Hierarchical Regression Research Articles

Ability beliefs and intrinsic motivation: Predictors in computational-thinking and inquiry-based pedagogies for critical skills

ABSTRACT Associations among self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and instructional methodologies fundamentally determine the success of skill acquisition within educational frameworks. This study assessed the impact of inquiry-based and computational thinking pedagogies on the outcomes among 132 students from two universities in Enugu State. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design using five instruments to assess students’ experiences. Hierarchical Multiple Regression and 5000 re-samples BC bootstrapping via the PROCESS macro were employed to test hypotheses and examine the relationship between student engagement and achievement. The study found that inquiry-based and computational thinking pedagogies improved achievement and retention, with ability, belief and intrinsic motivation as mediators. This study contributed to extant literature by integrating the mediators into computational thinking and inquiry-based learning, presenting a groundbreaking framework that enhances critical skills acquisition in Nigerian universities. The study recommended integrating these methods into Nigerian university frameworks to enhance students’ academic achievement, retention, and critical skills acquisition.

Affective and neural mechanisms of how identity dysfunction in borderline personality disorder may interfere with building positive relationships.

Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often hold pervasive and negative self-views and experience feelings of low connectedness toward others despite effective treatment. This study aimed to identify neural and affective mechanisms of identity disturbance in BPD that contribute to difficulties in relating to others. Participants diagnosed with BPD (N = 34) and nonclinical controls (NCC; N = 35) completed a within-subject social feedback task inside a magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Participants received character evaluations, supposedly from a panel of three members who provided either predominantly negative, intermediate, or positive feedback. Multilevel analysis and event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis compared the BPD and NCC group on mood, affiliation, and neural responses to the feedback and the panel. Results indicate that people with BPD had more negative self-views and reported lower mood after negative and intermediate feedback compared to NCC. People with BPD also felt less close to the member providing predominantly positive feedback compared to NCC, which appeared to be mediated by degree of fearful attachment. People with BPD showed altered bold responses to social feedback in temporal parietal junction and the anterior cingulate cortex compared to NCC. Findings indicate that people with BPD experience pervasive negative self-views that may interfere with forming relationships. New interactions may reinforce a fearful pattern of relating as existing (negative) views of the self are activated and subject to confirmation. These complexities have important clinical implications for the therapeutic alliance. Balancing a supportive and expressive stance may foster the therapeutic alliance while challenging negative self-views. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Multi-level analysis of gut microbiome extracellular vesicles-host interaction reveals a connection to gut-brain axis signaling.

Microbiota-released extracellular vesicles (MEVs) have emerged as a key player in intercellular signaling. In this study, a multi-level analysis revealed presence of a diverse array of biologically active molecules encapsulated within MEVs, including neuroactive metabolites, such as arachidonyl-dopamine, gabapentin, glutamate, and N-acylethanolamines, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Metaproteomics also unveiled an enrichment of neural-related proteins, mainly the glutamine/glutamate/GABA pathway. MEVs were able to cross epithelial and blood-brain barriers in vitro. RNA-seq analyses showed that MEVs stimulate several immune pathways while suppressing cell apoptosis process. Furthermore, MEVs were able to traverse the intestinal barriers and reach distal organs, including the brain, thereby potentially influencing brain functionality and contributing to mental and behavior.

Subnational mapping of anemia and etiologic factors in the West and Central African Region.

Despite bold commitments to reduce anemia, little change in prevalence was observed over the past decade. We aimed to generate subnational maps of anemia among women of reproductive age (WRA), malaria transmission, and hemoglobinopathies to identify priority areas, but also explore their geographical overlap. Using the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), we first mapped anemia clusters across Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) and identified the WCA as a major cluster. Geographic clusters with high anemia and related etiologic factors were identified using spatial statistics. Multilevel regression models were run to identify factors associated with any, moderate and severe anemia. West and Central African countries (n=17). WRA (n= 112,024) residing in 17 WCA countries. There was a significant overlap in geographical clusters of anemia, malaria, and hemoglobinopathies, particularly in the coastal areas of the WCA region. Low birth interval (0.86 [0.77, 0.97]), number of childbirth (1.12 [1.02, 1.23]), being in the 15-19 age range (1.47 [1.09, 1.98])) were associated with increased odds of any anemia. Unimproved toilet facility and open defecation were associated with any anemia, whereas the use of unclean cooking fuel was associated with moderate/severe anemia (P<0.05). Access to health care facility, living in malaria prone areas, and hemoglobinopathies (HbC and HbS) were all associated with any, moderate or severe anemia. Interlinkages between infection, hemoglobinopathies, and nutritional deficiencies complicate the etiology of anemia in the WCA region. Without renewed efforts to integrate activities and align various sectors in the prevention of anemia, progress is likely to remain elusive.

Fear in Media Headlines Increases Public Risk Perceptions but Decreases Preventive Behaviors: A Multi-Country Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The perception of reality could matter more than reality itself when it comes to disease outbreaks. News media are important sources of information during global disease outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on theories of fear appeals and the social ecological model, we conducted multilevel modeling analyses to examine how media-level and community-level factors influenced the public’s risk perceptions of COVID-19 and frequencies of preventive behaviors in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and India. We combined a large-scale multi-wave cross-country survey (N = 161,374) with a COVID-19 media coverage archive (N = 10,015,187) to test these relationships. We found that fear in media headlines was positively correlated with people’s perceptions of risk but negatively correlated with frequencies of preventive behaviors, controlling for individual-, community-, and cultural-level factors. Similar patterns were consistently identified within each individual country. We also show that community factors interacted with the media environment to influence public risk perceptions and behaviors. Our findings highlight a strong mass media influence during the pandemic, and we discuss the implications of our findings for health communication during crisis times.

Effect of Work-Family Conflict on Job Performance: Moderating Effect of Social Support among Teleworkers

The pressing economic situation that has made the Sri Lankans work remotely or work from home is highlighted as a tremendous challenge for businesses. Thus, the current study's primary purpose is to explore whether work-family conflict; both work-interference family and family-interference work affects the job performance among the selected teleworkers of Finance companies, while they were forced to work from home. In addition, the role of social support in this dynamic remains underexplored, particularly in high-stress environments like finance. Thus, the study focuses on the moderating effect of social support gained from both supervisor and family support in examining the relationship. The research utilized a mixed research approach to meet the objectives of the current study, where 125 workers of finance companies in the Colombo region who worked from home provided data through structured questionnaires and interviews. The sample was extracted using stratified random sampling. The statistical methods for analyzing the data were hierarchical regression and thematic analysis. In this study, the authors examined work-interference family and family-interference work as being negatively correlated with job performance. Furthermore, the results indicated that the social support received from supervisors and family members moderated the effect of work-family conflict on job performance, where it showcased a tactic to lessen the teleworkers' work-family friction. This study fills in gaps in the literature and assists employers in addressing issues that WFC employees experience.

Robustness assessment of regressions using cluster analysis typologies: a bootstrap procedure with application in state sequence analysis

BackgroundIn standard Sequence Analysis, similar trajectories are clustered together to create a typology of trajectories, which is then often used to evaluate the association between sequence patterns and covariates inside regression models. The sampling uncertainty, which affects both the derivation of the typology and the associated regressions, is typically ignored in this analysis, an oversight that may lead to wrong statistical conclusions. We propose utilising sampling variation to derive new estimates that further inform on the association of interest.MethodsWe introduce a novel procedure to assess the robustness of regression results obtained from the standard analysis. Bootstrap samples are drawn from the data, and for each bootstrap, a new typology replicating the original one is constructed, followed by the estimation of the corresponding regression models. The bootstrap estimates are then combined using a multilevel modelling framework that mimics a meta-analysis. The fitted values from this multilevel model allow to account for the sampling uncertainty in the inferential analysis. We illustrate the methodology by applying it to the study of healthcare utilisation trajectories in a Swiss cohort of diabetic patients.ResultsThe procedure provides robust estimates for an association of interest, along with 95% prediction intervals, representing the range of expected values if the clustering and associated regressions were performed on a new sample from the same underlying distribution. It also identifies central and borderline trajectories within each cluster. Regarding the illustrative application, while there was evidence of an association between regular lipid testing and subsequent healthcare utilisation patterns in the original analysis, this is not supported in the robustness assessment.ConclusionsInvestigating the relationship between trajectory patterns and covariates is of interest in many situations. However, it is a challenging task with potential pitfalls. Our Robustness Assessment of Regression using Cluster Analysis Typologies (RARCAT) may assist in ensuring the robustness of such association studies. The method is applicable wherever clustering is combined with regression analysis, so its relevance goes beyond State Sequence Analysis.

Understanding the impact of weather and potentially criminogenic places on street robbery

Weather variables, like temperature and precipitation, have long been established as predictors of criminal behavior. So too have researchers established the importance of controlling for potentially criminogenic places when predicting when and where crimes will occur at micro-level units of analysis. The current study examines the role that temperature and precipitation play, along with places, in the odds of street robbery occurrence on street blocks in Cincinnati, Ohio. Using multilevel modeling, with days clustered within street blocks, our results showed that temperature, but not precipitation, predicted increased odds of street robbery occurrence, even after controlling for the presence of potentially criminogenic places. We conclude that research should continue to examine these important relationships, specifically how weather impacts the role of places in the formation of criminal opportunities.

Vaccination card loss and associated factors in Ethiopia: A multilevel analysis using Ethiopia Mini Demographic and Health Survey 2019 data.

The loss of vaccination cards is a momentous public health challenge in the prevention of vaccine-preventable diseases in most developing countries. There is a paucity of studies on the magnitude of vaccination card losses and associated factors in Ethiopia. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to assess the level of vaccination card loss and associated factors in Ethiopia. Data were extracted from the 2019 Ethiopia Mini Demographic and Health Survey, a nationally representative household survey of women aged 15-49 years with children aged 0-35 months. Data from a total of 3208 mother-child pairs was extracted for the study. A multilevel logistic regression model with random effect analysis techniques was used to identify individual and regional-level determinants of vaccination card loss. We checked the model's fitness by using Akaike Information Criteria and Bayesian Information Criteria. Odds ratios with a 95% Confidence intervals were used to declare statistical significance. A total of 3208 mother-child pairs from nine regions and two city administrations were included in the analysis. The result revealed that 1933 (60.26%) mother-child pairs did not have vaccination cards during home visits. illiterate mother 2.239 (95% CI: 1.297, 3.864), lowest wealth index category 2.089 (95% CI: 1.432, 3.048), ANC non-user 2.047 (95% CI: 1.605, 2.609), children living with their caretaker 6.749 (95% CI: 1.425, 13.654), having no access to television 1.384 (95% CI: 1.150, 1.664), longer birth interval 1.325 (95% CI: 1.027,1.710), giving birth at home and private health facilities 1.985 (95% CI: 1.579, 2.497), 1.696 (1.086, 2.648), contraceptive non-users 1.295 (95% CI: (1.042,1.609) and children aged 12-23 months and 24-35 months 1.577 (95% CI: 1.252, 1.985) and 2.282 (1.803, 2.889) were associated with vaccination card loss. Overall vaccination card loss among mothers of 0-35-month-old children is considerably high. To enhance maternal awareness regarding the significance of vaccination cards, promote antenatal care and public health facility delivery, and future researchers have to explore how to enhance vaccination card retention in Ethiopia.

Hidden Contexts, Multilevel Comparisons, and the Postcolonial Location: Reconsidering the Documentary Method Vis-à-Vis Decolonization

Postcolonialism and decoloniality, which question the epistemology of Western science as a colonial construct, also challenge qualitative methods. Based on an overview of various attempts to decolonize qualitative methods, this article explores how the Documentary Method, a methodology for reconstructing the modus operandi of social practices, can avoid the pitfalls of colonial epistemology. To achieve this, it is crucial to consider multiple contexts to adequately interpret the utterances and actions of research participants. Comparative and multilevel analyses help not only to uncover hidden contexts but also to give voice to previously unconsidered social groups, such as subaltern and oppressed communities. The concept of “postcolonial location” is newly introduced as a theoretically elaborated search strategy to focus researchers’ attention on the potential coloniality of practices. Rather than relying on self-confession, self-reflexivity is methodically initiated and controlled.

Enhancing High School Students’ STEM Major Intention Through Digital Competence: A Large-Scale Cross-Sectional Survey

Faced with a shortage of college graduates with STEM degrees, many countries are seeking ways to attract more high school students to pursue STEM majors after graduation. This study aims to promote the sustainability of high school students in STEM fields by analyzing the effects of digital competence on the STEM major intentions of high school students. The survey collected data from 2415 participants comprising 1230 females and 1185 males from 16 high schools in China. Using hierarchical logistic regression, the study found that digital competence had significant positive effects on high school students’ STEM major intention. Also, computational thinking was the strongest predictor among the four areas of digital competence. Moreover, latent profile analysis identified two profiles of male students and four profiles of female students. Among male students, advanced male users had the strongest STEM major intention; among female students, low-level female novices had the weakest STEM major intention. Thus, digital competence can be considered an effective way to bridge the gender gap in STEM major selection. Based on the findings, strategies are discussed for improving high school students’ STEM major intentions and promoting digital competence, thereby ensuring the sustainable development of students in STEM fields in the digital era.

Sensitivity Analysis Study of Engine Control Parameters on Sustainable Engine Performance

With the increasing global concern for environmental protection and sustainable resource utilization, sustainable engine performance has become the focus of research. This study conducts a sensitivity analysis of the key parameters affecting the performance of sustainable engines, aiming to provide a scientific basis for the optimal design and operation of engines to promote the sustainable development of the transportation industry. The performance of an engine is essentially determined by the combustion process, which in turn depends on the fuel characteristics and the work cycle mode suitability of the technical architecture of the engine itself (oil-engine synergy). Currently, there is a lack of theoretical support and means of reference for the sensitivity analysis of the core parameters of oil–engine synergy. Recognizing the problems of unclear methods of defining sensitivity parameters, unclear influence mechanisms, and imperfect model construction, this paper proposes an evaluation method system composed of oil–engine synergistic sensitivity factor determination and quantitative analysis of contribution. The system contains characteristic data acquisition, model construction and research, and sensitivity analysis and application. In this paper, a hierarchical SVM regression model is constructed, with fuel physicochemical characteristics and engine control parameters as input variables, combustion process parameters as an intermediate layer, and diesel engine performance as output parameters. After substituting the characteristic data into the model, the following results were obtained, R2 &gt; 0.9, MSE &lt; 0.014, MAPE &lt; 3.5%, indicating the model has high accuracy. On this basis, a sensitivity analysis was performed using the Sobol sensitivity analysis algorithm. It was concluded that the load parameters had the highest influence on the ID (ignition delay time), combustion duration (CD), and combustion temperature parameters of the combustion elements, reaching 0.24 and above. The influence weight of the main spray strategy was greater than that of the pre-injection strategy. For the sensitivity analysis of the premix ratio, the injection timing, EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) rate, and load have significant influence weights on the premix ratio, while the influence weights of the other parameters are not more than 0.10. In addition, the combustion temperature among the combustion elements has the highest influence weights on the NOx, PM (particulate matter) concentration, and mass, as well as on the BTE (brake thermal efficiency) and BSFC (brake specific fuel consumption). The ID has the highest influence weight on HC and CO at 0.35. Analysis of the influence weights of the index parameters shows that the influence weights of the fuel physicochemical parameters are much lower than those of the engine control parameters, and the influence weights of the fuel CN (cetane number) are about 5% greater than those of the volatility, which is about 3%. From the analysis of the proportion of index parameters, the engine control parameter influence weights are in the following order: load &gt; EGR &gt; injection timing &gt; injection pressure &gt; pre-injection timing&gt; pre-injection ratio.

Measuring associations between the food environment and dietary habits: comparing the proportion and density of food outlets

BackgroundThe food environment plays a crucial role in shaping our dietary choices and overall health. Spatial measures provide distinct perspectives on the physical food environment and its impact on diet. While proportion measures are theoretically considered to provide a more accurate representation of the overall physical food environment than density measures, it is important to recognize that the association between food environments and diet can vary depending on the context. Therefore, relying solely on one measure may not be appropriate.MethodsWe systematically assessed the density and proportion of multiple food outlet types (fast-food outlets, convenience stores, supermarkets, and restaurants) around individuals homes using a large cross-sectional Danish study (N = 71,840). Densities were modeled in separate multilevel linear regression models, incorporating random intercepts from linear splines for each of the four food outlet types. Proportions were modeled without splines. Through the association with a dietary quality score (DQS), we examined the impact of quantifying the foodscape from density versus proportion measures. Associations were compared using parameter estimates, p-values, Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) values, and Akaike weights.ResultsAIC values and Akaike weights were in favor of models including density measures. Across all outlet types, density measures were consistently negatively associated with the DQS until reaching densities of 3–5 (count/km2), at which point the direction of association became positive, indicating a shift towards a healthier DQS. After correcting for multiple comparisons, the most significant effect was observed for the sole significant proportion measure. A 10% increase in the proportion of fast-food outlets among "eating out options" was associated with a 7% decrease in the DQS, towards poorer dietary quality.ConclusionsThe associations highlight that choosing food outlet density versus proportions to quantify the foodscape impact findings of substantial importance when considering the significance level and direction of association. Findings suggests a threshold effect when using density measures indicating abundance of many food outlets, at which the association with dietary quality alters significantly towards healthier diet quality.

Poor access to breastfeeding counseling services and associated factors among lactating mothers who had optimal antenatal care follow-up in Sub-saharan Africa: a multilevel analysis of the recent Demographic and Health Survey

BackgroundInadequate access to services for breastfeeding counseling results in poor breastfeeding practices and adverse health consequences. Although poor access to breastfeeding counseling services is a major challenge, its magnitude and determinantes are not well studied in developing countries. Therefore, this study assessed the magnitude and determinants of poor access to breastfeeding counseling services among lactating mothers who had optimal antenatal care follow-up in Sub-Saharan Africa.MethodsData from the recent Demographic and Health Surveys, involving a total of 289,929 women, were used for analysis. The determinants of poor access to breastfeeding counseling services were examined using a multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression model. Significant factors associated with poor access to breastfeeding counseling services were declared significant at p-values < 0.05. The adjusted odds ratio and confidence interval were used to interpret the results. A model with the lowest deviance and highest log likelihood ratio was selected as the best-fit model.ResultsIn Sub-Saharan Africa, nearly one in two women with optimal antenatal care follow-up had poor access to breastfeeding counseling services. Maternal age (AOR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.38), maternal education (AOR = 1.128, 95% CI: 1.22, 1.35), distance to health facility (AOR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.13, 1.21), media exposure (AOR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.17), wealth index (AOR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.10), place of delivery (AOR = 4.31, 95% CI: 4.11, 4.52), PNC (AOR = 3.92, 95% CI: 3.78, 4.07), mode of delivery (AOR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.76, 2.02), birth interval (AOR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.17), residence (AOR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.18), community poverty (AOR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.15), community institutional delivery (AOR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.12), country category (AOR = 2.23, 95% CI: 2.10, 2.37), had higher odds of poor access to breastfeeding counseling services.ConclusionsPoor access to breastfeeding counseling services among lactating mothers was found to be high. Both individual and community-level factors were determinants of poor access to breastfeeding counseling services. The Ministry of Health in Sub-Saharan Africa should give attention to those women who have not had a postnatal check-up and give birth at home while designing policies and strategies.

Towards 90-70-90 targets: Individual and community level factors associated with cervical cancer screening among women of reproductive age in Tanzania: A multi-level analysis based on 2022 Tanzania demographic and health survey.

Cervical cancer is a major public health problem worldwide, and is mainly caused by human papillomaviruses. More than 90% of cervical cancer cases can be prevented by using a human papilloma vaccine and screening. Despite the ongoing global cervical cancer screening target, uptake remains unacceptably low in sub-Saharan Africa such as Tanzania. Although cervical cancer is the leading cause of mortality in Tanzania, evidence on the individual- and community-level factors associated with cervical cancer screening among women of reproductive age is scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the individual- and community-level factors associated with cervical cancer screening among women of reproductive age in Tanzania. This study used data from the 2022 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS). A weighted sample of 15,140 women of reproductive age was included in this study. Given the effect of clustering and binary nature of the outcome variable, we used a multilevel binary logistic regression model. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% Confidence Interval (CI) was statistically significant. Moreover, the model with the lowest deviance best suited the data. The overall uptake of cervical cancer screening among Tanzanian women was 7.28% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.87%, 7.70%). Women's age (25-34, 35-49), women with primary, secondary, and higher educational levels, being employed, a high household wealth index, visiting health facilities in the last 12 months, owning mobile phones, urban residence, and southern highlands, Southern, and Zanzibar administrative zones, were significantly associated with cervical cancer screening. Cervical cancer screening among women in Tanzania was low. Low uptake underscores the need for increased focus on addressing the coverage of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The study would help policymakers create programs that consider education, employment, visiting health facilities, mobile phones, wealth, residence, and administrative zones, which would make women undergo cervical cancer screening. Pointing to women living with low cervical cancer screening could help increase their uptake and achieve the targets of the national and World Health Organization.

Institutional confidence, underreporting and academic consequences of gender-based violence among university staff and students in Europe

ABSTRACT This article examines the relationship between reporting incidents of gender-based violence, adverse academic consequences, and confidence in institutional responses within academic institutions based on an online survey conducted in 46 research organisations located in 15 European countries. By ‘academic consequences’, we refer specifically to the effects on an individual's educational pursuits, including but not limited to changes in academic performance, disruptions in coursework, and alterations in educational trajectories. Our results show that reporting gender-based violence is associated with increased severity of academic consequences, but that confidence in institutional responses has a negative association with adverse academic consequences. The level of confidence in institutional responses is identified as a moderator, intensifying the protective effect against adverse academic consequences, but interestingly only among staff. A multilevel intersectional analysis is used, considering various identity characteristics and accounting for structural inequalities. The article concludes with a discussion of the critical role of confidence in institutional responses and suggests that institutions must move beyond procedural adjustments to foster a holistic change in culture, norms, and power structures. Recommendations for institutions include developing safe and confidential reporting mechanisms, building trust in responses, and fostering a culture of respect and zero tolerance for violence to effectively address this critical issue in academic settings.

My Interests Are (Y)ours? A Multilevel Social Network Analysis of the Co-Evolution of Adolescents’ Interests and Friendships

Both interests and peer relations are crucial for adolescents in finding out who they are and want to be as a person. Yet, our knowledge of the co-evolution of friendships and interests is limited to studies focusing on single interest domains and/or practices predetermined by researchers. A total of 1599 Dutch adolescents participated in this study, which employs a unique design to examine the co-evolution of all participant-defined interests and in- and out-of-school friendships. In total, 368 specific interest areas were identified. Multilevel social network analyses (i.e., using multivariate stochastic actor-oriented models) of a subsample of 935 adolescents in seven schools indicate that adolescents are more likely, over time, to have similar interests to their friends. Interests that were reported rarely or very often contributed less to these dynamics. Additionally, being similarly interested increased the likelihood of being friends. Our findings show that social structures are related to interest development and how being interested is mediated by the places and spaces of adolescents’ lives.

LINC02257 regulates malignant phenotypes of colorectal cancer via interacting with miR-1273g-3p and YB1

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer diagnosed and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Emerging evidence has indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in the progression of various types of cancer. In this study, we aimed to identify potential causal lncRNAs in CRC through comprehensive multilevel bioinformatics analyses, coupled with functional validation. Our bioinformatics analyses identified LINC02257 as being highly expressed in CRC, and associated with poor survival and advanced tumor stages among patients with CRC. Genome-wide association analysis revealed significant associations between variants near LINC02257 and CRC, suggesting a causal role for LINC02257 in CRC. Network analysis identified LINC02257 as playing a key role in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition pathway. Single-cell RNA sequencing showed that elevated expression of LINC02257 was associated with a reduced proportion of epithelial cells. In vitro experiments showed that LINC02257 positively regulated the metastatic and proliferative potential of CRC cells. Mechanistically, LINC02257 affected CRC malignancy by functioning as a competitive endogenous RNA of microRNAs and RNA-binding proteins. LINC02257 upregulated SERPINE1 by sequestering tumor suppressive miR-1273g-3p, thereby increasing metastatic and proliferative abilities of CRC cells. Additionally, LINC02257 directly interacted with YB1 and induced its phosphorylation, thereby facilitating YB1 nuclear translocation. The transcriptional activation of YB1 target genes was associated with the oncogenic functions of LINC02257. Taken together, our results demonstrate LINC02257 as a promising therapeutic target for CRC treatment.

Mediating effect of social constraints in the association between stigma and depressive symptoms in Chinese breast cancer patients

PurposeThe present study aimed to investigate the effect of stigma on depressive symptoms and explore the mediating role of social constraints between stigma and depressive symptoms in Chinese breast cancer (BC) patients.MethodsA cross-sectional design was conducted in China from December 2020 to July 2021. Out of 256 participants, 222 BC patients completed the questionnaires composed of demographic and clinical information, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Social Impact Scale (SIS), and 15-item Social Constraints Scale (SCS-15). The hierarchical regression analysis was adopted to explore the associations of stigma and social constraints with depressive symptoms and the mediating role of social constraints.ResultsApproximately 20% of participants reported having depressive symptoms in Chinese BC patients. The indirect effect of stigma on depressive symptoms through social constraints was significant (a*b = 0.24, 95%CI = 0.15–0.33). When the mediator was controlled for, the direct impact of stigma on depressive symptoms was also significant (c’=0.16, p < 0.01).ConclusionThe current study suggested that stigma may contribute to developing depressive symptoms by increasing social constraints in Chinese BC patients. Interventions based on reducing stigma and social constraints should be conducted to improve mental health in BC patients.

A cross-sectional study applying the PRECEDE model to explore factors influencing epidemic prevention behaviors among preschool educators

BackgroundThis study investigates the epidemic prevention behaviors of preschool educators and the factors influencing these behaviors, applying the PRECEDE model as a framework for analysis.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted among 190 preschool educators from public and private institutions in Taipei City and New Taipei City. A 64-item self-developed questionnaire was used to assess epidemic prevention behaviors and their determinants. The instrument’s reliability was supported by internal consistency (Cronbach’s α ranging from 0.85 to 0.92), while its validity was confirmed through expert review, item analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Statistical analyses included hierarchical regression to examine the influence of predisposing, reinforcing, and enabling factors on behavior.ResultsThe model explained 54% of the variance in epidemic prevention behaviors. Enabling factors had the strongest influence (β = 0.46, p < 0.001), followed by reinforcing factors (β = 0.15, p < 0.05) and predisposing attitudes (β = 0.14, p < 0.05). Background variables, such as age (β = 0.23, p < 0.001) and years of service, collectively explained 14% of the variance.ConclusionThe findings underscore the critical role of institutional support and professional training in enhancing epidemic prevention practices among preschool educators. Recommendations include integrating disease prevention training into professional development initiatives.