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Elastoinertial turbulence (EIT) is a chaotic state that emerges in the flows of dilute polymer solutions. Direct numerical simulation (DNS) of EIT is highly computationally expensive due to the need to resolve the multiscale nature of the system. While DNS of two-dimensional (2-D) EIT typically requires $O(10^6)$ degrees of freedom, we demonstrate here that a data-driven modelling framework allows for the construction of an accurate model with 50 degrees of freedom. We achieve a low-dimensional representation of the full state by first applying a viscoelastic variant of proper orthogonal decomposition to DNS results, and then using an autoencoder. The dynamics of this low-dimensional representation is learned using the neural ordinary differential equation (NODE) method, which approximates the vector field for the reduced dynamics as a neural network. The resulting low-dimensional data-driven model effectively captures short-time dynamics over the span of one correlation time, as well as long-time dynamics, particularly the self-similar, nested travelling wave structure of 2-D EIT in the parameter range considered.
Pearl millet is a climate-resilient grain and forage crop. Weeds pose a major constraint to its successful production. Limited herbicide options for grass weed control in pearl millet is a serious problem. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate the sensitivity of pearl millet parental lines to POST-applied clethodim (136 g ai ha−1), quizalofop-p-ethyl (QPE) (77 ai g ha−1), imazamox (52 g ai ha−1), and nicosulfuron (70 g ai ha−1) and (2) to characterize the sensitivity of selected lines to imazamox and nicosulfuron. A total of 56 parental lines were tested. Three lines with low sensitivity to imazamox (ARCH35R, 45R, and 73R), two to nicosulfuron (ARCH45R and 73R), one line with high sensitivity (ARCH21B), and a susceptible sorghum (SOR) hybrid (P84G62) to both herbicides were characterized. All parental lines were sensitive to clethodim and QPE (only four lines showed 2% to 12% survival with 90% to 95% injury at 21 d after application [DAA]). However, all parental lines showed variable sensitivity to imazamox and nicosulfuron (70% to 100% survival with 5% to 70% visible injury and shoot dry biomass reduction at 21 DAA). Dose–response assays revealed that ARCH35R, 45R, and 49R had 7.7- to 12.2-fold and 3.2- to 12.2-fold reduced sensitivity to imazamox compared to ARCH21B and SOR, respectively. Similarly, ARCH45R and 49R had 2.5- to 6.0-fold and 1.5- to 3.7-fold reduced sensitivity to nicosulfuron compared to ARCH21B and SOR, respectively. These findings confirm the first report of reduced sensitivity to imazamox and nicosulfuron among pearl millet lines, suggesting their potential use for in-season grass weed control.
With wide-field phased array feed technology, the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) is ideally suited to search for seemingly rare radio transient sources that are difficult to discover previous-generation narrow-field telescopes. The Commensal Real-time ASKAP Fast Transient (CRAFT) Survey Science Project has developed instrumentation to continuously search for fast radio transients (duration $\lesssim$ 1 s) with ASKAP, with a particular focus on finding and localising fast radio bursts (FRBs). Since 2018, the CRAFT survey has been searching for FRBs and other fast transients by incoherently adding the intensities received by individual ASKAP antennas, and then correcting for the impact of frequency dispersion on these short-duration signals in the resultant incoherent sum (ICS) in real time. This low-latency detection enables the triggering of voltage buffers, which facilitates the localisation of the transient source and the study of spectro-polarimetric properties at high time resolution. Here we report the sample of 43 FRBs discovered in this CRAFT/ICS survey to date. This includes 22 FRBs that had not previously been reported: 16 FRBs localised by ASKAP to $\lesssim 1$ arcsec and 6 FRBs localised to $\sim 10$ arcmin. Of the new arcsecond-localised FRBs, we have identified and characterised host galaxies (and measured redshifts) for 11. The median of all 30 measured host redshifts from the survey to date is $z=0.23$. We summarise results from the searches, in particular those contributing to our understanding of the burst progenitors and emission mechanisms, and on the use of bursts as probes of intervening media. We conclude by foreshadowing future FRB surveys with ASKAP using a coherent detection system that is currently being commissioned. This will increase the burst detection rate by a factor of approximately ten and also the distance to which ASKAP can localise FRBs.
Prediction of dynamic environmental variables in unmonitored sites remains a long-standing challenge for water resources science. The majority of the world’s freshwater resources have inadequate monitoring of critical environmental variables needed for management. Yet, the need to have widespread predictions of hydrological variables such as river flow and water quality has become increasingly urgent due to climate and land use change over the past decades, and their associated impacts on water resources. Modern machine learning methods increasingly outperform their process-based and empirical model counterparts for hydrologic time series prediction with their ability to extract information from large, diverse data sets. We review relevant state-of-the art applications of machine learning for streamflow, water quality, and other water resources prediction and discuss opportunities to improve the use of machine learning with emerging methods for incorporating watershed characteristics and process knowledge into classical, deep learning, and transfer learning methodologies. The analysis here suggests most prior efforts have been focused on deep learning frameworks built on many sites for predictions at daily time scales in the United States, but that comparisons between different classes of machine learning methods are few and inadequate. We identify several open questions for time series predictions in unmonitored sites that include incorporating dynamic inputs and site characteristics, mechanistic understanding and spatial context, and explainable AI techniques in modern machine learning frameworks.
PRKN-related parkinsonism represents one of the most common types of genetically determined Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, the literature among the Asian ethnicity, particularly in the Indian context, is limited.
Objective:
To study the clinico-genetic profile of patients with PRKN-related parkinsonism and to review the previously reported cases of PRKN-related parkinsonism from Asia.
Methods:
A retrospective chart review from a tertiary neurology centre of patients with genetically confirmed PRKN-related parkinsonism. Additionally, we consolidated the Asian cohort from a detailed systematic review of the literature. We utilised the Movement Disorders Society gene cohort for comparison with the world literature.
Results:
We recruited 16 cases (males = 10, Early onset Parkinson disease (21 to <50 years age at onset)) of PRKN-related parkinsonism with a median age at onset of 28.5 years (range 14–46). Symptoms included parkinsonism (n = 15), dystonia (n = 10), postural instability (n = 7), freezing of gait (n = 5) and non-motor symptoms (NMS) (n = 10). The commonest symptom at onset was tremors (n = 10). Levodopa responsiveness was observed in all cases with drug-induced dyskinesia in eight (50%). Thirteen cases were homozygous, while three were compound heterozygotes, resulting in 19 variants (novel = 5). Exon deletion was the most common (n = 12). The extended Asian cohort comprising 294 cases had a high prevalence of EOPD (n = 186/257, 72.4%) and familial cases (n = 166/252, 65.9%). Deletion/duplication was the common mutation detected (n = 215, 73.1%). The presumed familial cases had a significantly higher frequency of rest tremors, bradykinesia, postural instability, NMS, dyskinesia and sleep disorders.
Conclusion:
This largest single-centre study from India adds 16 new cases and five novel variants to PRKN literature. In addition, it consolidates the Asian cohort of PRKN elucidating its unique attributes.
This work studies upper-limb impairment resulting from stroke or traumatic brain injury and presents a simple technological solution for a subset of patients: a soft, active stretching aid for at-home use. To better understand the issues associated with existing associated rehabilitation devices, customer discovery conversations were conducted with 153 people in the healthcare ecosystem (60 patients, 30 caregivers, and 63 medical providers). These patients fell into two populations: spastic (stiff, clenched hands) and flaccid (limp hands). Focusing on the first category, a set of design constraints was developed based on the information collected from the customer discovery. With these constraints in mind, a powered wrist-hand stretching orthosis (exoskeleton) was designed and prototyped as a preclinical study (T0 basic science research) to aid in recovery. The orthosis was tested on two patients for proof-of-concept, one survivor of stroke and one of traumatic brain injury. The prototype was able to consistently open both patients’ hands. A mathematical model was developed to characterize joint stiffness based on experimental testing. Donning and doffing times for the prototype averaged 76 and 12.5 s, respectively, for each subject unassisted. This compared favorably to times shown in the literature. This device benefits from simple construction and low-cost materials and is envisioned to become a therapy device accessible to patients in the home. This work lays the foundation for phase 1 clinical trials and further device development.
In order to recognize the best nutrient supply options for profitable and sustainable production systems, observations were recorded from 2001 to 2020 (20 years) in a long-term fertilizer experiment initiated in 1995–96 with soybean–wheat cropping systems (SWCSs) under irrigated conditions. The experiment comprised of seven treatments including control, organic, inorganic and their combinations. A combined use of 10 Mg farmyard manure (FYM)/ha (M) along with 120 kg N/ha provided statistically (P < 0.05) similar yield and economic benefits to the M + NPK and also provided a positive yield trend (30.0 and 16.2 kg/ha/year) and net return (14.7 and 5.81 US$/ha/year) over the year in both wheat and soybean, respectively. The combined use of organic and chemical fertilizers, provided 32–41% higher production efficiency than their individual use. In contrast, long-term chemical fertilization provided a negative yield trend in both the crops with the highest reduction in sole N-fertilized plots ranged from −39 to −42 kg/ha/year. Water-use efficiency ranged from 3.20 to 12.3 kg/ha/mm in soybean–wheat rotation and increased almost 1.74–3.15 times in wheat and 1.30–1.80 times in soybean due to fertilizer application. A similar trend was observed for water-expense efficiency and remain closely associated with fertilization practice. Long-term chemical fertilizers declined the yield potential of the studied crops while their conjoint application with FYM in the winter season considered as an input efficient approach to sustain the overall productivity and profitability of SWCSs.
Blast waves have been produced in solid target by irradiation with short-pulse high-intensity lasers. The mechanism of production relies on energy deposition from the hot electrons produced by laser–matter interaction, producing a steep temperature gradient inside the target. Hot electrons also produce preheating of the material ahead of the blast wave and expansion of the target rear side, which results in a complex blast wave propagation dynamic. Several diagnostics have been used to characterize the hot electron source, the induced preheating and the velocity of the blast wave. Results are compared to numerical simulations. These show how blast wave pressure is initially very large (more than 100 Mbar), but it decreases very rapidly during propagation.
This paper reviews the existing literature to identify specific challenges that may arise in the context of providing palliative and end-of-life (EOL) care for Hindu patients in the physical, psychological, and spiritual domains. We offer practical strategies where appropriate to mitigate some of these challenges. We review how the Hindu faith impacts EOL decision-making, including the role of the family in decision-making, completion of advance directives, pain management, and decisions around artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Methods
The PubMed, MEDLINE Complete, Cochrane, and Embase databases were searched for articles using the search strings combinations of keywords such as Palliative care, Hindu, Hinduism, End of Life Care, India, Spirituality, and South Asian. Once inclusion criteria were applied, 40 manuscripts were eligible for review.
Results
Our results are organized into the following 4 sections – how Hindu religious or spiritual beliefs intersect with the physical, psychological, and spiritual domains: and decision-making at the EOL.
Significance of results
Hindu beliefs, in particular the role of karma, were shown to impact decision-making regarding pain management, ANH and CPR, and advance directive completion. The complexity of Hindu thought leaves a significant role for interpretation and flexibility for individual factors in decision-making at the EOL.
Elastoinertial turbulence (EIT) is a chaotic flow resulting from the interplay between inertia and viscoelasticity in wall-bounded shear flows. Understanding EIT is important because it is thought to set a limit on the effectiveness of turbulent drag reduction in polymer solutions. Here, we analyse simulations of two-dimensional EIT in channel flow using spectral proper orthogonal decomposition (SPOD), discovering a family of travelling wave structures that capture the sheetlike stress fluctuations that characterise EIT. The frequency-dependence of the leading SPOD mode contains distinct peaks and the mode structures corresponding to these peaks exhibit well-defined travelling structures. The structure of the dominant travelling mode exhibits shift–reflect symmetry similar to the viscoelasticity-modified Tollmien–Schlichting (TS) wave, where the velocity fluctuation in the travelling mode is characterised by large-scale regular structures spanning the channel and the polymer stress field is characterised by thin, inclined sheets of high polymer stress localised at the critical layers near the channel walls. The travelling structures corresponding to the higher-frequency modes have a very similar structure, but are nested in a region roughly bounded by the critical layer positions of the next-lower-frequency mode. A simple theory based on the idea that the critical layers of mode $\kappa$ form the ‘walls’ for the structure of mode $\kappa +1$ yields quantitative agreement with the observed wave speeds and critical layer positions, indicating self-similarity between the structures. The physical idea behind this theory is that the sheetlike localised stress fluctuations in the critical layer prevent velocity fluctuations from penetrating them.
Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) is distinguished by a pathognomonic cyclic pattern of hyperemesis characterized by recurring episodes of severe vomiting every few weeks to months, as well as obsessive thoughts and compulsive behavior, such as a proclivity to take frequent hot baths or showers. It is largely accepted as the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States, with estimates ranging from 42% to 46% lifetime consumption. Despite greater awareness of CHS, practitioners continue to lack comprehension, resulting in an unfortunate delay in patient identification and treatment.
Objectives
The aim of this article is to bring attention to CHS in order to enable clinicians, and more specifically, addiction medicine specialists and psychiatrists, to diagnose it as quickly as possible and thus avoid unnecessary additional invasive examinations and investigations. This will save the patient’s time, prevent financial burdens and mental health stresses, and increase their overall quality of life.
Methods
A thorough screening and data extraction of the relevant articles was conducted using PubMed, Cochrane, and Embase. Databases were used to search for articles on CHS published between January 2021 and September 2023, yielding relevant articles. Keywords used were “hyperemesis”, “cyclical vomiting,” “cannabis” and “cannabinoid”.
Results
We present a case of 20-year-old teens who came to emergency with severe dehydration and vomiting of more than 40 episodes at home. He had multiple admissions for abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting in the past and was evaluated and diagnosed with gastritis, PUD, and H. pylori infection. A more detailed medical history revealed a frequent use of cannabis over the past few years and symptoms manifestation and worsening is associated with the use of cannabis. After the complete cessation of cannabis, there have been no new symptomatic episodes reported in the patient and the patient is stable clinically.
Conclusions
Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) is a serious health hazard that requires immediate discovery and treatment. Despite the widespread use of cannabis, CHS is often misdiagnosed, resulting in unnecessary medical treatments and complications for patients. Given their special knowledge of linking chronic cannabis use to this syndrome, this case report and literature review highlight the critical role of addiction medicine experts and psychiatrists in quickly detecting and treating CHS. Early detection and treatment, particularly complete cannabis abstinence, are critical in alleviating symptoms, minimizing recurrent hospitalizations, and ultimately improving patients’ overall quality of life.
Addiction medicine is becoming more of an issue as addiction-related problems continue to plague people all over the globe, resulting in serious health consequences. Addiction has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, as have addiction-related disorders. For efficient care and improved patient outcomes, this growing pandemic requires early and precise identification. In the field of addiction medicine, artificial intelligence (AI) looks to be a feasible tool. This systematic review examines the current state of research on the use of AI in addiction medicine, including a variety of AI techniques, their efficiency compared to conventional diagnostic methods, and their potential influence on addiction therapy. While AI has great potential for transforming addiction treatment, further research is needed to assess its use fully.
Objectives
The objective of this review is to assess the current state of research on the use of artificial intelligence in addiction medicine, focusing on its diagnostic efficacy and potential for revolutionizing addiction therapy.
Methods
To evaluate the effectiveness of AI in addiction medicine, we conducted an extensive search of the PubMed database. Our search encompassed articles published in the English language from January 2013 to March 2023. Inclusion criteria encompassed studies reporting the utilization of AI for addiction diagnosis in human patients.
Results
The initial PubMed search produced 100 papers, of which 15 were included after meticulous analysis and screening. These studies assessed diverse types of data, including patient records and behavioral patterns, employing various AI techniques, such as machine learning and deep learning. The findings indicate that AI can accurately and swiftly identify addiction-related issues, boasting high sensitivity and specificity rates. Additionally, AI demonstrates potential in identifying specific addiction subtypes and forecasting patient outcomes. Nevertheless, these studies also underscore certain limitations of AI, such as the requirement for extensive data and susceptibility to overfitting.
Conclusions
Artificial intelligence holds the potential to revolutionize addiction medicine by enabling faster and more precise diagnostics, pinpointing specific addiction subtypes, and predicting patient outcomes. However, further research is imperative to validate AI’s efficacy across diverse patient populations and address challenges related to data accessibility, communication, and integration into clinical practice.
We report the results of our analysis of six gravity-mode pulsating hot subdwarf stars observed in the short cadence mode by Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. We detected at least 10 pulsation periods in each star, searched for multiplets, and used an asymptotic period spacing to identify modes. We used a grid of evolutionary and pulsation models calculated with the MESA and GYRE, along with spectroscopic parameters and modal degree identification, to derive the physical properties of the stars. We checked the relation between the helium content and pulsations and found that no pulsator exists among the extremely helium-rich hot subdwarfs, while the number of detected pulsators in other helium groups increases as the helium content decreases. We found p- and g-mode hot subdwarfs pulsators in all Galactic populations.
NASA’s all-sky survey mission, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), is specifically engineered to detect exoplanets that transit bright stars. Thus far, TESS has successfully identified approximately 400 transiting exoplanets, in addition to roughly 6 000 candidate exoplanets pending confirmation. In this study, we present the results of our ongoing project, the Validation of Transiting Exoplanets using Statistical Tools (VaTEST). Our dedicated effort is focused on the confirmation and characterisation of new exoplanets through the application of statistical validation tools. Through a combination of ground-based telescope data, high-resolution imaging, and the utilisation of the statistical validation tool known as TRICERATOPS, we have successfully discovered eight potential super-Earths. These planets bear the designations: TOI-238b (1.61$^{+0.09} _{-0.10}$ R$_\oplus$), TOI-771b (1.42$^{+0.11} _{-0.09}$ R$_\oplus$), TOI-871b (1.66$^{+0.11} _{-0.11}$ R$_\oplus$), TOI-1467b (1.83$^{+0.16} _{-0.15}$ R$_\oplus$), TOI-1739b (1.69$^{+0.10} _{-0.08}$ R$_\oplus$), TOI-2068b (1.82$^{+0.16} _{-0.15}$ R$_\oplus$), TOI-4559b (1.42$^{+0.13} _{-0.11}$ R$_\oplus$), and TOI-5799b (1.62$^{+0.19} _{-0.13}$ R$_\oplus$). Among all these planets, six of them fall within the region known as ‘keystone planets’, which makes them particularly interesting for study. Based on the location of TOI-771b and TOI-4559b below the radius valley we characterised them as likely super-Earths, though radial velocity mass measurements for these planets will provide more details about their characterisation. It is noteworthy that planets within the size range investigated herein are absent from our own solar system, making their study crucial for gaining insights into the evolutionary stages between Earth and Neptune.
Tight focusing with very small f-numbers is necessary to achieve the highest at-focus irradiances. However, tight focusing imposes strong demands on precise target positioning in-focus to achieve the highest on-target irradiance. We describe several near-infrared, visible, ultraviolet and soft and hard X-ray diagnostics employed in a ∼1022 W/cm2 laser–plasma experiment. We used nearly 10 J total energy femtosecond laser pulses focused into an approximately 1.3-μm focal spot on 5–20 μm thick stainless-steel targets. We discuss the applicability of these diagnostics to determine the best in-focus target position with approximately 5 μm accuracy (i.e., around half of the short Rayleigh length) and show that several diagnostics (in particular, 3$\omega$ reflection and on-axis hard X-rays) can ensure this accuracy. We demonstrated target positioning within several micrometers from the focus, ensuring over 80% of the ideal peak laser intensity on-target. Our approach is relatively fast (it requires 10–20 laser shots) and does not rely on the coincidence of low-power and high-power focal planes.
Twenty-nine exotic common bean germplasms and three elite cultivars were examined for phenotypic diversity in two bean-producing environments (Kanpur and Shimla) across three winter seasons and one rainy season. The estimate of genetic variability parameters revealed that the exotic bean germplasm has enough diversity for all the evaluated features. The highest genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation were found in seed yield, followed by 100-seed weight, pods per plant and pod length. Furthermore, seed yield was the most heritable and genetically advanced quantitative feature, followed by 100-seed weight, pod length and pods per plant. According to a trait association study, the days to maturity of phenological traits have a strong positive correlation with the days to initial flowering and the days to 50% flowering. Pods per plant and seeds per pod most strongly influence increased grain yield. The first two principal components accounted for 63.3% of the variation and demonstrated significant diversity among exotic bean lines for the traits studied, according to the principal component analysis. According to the hierarchical clustering analysis, 29 accessions and three cultivars were divided into three groups. Cluster I contains early flowering and maturing accessions, while cluster III contains high pods per plant and an increased grain yield of germplasms. The fundamental source of phenological fluctuations in both environmental circumstances is temperature. This study found four genetically divergent and stable performance accessions, including EC932021, EC932189 (earliness), and EC931452, EC931971 (high grain yield), which may aid in the establishment of a bean breeding programme.
The Eighth World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery (WCPCCS) will be held in Washington DC, USA, from Saturday, 26 August, 2023 to Friday, 1 September, 2023, inclusive. The Eighth World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery will be the largest and most comprehensive scientific meeting dedicated to paediatric and congenital cardiac care ever held. At the time of the writing of this manuscript, The Eighth World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery has 5,037 registered attendees (and rising) from 117 countries, a truly diverse and international faculty of over 925 individuals from 89 countries, over 2,000 individual abstracts and poster presenters from 101 countries, and a Best Abstract Competition featuring 153 oral abstracts from 34 countries. For information about the Eighth World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, please visit the following website: [www.WCPCCS2023.org]. The purpose of this manuscript is to review the activities related to global health and advocacy that will occur at the Eighth World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery.
Acknowledging the need for urgent change, we wanted to take the opportunity to bring a common voice to the global community and issue the Washington DC WCPCCS Call to Action on Addressing the Global Burden of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Diseases. A copy of this Washington DC WCPCCS Call to Action is provided in the Appendix of this manuscript. This Washington DC WCPCCS Call to Action is an initiative aimed at increasing awareness of the global burden, promoting the development of sustainable care systems, and improving access to high quality and equitable healthcare for children with heart disease as well as adults with congenital heart disease worldwide.
14CO2 activity in air samples collected at Kakrapar Gujarat Site, India, was measured, and site-specific dilution factor for 14CO2 has been evaluated. 14CO2 activity in air samples was monitored for 72 different sampling events at onsite stack of Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and at ESL meteorology laboratory (at 1.6 km from NPP stack). 14CO2 activity in air at stack of NPP and at ESL meteorology laboratory was observed to 0.10–0.18 TBq (GWe.year)–1, with mean value 0.12 TBq (GWe.year)–1 and ≤0.04–0.13 Bq m–3, with mean value 0.08 Bq m–3 respectively. The results were correlated with meteorological parameters. Site specific dilution factor for 14CO2 in air was evaluated at 1.6 km and was found to be in the range of 4.6E-05 to 21E-05 s m–3. Inter angle (degree) between plume direction and fixed sampling location and rainfall (mm) are found to be the important influencing parameters for dilution factor of 14CO2 in air.
For forthcoming wireless applications, a small and highly decoupled complementary split ring resonators (CSRR)–loaded co-planar waveguide (CPW)–fed antenna for dual-band applications is investigated. The low-profile antenna consists of a CSRR-loaded rectangular radiating element with a truncated bottom, giving a wideband performance over the frequency ranges of 5.28–5.52 GHz and 6–7.2 GHz. The antenna has been printed on a widely used FR4 substrate measuring 7.5 × 10.5 × 1.6 mm3 in volume. This research’s suggested antenna is turned into a 4 × 4 multi input multi output (MIMO) construction using a 25 × 25 mm2 printed circuit board. Individual antennas were isolated by nearly 20 dB without using a decoupling device. The antenna has been built, and the measured and simulated results correspond well. Computing envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), channel capacity (CC), and channel capacity loss (CCL) further validates the antenna’s performance (−). The antenna has an overall gain of around 2.54 dBi and a radiation efficiency of approximately 89% throughout the relevant spectral range, which is much better for wireless applications. The suggested antenna’s omnidirectional emission pattern makes it a potential contender for future wireless and cellular applications.
There are no conclusive findings about the possible protective role of religion on students’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, more research is needed.
Objectives
The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between the level of emotional distress and religiosity among students from 7 different countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
Data were collected by an online cross-sectional survey that was distributed amongst Polish (N = 1196), Bengali (N = 1537), Indian (N = 483), Mexican (N = 231), Egyptian (N = 565), Philippine (N = 2062), and Pakistani (N = 506) students (N = 6642) from 12th April to 1st June 2021. The respondents were asked several questions regarding their religiosity which was measured by The Duke University Religion Index (DUREL), the emotional distress was measured by the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21).
Results
Egypt with Islam as the dominant religion showed the greatest temple attendance (organizational religious activity: M=5.27±1.36) and spirituality (intrinsic religiosity: M=5.27±1.36), p<0.0001. On another hand, Egyptian students had the lowest emotional distress measured in all categories DASS-21 (depression: M=4.87±10.17, anxiety: M=4.78±10.13, stress: M=20.76±11.46). Two countries with the dominant Christian religion achieved the highest score for private religious activities (non-organizational religious activity; Mexico: M=3.94±0.94, Poland: M=3.63±1.20; p<0.0001) and experienced a moderate level of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress. Students from Mexico presented the lowest attendance to church (M=2.46±1,39) and spirituality (M=6.68± 3.41) and had the second highest level of depressive symptoms (M=19.13±13.03) and stress (M=20.27±1.98). Philippines students had the highest DASS-21 score (depression: M=22.77±12.58, anxiety: M=16.07±10.77, stress: M=4.87±10.08) and their level of religiosity reached average values in the whole group. The performed regression analysis confirmed the importance of the 3 dimensions (organizational religious activity, non-organizational religious activity, intrinsic religiosity) of religiosity for the well-being of students, except for the relationship between anxiety and private religious activities. The result was as presented for depression: R2=0.0398, F(3.664)=91.764, p<0.0001, SE of E: 12.88; anxiety: R2=0.0124, F(3.664)=27.683, p<0.0001, SE of E: 10,62; stress: R2= 0.0350, F(3.664)=80.363, p<0.0001, SE of E: 12.30.
Conclusions
The higher commitment to organizational religious activity, non-organizational religious activity, and intrinsic religiositywas correlated with the lower level of depressive symptoms, stress, and anxiety among students during the COVID-19 pandemic, but taking into account factors related to religiosity explains the level of emotional well-being to a small extent.