in direct phone contact with the ICUs. Our aim was to investigate if second line volunteering during the COVID-19 outbreak had an impact on stress levels and whether medical training could mitigate them, along with personality factors, namely psychological flexibility., Method: Volunteers of the C19-LINCC self-rated their own medical education related to SARS-CoV-2 and psychological response to the emergency. The questionnaire included five psychological scales (PSS, IES, MBI, AAQ-II, GHQ-12) addressing burnout, stress, general health, attention, cognitive fusion, and psychological flexibility., Results: Psychological distress (GHQ p≤0,0001) and perception of personal achievement (MBI&#95;p≤0,0001) change whether the subject is a volunteer or not, while perception of medical education does not have a significant impact between the two groups. No differences were found in acceptance, mindfulness, and psychological flexibility skills, however they inversely correlated with stress, burnout, and anxiety levels., Conclusions: During this period of mandatory lockdown, trained and in-training doctors showed to benefit from this smart home-based volunteering in the C19-LINCC. In addition to volunteering, psychological flexibility, mindfulness, and acceptance skills can act as protective factors. Potentially, these are soft skills that could be added to medical education., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None., (© 2021 Giovanni Fioriti Editore s.r.l.)

Objective: Illness perceptions (IP) are important predictors of emotional and behavioral responses in many diseases. The current study aims to investigate the COVID-19-related IP throughout Europe. The specific goals are to understand the temporal development, identify predictors (within demographics and contact with COVID-19) and examine the impacts of IP on perceived stress and preventive behaviors. Methods: This was a time-series-cross-section study of 7,032 participants from 16 European countries using multilevel modeling from April to June 2020. IP were measured with the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire. Temporal patterns were observed considering the date of participation and the date recoded to account the epidemiological evolution of each country. The outcomes considered were perceived stress and COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Results: There were significant trends, over time, for several IP, suggesting a small decrease in negativity in the perception of COVID-19 in the community. Age, gender, and education level related to some, but not all, IP. Considering the self-regulation model, perceptions consistently predicted general stress and were less consistently related to preventive behaviors. Country showed no effect in the predictive model, suggesting that national differences may have little relevance for IP, in this context. Conclusion: The present study provides a comprehensive picture of COVID-19 IP in Europe in an early stage of the pandemic. The results shed light on the process of IP formation with implications for health-related outcomes and their evolution., 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., (Copyright © 2021 Dias Neto, Nunes da Silva, Roberto, Lubenko, Constantinou, Nicolaou, Lamnisos, Papacostas, Höfer, Presti, Squatrito, Vasiliou, McHugh, Monestès, Baban, Alvarez-Galvez, Paez-Blarrina, Montesinos, Valdivia-Salas, Ori, Lappalainen, Kleszcz, Gloster, Karekla and Kassianos.)

This study aimed to compare the mediation of psychological flexibility, prosociality and coping in the impacts of illness perceptions toward COVID-19 on mental health among seven regions. Convenience sampled online survey was conducted between April and June 2020 from 9130 citizens in 21 countries. Illness perceptions toward COVID-19, psychological flexibility, prosociality, coping and mental health, socio-demographics, lockdown-related variables and COVID-19 status were assessed. Results showed that psychological flexibility was the only significant mediator in the relationship between illness perceptions toward COVID-19 and mental health across all regions (all p s = 0.001-0.021). Seeking social support was the significant mediator across subgroups (all p s range = <0.001-0.005) except from the Hong Kong sample ( p = 0.06) and the North and South American sample ( p = 0.53). No mediation was found for problem-solving (except from the Northern European sample, p = 0.009). Prosociality was the significant mediator in the Hong Kong sample ( p = 0.016) and the Eastern European sample ( p = 0.008). These findings indicate that fostering psychological flexibility may help to mitigate the adverse mental impacts of COVID-19 across regions. Roles of seeking social support, problem-solving and prosociality vary across regions.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic triggered vast governmental lockdowns. The impact of these lockdowns on mental health is inadequately understood. On the one hand such drastic changes in daily routines could be detrimental to mental health. On the other hand, it might not be experienced negatively, especially because the entire population was affected., Methods: The aim of this study was to determine mental health outcomes during pandemic induced lockdowns and to examine known predictors of mental health outcomes. We therefore surveyed n = 9,565 people from 78 countries and 18 languages. Outcomes assessed were stress, depression, affect, and wellbeing. Predictors included country, sociodemographic factors, lockdown characteristics, social factors, and psychological factors., Results: Results indicated that on average about 10% of the sample was languishing from low levels of mental health and about 50% had only moderate mental health. Importantly, three consistent predictors of mental health emerged: social support, education level, and psychologically flexible (vs. rigid) responding. Poorer outcomes were most strongly predicted by a worsening of finances and not having access to basic supplies., Conclusions: These results suggest that on whole, respondents were moderately mentally healthy at the time of a population-wide lockdown. The highest level of mental health difficulties were found in approximately 10% of the population. Findings suggest that public health initiatives should target people without social support and those whose finances worsen as a result of the lockdown. Interventions that promote psychological flexibility may mitigate the impact of the pandemic., Competing Interests: One of the authors is employed by a commercial affiliation: Private Pratice, Poland. This affiliation provided support in the form of salaries for author BK, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. No other authors have competing interests to declare.

Reactive oxygen species present a challenge for marine organisms releasing gametes into the water. Thiol-containing molecules protect cells against oxidative stress, and ovothiol (OSH), an antioxidant-reducing mercaptohistidine, has been described as especially relevant in the oocytes of marine invertebrates. Ovothiol synthase ( ovoA ), in charge of the first step in OSH synthesis, was sequenced in mussels, Mytilus galloprovincialis . Transcription levels of ovoA in mantle did not significantly change along the reproductive cycle. No alterations of ovoA transcription were observed after a laboratory copper (10 µg/L) exposure or in mussels captured in a highly polluted site. Conversely, the metabolomic analysis of the hydrophilic metabolite content in mantle clearly classified mussels according to their site of origin, especially at the most advanced stages of oogenesis. Quantification of OSH-A and -B and glutathione (GSH), revealed stable levels in mantle at early gametogenesis in the unpolluted sampling site, but a strong increase in female mantle previous to spawning in the polluted site. These increased concentrations under pollution suggest that OSH-A accumulates along oogenesis, independent of gene transcription regulation. The concerted accumulation of OSH-A and GSH suggests the building of a balanced cellular redox-system to scavenge ROS produced in the oocyte before and during fertilization., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

This paper puts forward a rounder conceptual model for interpreting short- and long-term effects of choice behavior. As a further development of dual-process theory, Kahneman (2003) distinguished between intuition and reasoning, which served as the respective precursors of the cognitive processing systems 1 and 2. We maintain that they reflect the more rigorous distinction between brief and immediate and extended and elaborated relational responding, which may be reinterpreted through an analysis of their functional properties. Repertoires of relational responding are offered by the multi-dimensional multi-level model. Specifically, we provide a conceptual account of how nudging, or the manipulation of environmental contingencies, works on the creation and modification of relational framing. Educative nudges, or boosts, are a subset of nudges that may more easily maintain target choice behavior in the future. The central role of verbal behavior is essential toward formulating rules, which inform and guide choice behavior over time. Although nudges are traditionally regarded as System 1-steered aspects, they are herein regarded as cues for responding to relational frames, which may induce System 2-steered aspects. We suggest adopting the implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP) to inform how coherent and immediate responding to novel relational responding may occur in the presence of choice behavior. Several examples are included to support the claim of encompassing relational responding and choice behavior. We address the instances of consumer behavior, stereotypy and prejudices, eating behavior, and overcoming cognitive biases. The conclusions depict a promising way forward for the study of choice: an improved model for interpreting and overcoming human errors, due to changes in the contingencies of behavior., (Copyright © 2019 Tagliabue, Squatrito and Presti.)

The aim of the present study was to contribute to the literature on the ability to recognize anger, happiness, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, and neutral emotions from facial information (whole face, eye region, mouth region). More specifically, the aim was to investigate older adults' performance in emotions recognition using the same tool used in the previous studies on children and adults' performance and verify if the pattern of emotions recognition show differences compared with the other two groups. Results showed that happiness is among the easiest emotions to recognize while the disgust is always among the most difficult emotions to recognize for older adults. The findings seem to indicate that is more easily recognizing emotions when pictures represent the whole face; compared with the specific region (eye and mouth regions), older participants seems to recognize more easily emotions when the mouth region is presented. In general, the results of the study did not detect a decay in the ability to recognize emotions from the face, eyes, or mouth. The performance of the old adults is statistically worse than the other two groups in only a few cases: in anger and disgust recognition from the whole face; in anger recognition from the eye region; and in disgust, fear, and neutral emotion recognition from mouth region.