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Introduction: Psychological factors, such as emotional regulation strategies, play a crucial role in the management and care of chronic somatic health conditions among adolescents. In the existing literature, catastrophising has been associated negatively with health-related quality of life in the context of chronic health conditions in general. However, there is limited knowledge about its role in specific illness types. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the impact of catastrophising on the health-related quality of life in two distinct illness groups: diabetes and oncology, within a Hungarian sample. Methods: A cross-sectional study using self-report measures was carried out, involving a total of 273 adolescents (mean age: 14.72 years, SD: 1,82 years; 50.2% females) in the two paediatric samples. The diabetes group consisted of 171 participants, while the oncology group was comprised of 102 individuals. No significant differences were found between the two chronic condition groups in terms of gender (χ2 = 116.51; p = 0.50), or mean age (F(-0.82; 0.77) = 1.66; p = 0.19). The short-version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ-short) was used to assess the cognitive emotional regulation strategies of the children, specifically focusing on the catastrophising subscale. Health-related quality of life was measured using the 4.0 version of the PedsQL, which included subscales for Physical, Emotional, Social, and School Functioning. Results: A Hayes-moderation analysis with an interaction effect was conducted, controlling for gender, age, and the duration of the illness. A significant interaction effect was observed between catastrophising and the illness groups, impacting School Functioning (F(1, 243) = 4.17; p = 0.04), Physical Functioning (F(1, 245) = 4.67; p = 0.03), Social Functioning (F(1, 245) = 4,23; p = 0.04), and Emotional Functioning (F(1, 245) = 4.20; p = 0.04). The association between catastrophising and health-related quality of life remained stronger in the oncology group. Conclusions: Catastrophising appears to be a risk factor that affects the quality of life of children facing oncology illnesses. Therefore, addressing catastrophising in interventions tailored to this paediatric illness group may be beneficial. Keywords: catastrophising, health-related quality of life, adolescents, chronic somatic This study was supported by the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office (K143764). Disclosure of Interest: None Declared [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The capabilities of X-ray microanalytical methods, such as a near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) investigation in conjunction with total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) analysis, as well as low-Z particle electron probe X-ray microanalysis (EPMA) to characterize fine Antarctic aerosol samples are demonstrated. Both techniques provided information on low-Z elements such as C, N and O. Size-segregated fine aerosol samples were collected at the Italian base at Terra Nova Bay (Antarctica) in February 2004. For comparative purposes, aerosol samples were also collected near the sea-shore in Alghero (Sardinia, Italy), in June 2004. The TXRF-NEXAFS measurements were carried out at the PGM monochromator beamline for undulator radiation in the PTB laboratory at the electron storage ring BESSY II. It was possible to quantify the molar ratio of ammonium and nitrate based on linear combinations of standard reference spectra of (NH4)2SO4 and NaNO3. Using TXRF-NEXAFS, the ammonium-to-nitrate ratio was determined in Antarctic fine aerosols collected from less than 2m3 of air, i.e. considerably lower than the sampling volumes usually used for ion chromatography analyses (30m3). This reduced sampling volume can enable the characterization of Antarctic aerosols to be done in higher temporal resolution. For Antarctic fine aerosols in the size range of 0.25–0.5μm, nitrogen was observed to be present as almost entirely ammonium species. When the size of aerosol particles increases in the range of 0.25–2μm, the content of ammonium decreases and yet the content of nitrate increases. An aerosol sample collected at Terra Nova Bay was investigated by the use of low-Z particle EPMA at a liquid nitrogen temperature in order to minimize beam damage of nitrogen-rich particles. Single-particle analytical results of 160 individual particles supported the TXRF-NEXAFS''s observation that both ammonium-rich and nitrate-rich particles exist in the size range of 1–2μm. Some particles were observed to contain both ammonium and nitrate species and yet pure ammonium nitrate particles were not encountered. The stoichiometry of the main chemical component of particles containing nitrogen and sulfur as major elements was found to be NH4HSO4. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Atmospheric dual-band Scheimpflug lidar is demonstrated at 980 and 1550 nm. Signals are compared during three weather conditions, and the spatio-temporal resolution of the atmospheric structure is considered. The potential for aerosol classification is evaluated, and future directions are discussed.