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Problematic internet use, especially in people with substance use disorder, may negatively affect their quality of life (QoL). However, it is unclear whether sleep quality is a key mediator in the association between problematic internet use and QoL among people with substance use disorder.
Aims
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between problematic internet use and QoL and how sleep quality may mediate the association between these two variables.
Method
Overall, 319 people (85% male) with substance use disorder (mean age 42.2 years, s.d. 8.9) participated in a cross-sectional study in Taiwan. The Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale, Bergan Social Media Addiction Scale, Internet Gaming Disorder-Short Form, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire Brief Version were used.
Results
The prevalence of sleep problems was 56%. There were significant and direct associations between sleep quality and two types of problematic internet use, and between sleep quality and different dimensions of QoL. All types of problematic internet use were significantly and negatively correlated with QoL. Mediated effects of sleep quality in relationships between the different types of problematic internet use and all dimensions of QoL were significant, except for problematic use of social media.
Conclusions
Different types of problematic internet use in people with substance use disorder may be directly associated with reduced QoL. Sleep quality as a significant mediator in this association may be an underlying mechanism to explain pathways between problematic internet use and QoL in this population.
The Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) is a commonly used self-report to assess caregiver burden. A 12-item short form of the ZBI has been developed; however, its measurement invariance has not been examined across some different demographics. It is unclear whether different genders and educational levels of a population interpret the ZBI items similarly. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the measurement invariance of the 12-item ZBI across gender and educational levels in a Taiwanese sample.
Methods:
Caregivers who had a family member with dementia (n = 270) completed the ZBI through telephone interviews. Three confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models were conducted: Model 1 was the configural model, Model 2 constrained all factor loadings, Model 3 constrained all factor loadings and item intercepts. Multiple group CFAs and the differential item functioning (DIF) contrast under Rasch analyses were used to detect measurement invariance across males (n = 100) and females (n = 170) and across educational levels of junior high schools and below (n = 86) and senior high schools and above (n = 183).
Results:
The fit index differences between models supported the measurement invariance across gender and across educational levels (∆ comparative fit index (CFI) = −0.010 and 0.003; ∆ root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = −0.006 to 0.004). No substantial DIF contrast was found across gender and educational levels (value = −0.36 to 0.29).
Conclusions:
The ZBI is appropriate for combined use and for comparisons in caregivers across gender and different educational levels in Taiwan.
Localized synthesis of 3-8 nm Si nanocrystals (nc-Si) in PECVD-grown Si-rich SiO2 (SRSO) film is demonstrated using CO2 laser annealing at an intensity below the ablation-threshold (6.0 kW/cm2). At an optimized surface temperature of 1285°C, the precipitated nc-Si in CO2-laser-annealed SRSO film results in near-infrared photoluminescence (PL) at 806 nm, whereas the ablation damage induced at higher laser intensities as well as temperatures results in blue PL at 410 nm related to structural defects. The refractive index of the laser-annealed SRSO at 633 nm increases from 1.57 to 2.31 as the laser intensity increases from 1.5 to 6.0 kW/cm2. Transmission electron microscopy analysis reveals that the average size and volume density of Si nanocrystals embedded in the SRSO film are about 6 nm and 4.5×1016 cm-3, respectively. The CO2 laser annealing with controlled intensity and spot size can potentially accomplish in-situ, localized annealing of the SRSO film without causing irreversible damage to nearby electronics.
The optimized N2O fluence is demonstrated for plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of Si-rich substoichiometric silicon oxide (SiOx) films with buried Si nanocrystals. Strong room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) at 550-870 nm has been observed in SiOx films grown by PECVD under a constant SiH4 fluence of 20 sccm with an N2O fluence varying from 105 sccm to 130 sccm. A 22-nm-redshift in the central PL wavelength has been detected after annealing from 15 min to 180 min. The maximum PL irradiance is observed from the SiOx film grown at the optimal N2O fluence of 120 sccm after annealing for 30 minutes. Larger N2O fluence or longer annealing time leads to a PL band that is blue-shifted by 65 nm and 20 nm, respectively. Such a blue shift is attributed to shrinkage in the size of the Si nanocrystals with the participation of oxygen atoms from N2O incorporated within the SiOx matrix. The (220)-oriented Si nanocrystals exhibit radii ranging from 4.4 nm to 5.0 nm as determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The luminescent lifetime lengthens to 52 μs as the nc-Si size increase to > 4 nm. Optimal annealing times for SiOx films prepared at different N2O fluences are also reported. A longer annealing process results in a stronger oxidation effect in SiOx films prepared at higher N2O fluences, yielding a lower PL irradiance at shorter wavelengths. In contrast, larger Si nanocrystals can be precipitated when the N2O fluence becomes lower; however, such a SiOx film usually exhibits weaker PL at longer wavelength due to a lower nc-Si density. These results indicate that a N2O/SiH4 fluence ratio of 6:1 is the optimized PECVD growth condition for the Si-rich SiO2 wherein dense Si nanocrystals are obtained after annealing.
The excitation intensity dependency of nanocrystallite Si (nc-Si) related micro-photoluminescence (μ-PL) from the multi-recipe Si-implanted quartz is characterized. The μ-PL at 724 nm contributed by nc-Si with 3-4 nm diameter is maximized after annealing at 1100°C for 3 hours. By increasing the excitation intensity from 10 kW/cm2 to 300 kW/cm2, the μ-PLs of 1-hr and 3-hr annealed quartz significantly red-shift from 723 nm to 725 nm and from 724 nm to 735 nm, respectively. This can be explained by the anomalous quantum stark effect due to a surface electric field oriented from photo-ionized nc-Si dots to quartz surface. After 1-hr illumination at power of 300 kW/cm2, the μ-PL peak wavelength of 3-hr annealed sample is further red-shifted by 2.5 nm. By measuring the accumulated surface charges built up during optical excitation process, the correlation between excitation-intensity dependent PL wavelength red-shift and the photo-ionized nc-Si surface electric-field related quantum stark effect is primarily elucidated.
High-quality GaP, GaP@GaN and GaN@GaP nanowires were grown by a convenient vapor deposition technique. The wire-like and two-layers structures of GaP@GaN and GaN@GaP core-shell nanowires were clearly resolved using X-ray powder diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and their growth directions were identified. Photoluminescence intensity of GaP@GaN nanowires increased as temperature increased. The result was interpreted by the piezoelectric effect induced from lattice mismatch between two semiconductor layers. An unexpected peak at 386 cm-1 was found in the Raman spectra of GaN@GaP and assigned to a surface phonon mode due to the interface. Detailed synthetic conditions and possible growth mechanisms of those nanowires were proposed.