Original Construct Research Articles

Self-identity explains better breastfeeding intention of ethnic pregnant mothers of Western Nepal: Extending the theory of planned behavior.

Breastfeeding intention is one of the strongest predictors of breastfeeding behavior and practice. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), with its main construct, behavioral intention, is useful to predict actual behavior. While the literature has examined the implications of other theoretical notions such as self-identity, moral norm, descriptive norm, and socio-demographic variables, their roles remain unclear. Similarly, research on ethnic and low-income mothers is even insufficient. Therefore, given the original TPB constructs, our goal was to examine the role of extra theoretical constructs and specific demographic variables, and observe whether the original model would alter. A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out among 325 pregnant mothers in six purposively selected health care facilities of Kaski and Tanahu districts, using structured pro forma, from December 2018 to November 2019. We developed stepwise multivariate logistic regression from the entered and cleaned data, observed the effects on breastfeeding intention (BFI), and checked against multiple parameters. We interpreted the model with adjusted odds ratios and β coefficients, along with the variance explained. Out of 325 pregnant women, more than half (54.8%) were primiparous, and the mean age was 25.1±5 years. All three theoretical constructs of TPB regressed the BFI significantly, with 10.7%, the breastfeeding attitude dominating (β = 0.734, p = .003), and the other two constructs-perceived breastfeeding control (β = 0.659, p = .011) and breastfeeding subjective norm (β = 0.504, p = .045). Interestingly, breastfeeding self-identity added further variance of 5.2% (β = 0.955, p < .001), followed by income, with 3.2% (β = 0.856, p = .001), both of which also tallied large effect sizes. The model parameters showed consistency and robustness. We discuss the variables of the theoretical and extended model for BFI as well as the arguments for the explained variance. Self-identity is a strong and independent predictor of breastfeeding intention and, therefore, should be considered to better prepare for breastfeeding, especially among ethnic pregnant mothers. The direct and intermediate effects of self-concept and income need further study with more robust designs.

Nursing Professional Values Scale (NPVS-3) in an Austrian context: validation of a scale and reliability assessment

BackgroundThe Nurses Professional Values Scale-3 (NPVS-3) is a psychometric instrument derived from a set of values initially established by the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics. The present study evaluates the reliability of the NPVS-3 scale for nursing students and nurses in Austria.MethodsA cross-sectional methodological study was conducted on 209 research participants, comprising 139 nursing students and 70 nurses, with the objective of determining the reliability of the Austrian version of the scale. A multilevel approach was employed in the study, encompassing cultural and linguistic validation, content validity, face validity, and construct validity. The scale translation was performed per the established translation stages of back-translation and was subsequently reviewed by an expert committee. The translated instrument was applied to the participants who completed an online survey between April and July 2023. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha, while construct validity was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).ResultsThe Cronbach's alpha values obtained were deemed appropriate, with the following results: Caring (0.852), Activism (0.832), and Professionalism (0.676). Through factorial analysis, three factors were identified as original NPVS-3 and construct validity was verified.ConclusionThe Austrian version of the NPVS-3 demonstrated satisfactory validity, efficiently evaluating the professional values of nurses and nursing students in Austria.

Nether Space(s): Unveiling endometriosis experiences in performance

Endometriosis is a debilitating and incurable disease impacting one in ten women (including individuals assigned female at birth). Stirred by my battle with this disease, I devoted my doctoral research to exploring lived body experiences of endo in and through an embodied, improvisational painscape practice. This discussion hones in on the later stages of research development and eventual public presentation of Nether Space(s): a performance/exhibition marrying movement, kinaesthetic painting and embodied poetry into a cohesive painscape. Although Nether Space(s) exposes the often concealed or invisible suffering related to gendered disabilities like endometriosis, the negotiations with time, space, energy and expression likely resonate with individuals who endure various kinds of menstrual, reproductive or chronic pain. In disseminating the research journey, this article demonstrates how engaging with the physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual scars of unfathomable pain experiences implicitly necessitates the integration of interdisciplinary methodologies and critical perspectives. Specifically, I pinpoint how an artistic practice shaped and birthed from endo experiences champions improvisational prowess, feminist inquiry and crip identity. The shared imagery, poetry and personal accounts of the various creative outcomes associated with Nether Space(s), further reveal that an improvisational feminist-crip performance practice can facilitate embodied agency by cripping endo pain. Notably, idiosyncratic attributes of Nether Space(s), some of which include scar symbolism; alternative spatialities, temporalities or energies; or convergences of narrative and abstract, are unpacked through the lens of netherness – an original construct that emerged as a pivotal revelation of the research journey.

Entrepreneurship, subjective risk intelligence and SMEs’ financial stability: evidence from Italy

PurposeThis paper applies an original construct of “subjective risk intelligence (SRI)” to the small business context. By leveraging on its multidimensionality, it aims to shed light on the existing ambiguities in the analysis of the relationship between the entrepreneurial attitude towards risk evaluation and firms’ financial stability.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical investigation refers to the Italian context, where an ad hoc survey has been administered to a sample of small businesses. Based on both a linear and a semiparametric regression, results show a significant relationship between SRI and firm’s financial structure, and that such relationship is basically nonlinear.FindingsEvidence shows that entrepreneurs with a high level of risk intelligence run highly leveraged firms. Moreover, in the light of the non-linearity of such relationship, higher levels of risk intelligence are associated with a greater capacity of the entrepreneur to govern the financial balance of the enterprise only up to a certain threshold. Over this threshold, risk intelligence generates overconfidence leading the entrepreneur to a reckless behaviour in taking financial risks.Originality/valueFrom a theoretical point of view, the paper contributes to the literature by shedding lights on the complexity of the relationship between risk intelligence and small businesses. From a policy point of view, findings suggest that, to train new entrepreneurs, the educational system aims should focus on the development of two specific “soft skills”: the ability to manage emotions and the ability to glimpse opportunities even in uncertain situations.

Effective risk management practice in Somalia Islamic banks

This paper aims to assess the degree to which Somali banks use effective risk management practices (RMPs). Furthermore, the study has explored the level of risk management practices using the original components of risk management aspects, including understanding risk and risk management, risk assessment and analysis, risk identification, risk monitoring, and credit risk analysis, with the addition of perceived trust to the original constructs of risk management aspects. The study is based on a questionnaire survey of 423 banking staff from 13 licensed banks in Somalia. The researcher adopted a questionnaire that covers six aspects of risk management with perceived trust: understanding risk and risk management, risk assessment and analysis, risk identification, risk monitoring, credit risk analysis, perceived trust, and RMPs. This study found that the staff of Somalia have a clear understanding of risk and risk management and have efficient risk identification, risk assessment, risk monitoring, credit risk analysis, perceived trust, and risk management practices. In addition, the respondents also recognize that the banks do not have deposit insurance, which is a risk to the depositors if the bank goes bankrupt. The paper’s findings are limited to the risk management aspects of the bank industry, with additional perceived trust in Somalia. The paper explores the risk management practice in the Somali bank sector. The results can be used as valuable feedback for improving risk management practice in the banking industry. This study is the first research attempt to investigate risk management practice with additional trust.

Concept Creep of Collective Narcissism

Collective narcissism refers to overvaluing the group with which one identifies. In a widely circulated and attention-grabbing paper, Putnam and colleagues (2018) measured collective narcissism by asking people how much their state in the U.S.A. contributed to the nation’s history. This led to some media reports proclaiming that the U.S.A. is “a nation of narcissists.” We demonstrated here (valid N = 539) that Putnam’s operationalization of collective narcissism had a small correlation (r = .18) with a traditional individual difference measure of collective narcissism, falling short of typical benchmarks for convergent validity. These results call into question whether collective narcissism can be measured as Putnam did. In the end, this empirical investigation has implications for “concept creep.” Measures that lack convergent validity but use the same label (in this case, “collective narcissism”) not only create confusion, but also increase the chances of unfounded yet highly publicized claims. In this case, the meaning of the new measure does not adequately reflect the meaning of the original construct—implicating concept creep of collective narcissism.

A VHH single-domain platform enabling discovery and development of monospecific antibodies and modular neutralizing bispecifics against SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to evolve, escape coronavirus disease 2019 therapeutics and vaccines, and jeopardize public health. To combat SARS-CoV-2 antigenic escape, we developed a rapid, high-throughput pipeline to discover monospecific VHH antibodies and iteratively develop VHH-Fc-VHH bispecifics capable of neutralizing emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. By panning VHH single-domain phage libraries against ancestral or beta spike proteins, we discovered high-affinity VHH antibodies with unique target epitopes. Combining two VHHs into a tetravalent bispecific construct conferred broad neutralization activity against multiple variants and was more resistant to antigenic escape than the monospecific antibody alone. Following the rise of the Omicron variant, a VHH in the original bispecific construct was replaced with another VHH discovered against the Omicron BA.1 receptor binding domain; the resulting bispecific exhibited neutralization against both BA.1 and BA.5 sublineage variants. A heavy chain-only tetravalent VHH-Fc-VHH bispecific platform derived from humanized synthetic libraries held a myriad of unique advantages: (i) synthetic preconstructed libraries minimized risk of liabilities and maximized discovery speed, (ii) VHH scaffolds allowed for a modular "plug-and-play" format that could be rapidly iterated upon as variants of concern arose, (iii) natural dimerization of single VHH-Fc-VHH polypeptides allowed for straightforward bispecific production and purification methods, and (iv) multivalent approaches enhanced avidity boosting effects and neutralization potency, and conferred more robust resistance to antigenic escape than monovalent approaches against specific variants. This iterative platform of rapid VHH discovery combined with modular bispecific design holds promise for long-term viral control efforts.

Associations Between Both Adaptive and Maladaptive Personality Constructs and Emotional Load and Content of Adult Dreams

Background: It seems that personality and dreams are relatively stable interwoven constructs that show many shared characteristics across cultures. The present study aimed to predict the emotional load and content of dreams using both original constructs and two extracted spectrum factors of adaptive and maladaptive personalities. Methods: The cross-sectional study data was collected from 704 Iranian adults using the brief version of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5, the brief version of the Big Five Inventory, Schredl’s Dream Emotions Manual, and the Content Analysis of Dreams Manual. Pearson correlations, hierarchical regressions, exploratory factor analysis, and analysis of variance were used to analyse the data. Results: Factor analysis revealed two factors for the adaptive and maladaptive spectrums of personality. Adaptive and maladaptive constructs of personality are almost equally related to both the negative and positive loads of dreams, while the negative load of dreams is more strongly predicted by the maladaptive spectrum factor ( R2: 13% vs. 7%, ∆ R2: 8% vs. 2%). Negative load is characterized by low agreeableness and high negative affectivity, while positive load is characterized by high agreeableness and low detachment. Compared to most negative dream content such as distress, dreamers with happy content reported higher adaptive traits and lower maladaptive traits. Conclusions: The emotional load and content of dreams are significantly related to both specific constructs and spectrum factors of adaptive and maladaptive personalities. Psychologists can refer to personality profiles when analysing the emotional load and content of dreams of adults.

Current perspective on medical management, orthopedic treatment, and the use of the Ilizarov method in children with X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets

Hypophosphatemic rickets encompasses a group of rare metabolic diseases that cause lower limb bowing and growth impairment. The mainstay of its management rests in frequent dosages of oral phosphate salts and active vitamin D derivatives. Recent developments in therapy reduced severe pathology progression. However, there remains a substantial number of patients suffering from persisting or recurring deformities. Treatment of those resistant to conventional therapy is the domain of orthopedic surgery. Although multiple recommended approaches exist, no single method has been proven superior to others. In this article, the authors review the effectiveness of several surgical techniques, with a focus on the Ilizarov frame. The method allows for a noninvasive and accurate correction but is technically demanding and imposes a prolonged treatment period. Modern alterations of both the procedure and the original construct aim to improve patient compliance while maintaining the same healing index. Nevertheless, research carried out on small groups of patients and the utilization of different assessment tools for each technique hinders the determination of standardized guidelines. The choice of a given method boils down to an individual approach and strongly depends on the surgeon’s experience and preferences.

Street food consumer behaviour decoded: analysing decision-making styles, risk factors and the influential power of social media celebrities

PurposeThis study aims to investigate consumer decision-making styles (CDMS) in the context of street food. In addition to the original CDMS constructs, two additional constructs, namely food safety risks and environmental risks, were included based on relevant literature. Furthermore, the study explores the moderating role of social media celebrities (SMCs) in bridging the intention-behaviour gap in street food consumption behaviour.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected through an online survey, with 300 participants providing useable responses. Partial least squares (PLS) analysis was employed to analyse the data.FindingsThe findings indicate that out of the eight identified CDMS, six styles, specifically recreational (hedonistic shopping consciousness), price consciousness, novelty-seeking, impulsiveness, confusion due to over-choice and brand loyalty, significantly influence consumers' intention to consume street foods. Additionally, the results support the moderating role of SMCs. This suggests that the presence and influence of SMCs play a significant role in shaping consumers' intention and behaviours towards street food consumption.Originality/valueThis study contributes significantly to the literature by adding two additional constructs, namely safety risks and environmental risks in CDMS. Moreover, this study fulfils the intention-behaviour gap in street food literature by exploring the moderation effect of SMCs.

Travel Dining Experiencescape: A Comparative Evaluation of Dining Experiences in Restaurants and P2P Dining

The emergence of P2P dining services has fundamentally altered consumer experiences in tourism gastronomy. Despite an increase in experience-related research in the sharing economy, existing literature focuses almost exclusively on P2P accommodation, with an obvious neglect of P2P dining. The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of experiential consumption underlying restaurants and P2P dining services. A survey of 640 international travelers who dined in restaurants or P2P dining facilities in South Africa, reveals that P2P dining outperformed restaurants in several domains in the provision of most experience dimensions. The study demonstrates that the dimensions of ethical consumerism and hospitableness represent valuable additions to Pine and Gilmore’s original experience economy construct. The study points out the necessity to create an expansive experiential proposition that goes beyond Pine and Gilmore’s original experience economy construct (e.g., storytelling) to evoke positive emotions and subsequent behavioral intentions for travelers.

Parameter estimation of biased harmonic signal

This paper deals with the problem of asymptotically estimating amplitude, frequency and phase of a sinusoidal signal by adopting the theory of invariant relations proposed in analytical mechanics [8] and further investigated in [9, 10] (see also [11]). The problem of frequency, amplitude and phase estimation of a sinusoidal signal has attracted a remarkable research attention in the past and current literature. The reasons of this interest rely on several engineering applications where an effective and robust solution to this problem is crucial. To mention few, it is worth mentioning problems of harmonic disturbance compensation in automatic control, design of phase-looked loop circuits in telecommunication, adaptive filtering in signal processing, etc. In principle, the method of least squares, Fourier analysis, Laplace transform provide a potential solution to the corresponding problems. However, these methods may not be suitable, for example, for control algorithms with real-time data processing. The goal of this paper is to suggest a further contribution to this task by showing how to solve the problem at hand through the observer’s theory. The method of invariant relations is used for the asymptotically observation scheme design. This aproach is based on dynamical extension of original system and construct of appropriate invariant relations, from which the unknowns variables can be expressed as a functions of the known quantities on the trajectories of extended system. The final synthesis is carried out from the condition of obtaining asymptotic estimates of unknown parameters. It is shown that an asymptotic estimate of the unknown states can be obtained by rendering attractive an appropriately selected invariant manifold in the extended state space. The asymptotic convergence of the estimates of the sought phase vector components to their true value is proved. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method of solving the state observation problem of the harmonic oscillator. It should be noted that a more general approach, which forms an appropriate method for solving observation problems for nonlinear dynamical systems due to the synthesis of invariant manifold, was proposed as a modification of the I&amp;I method (Input and Invariance) of stabilization of nonlinear systems in [12, 13].

Development of the Short-Form Yin Deficiency Scale Using Three Item Reduction Approaches.

Yin deficiency (YD) is a pathological condition characterized by emaciation, afternoon fever, dry mouth, and night sweats. The incidence of YD is 23.3%. A 27-item Yin Deficiency Scale (YDS) was developed to estimate the clinical severity of YD. This study aimed to develop three short-form YDS versions to reduce the burden of response time, using three item-reduction approaches: Rasch, equidiscriminatory item-total correlation (EITC), and factor-based analyses. Two datasets were analyzed from previous studies (169 outpatients from May to June 2009 and 237 healthy college students from January to April 2016). The optimal response category was examined using Rasch analysis. Items with higher item-total correlations were determined using the EITC. Using a factor-based approach, the items were reduced, while maintaining the original YDS construct. Reliability was estimated using the person separation index (PSI) and Cronbach's α values. The predictive accuracy was examined using the area under the curve (AUC). Finally, the relationship between YD and dysfunctional breathing (DB) was examined using factor scores from the YDS and the Korean version of the Nijmegen Questionnaire (KNQ). We developed two 14-item YDS versions using the Rasch and EITC approaches, and a 16-item YDS version using a factor-based approach. Rasch analysis suggested an optimal response category of five points. The PSI of Rasch and Cronbach's α of the EITC and factor-based versions were 2.19, 0.855, and 0.827. The AUCs of the three short-form YDS were 0.812, 0.811, and 0.818. The sensitivity of the EITC-YDS was 0.632, which was lower than its specificity of 0.875. The fatigue-related scores of the factor-based YDS were fairly correlated with the factor scores of the KNQ estimating the DB (r = 0.349-0.499). The 14-item Rasch- and 16-item factor-based YDS may replace the original YDS during YD's primary screening, epidemiological surveys, and health checkups.

Stereo Matching Method for Remote Sensing Images Based on Attention and Scale Fusion

With the development of remote sensing satellite technology for Earth observation, remote sensing stereo images have been used for three-dimensional reconstruction in various fields, such as urban planning and construction. However, remote sensing images often contain noise, occluded regions, untextured areas, and repeated textures, which can lead to reduced accuracy in stereo matching and affect the quality of 3D reconstruction results. To reduce the impact of complex scenes in remote sensing images on stereo matching and to ensure both speed and accuracy, we propose a new end-to-end stereo matching network based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs). The proposed stereo matching network can learn features at different scales from the original images and construct cost volumes with varying scales to obtain richer scale information. Additionally, when constructing the cost volume, we introduce negative disparity to adapt to the common occurrence of both negative and non-negative disparities in remote sensing stereo image pairs. For cost aggregation, we employ a 3D convolution-based encoder–decoder structure that allows the network to adaptively aggregate information. Before feature aggregation, we also introduce an attention module to retain more valuable feature information, enhance feature representation, and obtain a higher-quality disparity map. By training on the publicly available US3D dataset, we obtain an accuracy of 1.115 pixels in end-point error (EPE) and 5.32% in the error pixel ratio (D1) on the test dataset, and the inference speed is 92 ms. Comparing our model with existing state-of-the-art models, we achieve higher accuracy, and the network is beneficial for the three-dimensional reconstruction of remote sensing images.

Reflecting on the conceptual core and developing a short version of international posture

International posture (IP) is a construct postulated by Yashima (2002) to capture attitudes toward international communities, including readiness to approach and communicate with intercultural partners, interest in international affairs, and willingness to go overseas to stay and work, which are believed to relate to L2 learning motivation. A recent comprehensive review of 66 studies by Botes et al. (2020) identified IP's usefulness and raised certain issues. To address these concerns, this study aims to develop a short version of IP, while maintaining the conceptual core of the original construct, namely: a) Focusing on motivation to learn an L2 as a lingua franca without a clear target population to identify with; b) Addressing both integrative and instrumental motives to learn an L2 that can coexist in learners; and c) Capturing multiple dimensions that comprise the overarching concept of IP. We report the process of developing a 10-item short version of IP with exploratory factor analyses, validation of item selection, and confirmatory factor analyses of the 10 selected items, which show the same structures as the original longer version. Subsequently, correlations as well as structural equation modeling procedures confirmed the nomological position and construct validity of the short scale vis-à-vis motivation-related constructs.

Psychometric Properties of the Quality of Life Questionnaire - Cervical Cancer 24 (QLQ CX 24) Translation to Serbian

Abstract Cancer of the cervix has a progressive character and is one of the most significant public health problems in many countries. Our research aimed to translate EORTC QLQ CX 24 (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer; Quality of life questionnaire-cervical cancer 24) from English to Serbian, to create essential cultural adaptations and to analyze psychometric properties of the translation in a model of female inpatients with cancer of the cervix. The QLQ CX 24 was translated and adapted according to internationally established guidelines, and then tested on a sample of 100 Serbian females with cancer of the cervix. The testing was repeated three times on the same patients. We calculated the internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha), criterion validity, convergent validity, and discriminative validity of the QLQ CX 24. We used factor analysis to discover the original construct. The Serbian translation of QLQ CX 24 showed good internal consistency, showed satisfactory reliability, and temporal stability. In the first, when was rated by the investigators Cronbach’s alpha was 0.607, and one month later when the questionnaire also was rated by investigators Cronbach’s alpha was 0.696. When the scale was rated by females themselves Cronbach’s alpha was 0.802. Divergent as well as convergent validity tests had good results. The factorial analysis exposed six domains. The Serbian translation of QLQ CX 24 is a trustworthy and appropriate specific instrument for measuring the quality of life in females with cervical cancer.

Loss of Foreign DNA Inserts from Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus Vectors—Potential Consequences for Use in Functional Genomics Studies

Barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV)-based vectors are frequently used in virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) and, more recently, viral overexpression (VOX) studies in wheat. Two general strategies are employed to initiate infection in wheat plants with BSMV in VIGS and VOX studies. One method involves the direct infection of wheat using viral RNA produced via the in vitro transcription of BSMV constructs. The second class utilizes viral replication in an intermediate host plant to produce large amounts of BSMV viral particles that are then used to inoculate wheat plants. This study was designed to examine the potential for BSMV-VIGS constructs to rearrange during replication in the intermediate host and result in initiating the VIGS studies with a virus that is significantly different from the original experimental construct. It is shown that in the case of BSMV-VIGS constructs harboring a PDS-silencing fragment, significant rearrangement can occur during replication in the intermediate host that has the potential to introduce artifactual experimental outcomes.

What factors influence the intention to use electric motorcycles in motorcycle-dominated countries? An empirical study in Vietnam

Transitioning to electric motorcycles (EMs) can reduce dependence on carbon-based fuels, mitigate air pollution, and lower greenhouse gas emissions in countries where motorcycles dominate the transportation landscape. However, the factors influencing fleet electrification in these countries remain largely unknown. Given that this challenge pertains to the prior adoption of new technology, technology acceptance theories can provide valuable insights into the adoption of EMs. Additionally, misinformation about EM risks and self-assessment of knowledge could interact as determinants of adoption. This study integrates the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and perceived risk to elucidate the impact of psychosocial factors on consumers' intentions to use EMs. Furthermore, it examines the direct and moderating effect of subjective knowledge about EM technology on the formation of this behavioral intention. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis was applied to investigate data collected from 762 respondents through personal interviews using a questionnaire. The results confirm that all original TAM and TPB constructs significantly influence behavioral intention, aligning with theoretical expectations. As hypothesized, perceived risk was found to exert a negative influence on the intention to adopt EMs. Additionally, subjective knowledge was observed to moderate the relationship between perceived usefulness and subjective norms concerning the intention to use EMs. These findings offer a roadmap for developing strategies aimed at encouraging adoption intentions toward EMs, particularly in countries like Vietnam.

The Parenting Sense of Competence scale: Updating a classic.

The Parenting Sense of Competence (PSOC) is a self-report measure of parenting efficacy and satisfaction that is widely used by researchers and clinicians in many countries. Despite its popularity, there have been some criticisms of the instrument. The aims of the current study were to identify and address shortcomings of the PSOC and to produce a revised measure that reflected the original constructs and that demonstrated robust psychometric properties. The researchers examined the original PSOC and proposed changes to overcome identified issues. A sample of 3056 Australian mothers provided data for the revised instrument's factor structure and psychometric analyses. We identified a number of problems with the original instrument, including factorial inconsistency, and multipart or potentially ambiguous questions. Of particular concern was the fact that all negatively worded items load onto one subscale and all positively worded questions load onto the other subscale. In addressing these issues, we produced a 16-item instrument (the Parenting Sense of Competence-Revised; PSOC-R) with strong internal consistency, excellent test-retest reliability and good evidence of construct validity including factorial validity and criterion-related validity. The PSOC-R maintains the intent of the original measure in assessing parenting Efficacy (10 items) and Satisfaction (6 items). It represents improvements in item construction including reductions in complexity, with no multipart items and a lower reading level requirement than previously. Data across four child age groups enhance the instrument's clinical utility.

Production of Astaxanthin Using CBFD1/HFBD1 from Adonis aestivalis and the Isopentenol Utilization Pathway in Escherichia coli.

Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant and is used extensively as an animal feed additive and nutraceutical product. Here, we report the use of the β-carotene hydroxylase (CBFD1) and the β-carotene ketolase (HBFD1) from Adonis aestivalis, a flowering plant, to produce astaxanthin in E. coli equipped with the P. agglomerans β-carotene pathway and an over-expressed 4-methylerythritol-phosphate (MEP) pathway or the isopentenol utilization pathway (IUP). Introduction of the over-expressed MEP pathway and the IUP resulted in a 3.2-fold higher carotenoid content in LB media at 36 h post-induction compared to the strain containing only the endogenous MEP. However, in M9 minimal media, the IUP pathway dramatically outperformed the over-expressed MEP pathway with an 11-fold increase in total carotenoids produced. The final construct split the large operon into two smaller operons, both with a T7 promoter. This resulted in slightly lower productivity (70.0 ± 8.1 µg/g·h vs. 53.5 ± 3.8 µg/g·h) compared to the original constructs but resulted in the highest proportion of astaxanthin in the extracted carotenoids (73.5 ± 0.2%).