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We present a textual analysis that explains how Elon Musk's sentiments in his Twitter content correlates with price and volatility in the Bitcoin market using the dynamic conditional correlation-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity model, allowing less sensitive to window size than traditional models. After examining 10,850 tweets containing 157,378 words posted from December 2017 to May 2021 and rigorously controlling other determinants, we found that the tone of the world's wealthiest person can drive the Bitcoin market, having a Granger causal relation with returns. In addition, Musk is likely to use positive words in his tweets, and reversal effects exist in the relationship between Bitcoin prices and the optimism presented by Tesla's CEO. However, we did not find evidence to support linkage between Musk's sentiments and Bitcoin volatility. Our results are also robust when using a different cryptocurrency, i.e., Ether this paper extends the existing literature about the mechanisms of social media content generated by influential accounts on the Bitcoin market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The unprecedented COVID-19 experience has posed severe challenges to the health care system and several of these are documented in orthopaedic surgery; however, although the pandemic has also brought positive changes, these have not been precisely documented. The purpose of this survey is to identify positive perceptions by orthopaedic surgeons at an international level. Methods: A cross-sectional, web-based survey inviting 120 orthopaedic surgeons was conducted in April 2020 querying about the positive lessons COVID-19 would teach us. From all responses, thematic codes were obtained and an exploratory thematic analysis was carried out to determine the prevalent themes. Results: A total of 100 responses (83% response rate) from a total of seven countries were received. The variety of responses received were grouped into 13 different thematic codes. The thematic analysis generated two major themes: "Virtual reorganization" and "Wellness and sustainability". Fifty-four per cent of the participants reported positive changes in service reorganization and virtual consultation, whereas 30% replied with an increased feeling of well-being which overlapped with environmental benefits, including reduced paperwork, reduced travelling and increased quality time for family and reflection. Conclusions: Despite the negative aspects of the pandemic, responders reported several positive changes particularly relating to service reorganization and personal well-being. This study prompts further larger scale research to unravel further detail in those positive aspects and strongly enhance our future orthopaedic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under study are the closure properties for various classes of separable congruences (in particular, of equivalences) of numbered algebras on the natural numbers under the upper and lower bounds in the lattice of congruences. We show that the class of all positive congruences forms a sublattice whereas the classes of negative, computably separable, and separable congruences form a lower but not always an upper subsemilattice. It is shown that uniformly computably separable congruences can fail to form lower and upper semilattices. We give a characterization of semienumerable sets in terms of uniformly computably separable equivalences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foundation: from the positive psychology point of view, working with the infertile couple, who is inseminated, allows to enhance the positive emotions that favor the treatment and strengthen their resilient capacity that leads to greater psychological well-being to face this process. Objective: to apply a psychological intervention strategy in infertile couples during the artificial insemination process. Methods: prospective study, with a mixed approach, which included eleven couples undergoing artificial insemination treatment, treated at the Abel Santamaría Hospital Reproduction Center, in Pinar de Río, from December 2021 to April 2022. The essential route for localization and accessibility of the sample under study was the psychology consultation within the multidisciplinary commission that studies these couples. Clinical interviews, participant observation and psychometric tests were carried out. A psychological intervention strategy based on traditional psychology and positive psychology was applied. The resilience of the couples was measured before and after the intervention. Results: the intervention raised the resilience of infertile couples that are inseminated to medium-high values. It promoted the development of positive thoughts and emotional states, as well as the identification of personal and couple strengths. Conclusions: a psychological intervention strategy based on traditional and positive psychology contributes to increasing the infertile couples's resilience in the artificial insemination process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental disorders are major contributors to global burden of disease measured in Disability Adjusted Life Years (7% of all disease burden in 2017). Large treatment gaps for these disorders exist in all parts of the world. In India, overall treatment gap for mental disorders was found to be 83%. Women, children and adolescents, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ community, elderly and those living in remote and inaccessible areas have disproportionately higher rates of mental illness. They face unique and characteristic barriers to access to mental healthcare which increases treatment gap. These gaps have persisted despite global efforts and interventions to mitigate these barriers. Hence, there is a need to find alternatives to reduce mental health gap in these groups. Positive Mental Health interventions focuson well-being and health promoting activities, rather than on illness. The potential role of these interventions in promoting mental health and reducing treatment gap has been explored in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Adab Al-Kufa is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Colorectal cancer survivors have to develop coping strategies during the diagnosis and survivorship period. This study aims to identify coping strategies in patients with colorectal cancer, in particular the differences between coping strategies during the disease and throughout survival. It also aims to investigate the impact of some social determinants on coping strategies and critically reflect on the influence of positive psychology. Methods: Qualitative study with in-depth interviews of a purposive sample of 21 colorectal cancer survivors in Majorca (Spain), developed between 2017–2019. Data was analysed using interpretive thematic analysis. Results: We observed different coping strategies during the stages of disease and survival. However, striving toward acceptance and adaptation when facing difficulties and uncertainty, predominate in both stages. Confrontational attitudes are also considered important, as well as encouraging positive rather than negative feelings, which are considered unhelpful and to be avoided. Conclusions: Although coping during illness and survival can be classified into common categories (problem and emotion-centred strategies), the challenges of these stages are faced differently. Age, gender and the cultural influence of positive psychology strongly influence both stages and strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to describe the data and review conceptually about Technology Modernization for the Economic Development of Generation Alpha. This research uses a descriptive method by conducting a literature review and discussing it. Data were collected by reducing a certain amount of data from the relevant literature. The results showed that the digital economy in the era of generation alpha experienced positive developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contributions of economists have long included both positive explanations of how economic systems work and normative recommendations for how they could and should work better. In recent decades, economics has taken a strong empirical turn as well as having a greater appreciation of the importance of the complexities of real‐world human behaviour, institutions, the strengths and failures of markets, and interlinkages with other systems, including politics, technology, culture and the environment. This shift has also brought greater relevance and pragmatism to normative economics. While this shift towards evidence and pragmatism has been welcome, it does not in itself answer the core question of what exactly constitutes 'better', and for whom, and how to manage inevitable conflicts and trade‐offs in society. These have long been the core concerns of welfare economics. Yet, in the 1980s and 1990s, debates on welfare economics seemed to have become marginalised. The articles in this Fiscal Studies symposium engage with the question of how to revive normative questions as a central issue in economic scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental disorders are major contributors to global burden of disease measured in Disability Adjusted Life Years (7% of all disease burden in 2017). Large treatment gaps for these disorders exist in all parts of the world. In India, overall treatment gap for mental disorders was found to be 83%. Women, children and adolescents, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ community, elderly and those living in remote and inaccessible areas have disproportionately higher rates of mental illness. They face unique and characteristic barriers to access to mental healthcare which increases treatment gap. These gaps have persisted despite global efforts and interventions to mitigate these barriers. Hence, there is a need to find alternatives to reduce mental health gap in these groups. Positive Mental Health interventions focuson well-being and health promoting activities, rather than on illness. The potential role of these interventions in promoting mental health and reducing treatment gap has been explored in this article.

Abstract Background Unhealthy behaviors of coronary heart disease (CHD) patients are closely related to the occurrence of major heart events, which increases the readmission rate and brings a heavy economic burden to families and society. Therefore, it is necessary for health care workers to take active preventive and therapeutic measures to keep or establish healthy behaviors of patients. Positive psychological intervention has been proved to be effective, but it has not been reported in the field of CHD in China. The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of positive event recording based on positive psychology on the healthy behaviors, readmission rate, and anxiety of patients with CHD, in order to provide new ideas for the development of secondary prevention strategies for CHD. Methods This is a prospective, single-center, randomized controlled trial (RCT). The subjects will be enrolled from the Department of Cardiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University. There are 80 cases in total; according to the random number table, the subjects are randomly divided into the intervention group (n = 40) and the control group (n = 40). The patients in the intervention group will receive the intervention of recording positive events once a week for 3 months, while the patients in the control group receive conventional nursing. The primary outcomes will include healthy behaviors, readmission rate, and anxiety, and the secondary outcomes will include psychological capital, subjective well-being, and corresponding clinical laboratory indicators. The protocol was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Soochow University (approval no. SUDA20200604H01) and is performed in strict accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki formulated by the World Medical Association. All participants provide written informed consent. Discussion This study will verify whether positive event recording based on positive psychology can make patients maintain healthy behaviors, reduce readmission rate, and improve anxiety after PCI. Then, this study will provide new ideas and references for the development of secondary prevention strategies for patients with CHD. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trials Registry 2000034538. Registered on 10 July 2020.

Abstract Background According to the ActivityStat hypothesis more physical activity (PA) in one timespan is compensated by increased sedentary time (ST) in the following timespan and vice versa to maintain an overall stable PA level. Until now, existing literature revealed inconsistent results regarding compensatory behaviour across children and adolescents. Thus, the aim of the present study is (1) to investigate whether ST in the morning is compensated by active behaviour in the afternoon and (2) whether ST during the week is compensated by active behaviour during the weekend in (pre)adolescent girls. Additionally, we aimed to differentiate between positive and negative compensatory behaviour and examine whether it is moderated by socioeconomic status (SES), age or weight status. Methods The participants were 370 sixth grade school girls (mean age 11.6 years) from Munich that participated in the CReActivity study, a school based intervention study aiming to identify the mechanisms of behavioural changes in PA among girls. ST and PA were measured over seven consecutive days using accelerometery. Descriptive determination of compensatory behaviour, as well as Bayesian multivariate multilevel analysis were conducted with data clustered on the individual (ID), class and school level. Results Descriptive analysis revealed rather constant compensatory behaviour of about 60% for after-school days and weekends over all observation points. However, regarding all girls, compensation was predominantly negative. Differentiated analysis indicated that all girls with low ST levels in the morning or on weekdays, compensated for this behaviour with lower PA levels in the afternoon or on weekends. Multilevel covariate analysis indicated great variability between the participants. Furthermore, differences in compensatory behaviour can also be seen on class and school levels. Interestingly, PA compensatory behaviour is not associated with age, weight status or SES. Conclusion Our findings could neither confirm nor reject the ActivityStat Hypothesis. Overall, due to the great variability across the girls, it seems that compensation depends on individual factors. In the future, to prevent negative compensation, school-based interventions that have the potential to provide opportunities to be physically active, should not neglect (pre)adolescents’ leisure time behaviour. Trial Registration DRKS00015723 (date of registration: 2018/10/22 retrospectively registered).

The exponential decay of transient values in discrete-time nonlinear standard and fractional orders systems with linear positive linear part and positive feedbacks is investigated. Sufficient conditions for the exponential decay of transient values in this class of positive nonlinear systems are established. A procedure for computation of gains characterizing the class of nonlinear elements are given and illustrated on simple example.

The continuous students' misbehavior necessitates careful consideration because there are several different pressures leading to adolescent misbehavior at school. One of the contributing factors is peer pressure among students. This study therefore, identifies that there is need to investigate the influence of peer pressure on adolescents' misbehavior among secondary school students. A sample of two hundred (200) students from ten (10) secondary schools (5 public and 5 private) were randomly selected from Oshogbo Local Government Area of Osun State in Nigeria. An instrument titled Peer Pressure and Adolescent Misbehavior Questionnaire (PPAMQ) was used for data collection. The results showed that adolescent misbehavior is prevalent among secondary school students and peer group negatively influence adolescent misbehavior. Statistically there was no significant difference on the influence of peer pressure on adolescents' misbehavior based on school type and gender. (t = 2.06, df = 198, p < 0.05) and (t = 2.06, df = 198, p < 0.05). Within the limitations of the findings of this study, it is hereby recommended that school counsellors need to understand: adolescents' misbehavior in the context of school type, in order to reduce the rate of adolescents' misbehavior in school. Students should also be educated on the negative implications of adolescent misbehavior and strict disciplinary measures should be meted out to students identified with adolescent misbehavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noiler chickens are dual purpose improved Nigerian indigenous chickens producing both meat and eggs. This study was designed to examine the phenotypic correlations between egg quality traits of improved (Noiler) and unimproved (Indigenous) Nigerian chicken genotypes. The results showed higher mean values of Noiler chicken genotypes than the Locals for all external and most of the internal egg quality traits except yolk (55.34 versus 73.93%) and albumen (50.92 versus 58.87%) indexes while similar in yolk and albumen depths (0.13 mm). Both positive and negative relationships were established in this study. With respect to external egg quality traits, the highest (0.761) positive correlation was between egg width and egg shell index (p<0.01) for unimproved genotypes while the lowest (0.004) positive was between shell weight and egg shell index (p>0.05) for improved genotypes. In contrast, the highest negative (- 0.614) was found between egg length and egg shell index of the improved genotypes (p<0.01) while the lowest (-0.106) was between egg width and shell weight (p>0.05) of unimproved genotypes. The highest positive (0.571) correlation for internal egg quality traits was recorded between yolk and albumen depths (p<0.01) for unimproved genotypes while the improved genotypes had the lowest (0.014) relationship between yolk weight and albumen width (p>0.05). However, both the highest and lowest (-0.921 and -0.002) negative associations were between albumen width and index (p<0.01) and yolk depth and index (p>0.05), respectively for unimproved genotypes. Positive correlations between external and internal egg quality traits ranged from high (0.813) to low (0.001) between egg and albumen weights (p<0.01) and, egg width with yolk depth (p>0.05) respectively for unimproved genotypes. On the other hand, the negative relationships also ranged from high (-0.982) between egg shell thickness and albumen weight (p<0.01) and low (-0.001) between egg width and yolk index (p>0.05) for improved genotypes. It is concluded that genetic make-up is a source of variation in egg quality parameters. This is therefore, advantageous to both breeders and industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals high in self-reported Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) tend to view uncertainty as unbearable and stressful. Notably, IU is transdiagnostic, and high levels of IU are observed across many different emotional disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression). Research has primarily focused on how IU evokes and modulates emotional states such as fear and anxiety. However, recent research suggests that IU may have relevance for a broader range of emotional states. Here, an online survey was conducted to examine whether IU evokes and modulates a range of negative (e.g., fear/anxiety, sadness/upset, anger/frustration, disgust) and positive (e.g., happiness/joy, excitement/enthusiasm, surprise/interest) emotional states. Findings within a community sample (n D 231) revealed that individuals with higher levels of IU report: (1) that uncertainty in general and uncertainty under ambiguity are more likely to evoke negative emotional states and less likely to evoke positive emotional states, (2) that uncertainty under risk is less likely to evoke positive emotional states, and (3) that uncertainty heightens existing negative emotional states and dampens existing positive emotional states. Importantly, these IU-related findings remained when controlling for current experiences of general distress, anxious arousal, and anhedonic depression. Taken together, these findings suggest that IU is involved in evoking and modulating a wide array of emotional phenomena, which likely has relevance for transdiagnostic models and treatment plans for emotional disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to identifying the effect of positive and negative energy transfer among female students on the kinetic performance of some kinetic skills in rhythmic gymnastics. The researchers used the experimental approach due to its suitability to the nature of the research; the research sample consisted of second-stage female students in the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, divided into four different sections, in order to exclude the chance factor. The researchers chose five female students from each division as a sample to measure kinetic skills, and five other female students as factors to transfer the effect of positive psychological energy to transfer the effect of negative psychological energy. The results showed a clear improvement in skillful performance after the positive energy transfer procedures, with no improvement in performance with the use of negative energy transfer procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sarcasm can be defined as the use of words that mean the opposite of what the speaker actually says, especially to insult the recipient, to show irritation or to amuse the others. Sarcastic remarks are funny and constructive when they are mutually understood within a genuine relationship. Sarcasm has the potential to catalyze creativity for those who produce and receive it. A positive message delivered in a friendly tone - „You did a great job” and a negative message delivered in a patronizing or deprecating tone - “Your answers are far beyond all expectations” - are congruent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is a current and global industry that has a multidimensional impact on destinations. As an emerging industry, it has an immense contribution to make to the development of the local community if all stakeholders participate in a responsible manner. The social impact of tourism is, among other things, one that needs the attention of scholars. The social impact of tourism is immense and diverse, and it is embedded with other tourism impacts. So, studying it is very essential to managing tourism in a responsible way. To address the stated objective, mixed research approaches were used. The result of the study indicated that tourism has both positive as and negative impacts on tourist destinations. The positive social impact of tourism was expressed in moderate terms and stated in terms of the expansion of hotels, road transportation, air transportation, electricity, internet, banking, and other infrastructures. The negative social impact was expressed in small terms and conveyed in terms of the unequal access to the aforementioned social services, the expansion of prostitution, the persistence of theft and illicit trade in heritage, and the random adoption of the lifestyles and manners of tourists by residents.

We look to the past as prologue for guidance in predicting and circumventing potential psychosocial–ethical challenges, including those that may influence the attachment process for some parents. We consider the evolution of bioethics and developmental psychology as they intersect with newborn screening while exploring potential implications of positive findings, be they false positives, true positives, or secondary as well as incidental findings. We reflect on navigating the complex landscape that may be significantly impacted by variable phenotypes, the age of onset, and uncertain prognoses, mindful of the diagnostic odyssey continuum. We explore select facets of ethical and psychological challenges encountered with positive newborn screening findings by highlighting enduring debates to improve the policy process in public health and medicine. We believe substantive empirical research is needed, including long-term follow-up, routine prenatal assessment of tolerance for uncertainties, and especially innovative methodologies to better evaluate potential psychological distress that may be present in some at-risk individuals during the perinatal period preceding and following reports of positive findings. Mitigation strategies building on lessons learned from NBS and clinical follow-up should be implemented and studied. We conclude by pondering why we remain far afield from providing these services. Research directed towards understanding the implications of positive NBS findings will further reduce the burdens on families and care providers alike and should lead to improved communication.

In this note, we prove that for two compatible fuzzy metrics MH and MK on H and K, respectively, there exists a fuzzy metric M on H⋃K such that M|H=MH and M|K=MK under the conditions that t-norm ∗ is positive and fuzzy metrics MH,MK are strong, or t-norm ∗ is positive and t-norm ∗, fuzzy metrics MH,MK satisfy the Lipschitz conditions.

Background: The unprecedented outbreak of a contagious respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus has led to a pandemic since December 2019, claiming millions of lives. Aims and Objectives: The present study was undertaken to estimate the various risk factors associated with COVID, to study the common presenting symptoms and prognosis, and to estimate the degree of association between computed tomography (CT) value in reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with mode of disease transmission in north coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study comprising of 1462 COVID-positive individuals. It is based on structured questionnaire on demographic, socioeconomic and symptoms, and correlation of clinical pattern with CT value in RT-PCR and further prognosis. Results: Diabetes (6.7%), hypertension (7.5%), and bronchial asthma (8.6%) are the main comorbid conditions. Middle (44.6%) and low socioeconomic status (47.3%) are more susceptible. Male gender (63.5%) is more affected, especially 16–30 years age group (32.4%). Vaccination offers considerable protection from infection. Contact (59.4%) with known case and travel (31%) are main factors that determine disease transmission. Blood group may not play a role in COVID susceptibility. Health care workers (22.9%) and students (16.2%) are mostly affected. Conclusion: Bronchial asthma, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus are the predominant risk factors associated with COVID. Transmission of the disease is more by virtue of contact with the infected person than by travel.

Recently a new discourse emerged in policy sciences and public administration under the label of “Positive Public Administration” (PPA), emphasizing a focus on “positive” governmental and policy successes. It positions itself as a renewed attempt to move away from an overemphasis on criticism, declinist discourse, and negative language, presenting itself as vital for reviving the field. Deconstructing PPA allows us to engage with a growing debate about “positivity” both inside and outside academia, and to discuss its novelty in public administration and policymaking. This commentary discusses this scholarly ambition by critically reviewing its historical traces, current ambitions, and strategic claims of PPA as discourse. This contribution shows that if PPA is a renewed attempt, it is a renewed attempt to reinforce “traditional” arguments and instrumental knowledge production. Moreover, PPA will not create a way out, but only a new way into traditional problems that have haunted PA as a field for decades.

BACKGROUND: As a chronic psychological and social disorder, addiction has caused concern in many societies. Many researches are needed to explain the factors affecting addiction to provide better knowledge and offer treatment strategies for its prevention. Character strengths, as one of the new theories related to positive psychology, can play a vital role in explaining addiction; therefore, the present study is aimed to investigate addiction prevention based on the character strengths. METHODS: This narrative review study used the keywords of “character strengths”, “addiction”, “drug use”, “drug abuse”, and “addiction tendency”, which were used in Persian and English databases. RESULTS: Character strengths as positive human characteristics reduced the vulnerability of people to addiction by improving individual and interpersonal strengths in different areas of life. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study have important implications for rehabilitators and addiction counselors in addiction prevention and empowerment of recovered addicts; therefore, paying attention to character strengths in mental and social health programs based on different levels of prevention could be of a great effectiveness.

ObjectiveTo determine the incidence of biopsy proven giant cell arteritis (GCA) in South Australia.MethodsPatients with biopsy-proven GCA were identified from pathology reports of temporal artery biopsies at state-based pathology laboratories, from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020. Incidence rates for biopsy-proven GCA were calculated using Australian Bureau of Statistics data for South Australian population sizes by age, sex, and calendar year. Seasonality was analyzed by cosinor analysis.ResultsThere were 181 cases of biopsy-proven GCA. The median age at diagnosis of GCA was 76 years (IQR 70, 81), 64% were female. The estimated population incidence for people over 50 was 5.4 (95% CI 4.7, 6.1) per 100,000-person years. The female: male incidence ratio was 1.6 (95% CI 1.2, 2.2). There was no ordinal trend in GCA incidence rates by calendar year (p = 0.29). The incidence was, on average, highest in winter, but not significantly (p = 0.35). A cosinor analysis indicated no seasonal effect (p = 0.52).ConclusionThe incidence of biopsy-proven GCA remains low in Australia. A higher incidence was noted compared to an earlier study. However, differences in ascertainment and methods of GCA diagnosis may have accounted for the change.

Individuals high in self-reported Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) tend to view uncertainty as unbearable and stressful. Notably, IU is transdiagnostic, and high levels of IU are observed across many different emotional disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression). Research has primarily focused on how IU evokes and modulates emotional states such as fear and anxiety. However, recent research suggests that IU may have relevance for a broader range of emotional states. Here, an online survey was conducted to examine whether IU evokes and modulates a range of negative (e.g., fear/anxiety, sadness/upset, anger/frustration, disgust) and positive (e.g., happiness/joy, excitement/enthusiasm, surprise/interest) emotional states. Findings within a community sample (n = 231) revealed that individuals with higher levels of IU report: (1) that uncertainty in general and uncertainty under ambiguity are more likely to evoke negative emotional states and less likely to evoke positive emotional states, (2) that uncertainty under risk is less likely to evoke positive emotional states, and (3) that uncertainty heightens existing negative emotional states and dampens existing positive emotional states. Importantly, these IU-related findings remained when controlling for current experiences of general distress, anxious arousal, and anhedonic depression. Taken together, these findings suggest that IU is involved in evoking and modulating a wide array of emotional phenomena, which likely has relevance for transdiagnostic models and treatment plans for emotional disorders.

Copyright of Revista de Ciencias Médicas de Pinar del Río is the property of Editorial Ciencias Medicas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The asymptotic stability of fractional positive descriptor continuous-time and discrete-time linear systems is considered. New sufficient conditions for stability of fractional positive descriptor linear systems are established. The efficiency of the new stability conditions are demonstrated on numerical examples of fractional continuous-time and discrete-time linear systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Unhealthy behaviors of coronary heart disease (CHD) patients are closely related to the occurrence of major heart events, which increases the readmission rate and brings a heavy economic burden to families and society. Therefore, it is necessary for health care workers to take active preventive and therapeutic measures to keep or establish healthy behaviors of patients. Positive psychological intervention has been proved to be effective, but it has not been reported in the field of CHD in China. The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of positive event recording based on positive psychology on the healthy behaviors, readmission rate, and anxiety of patients with CHD, in order to provide new ideas for the development of secondary prevention strategies for CHD. Methods: This is a prospective, single-center, randomized controlled trial (RCT). The subjects will be enrolled from the Department of Cardiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University. There are 80 cases in total; according to the random number table, the subjects are randomly divided into the intervention group (n = 40) and the control group (n = 40). The patients in the intervention group will receive the intervention of recording positive events once a week for 3 months, while the patients in the control group receive conventional nursing. The primary outcomes will include healthy behaviors, readmission rate, and anxiety, and the secondary outcomes will include psychological capital, subjective well-being, and corresponding clinical laboratory indicators. The protocol was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Soochow University (approval no. SUDA20200604H01) and is performed in strict accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki formulated by the World Medical Association. All participants provide written informed consent. Discussion: This study will verify whether positive event recording based on positive psychology can make patients maintain healthy behaviors, reduce readmission rate, and improve anxiety after PCI. Then, this study will provide new ideas and references for the development of secondary prevention strategies for patients with CHD. Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trials Registry 2000034538. Registered on 10 July 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between lifestyle behaviours, emotional health factors, and low back pain (LBP) resilience. Methods: This retrospective longitudinal study utilised 1,065 twins with a recent history of LBP from the Washington State Twin Registry. A lifestyle behaviour score was built using variables of body mass index, physical activity engagement, sleep quality, smoking status, and alcohol consumption. An emotional health score was built using variables of the absence of depressed mood, perceived stress, and active coping. The main outcome was LBP resilience, assessed as recovery ("bouncing back"), and sustainability (maintaining high levels of function despite LBP). Results: After adjusting for covariates, there was no relationship between the lifestyle behaviour score (OR 1.05, 95% CI 0.97–1.15, p = 0.218) and the emotional health score (OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.98–1.19, p = 0.142) with the likelihood of recovering from LBP. There was however, evidence of a positive association between the lifestyle behaviour score (β 0.20, 95% CI 0.04–0.36, p = 0.013), the emotional health score (β 0.22, 95% CI 0.00–0.43, p = 0.049), and greater levels of sustainability. These results were confirmed by a within-pair analysis (lifestyle behaviour score: β 1.79, 95% CI 0.05–3.53, p = 0.043) and (emotional health score: β 0.52, 95% CI 0.09–0.96, p = 0.021) adjusting for genetic and early shared environmental confounding. Conclusion: Findings from this study suggest that people who adopt optimal lifestyle behaviours and positive emotional factors are more likely to be resilient and maintain high levels of function despite suffering from LBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A concept of positive strategic shock would benefit the US Department of Defense's planning processes. Some US doctrine demonstrates awareness of the need to plan for negative strategic shocks but lacks consideration of positive strategic shock--any shock with a non-zero-sum outcome--which could create a situation where the Department of Defense misses opportunities. This article clarifies the term positive strategic shock, provides a brief review of where and how planning for any sort of strategic shock currently occurs, and makes recommendations based on three methods for thinking about strategic shock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: According to the ActivityStat hypothesis more physical activity (PA) in one timespan is compensated by increased sedentary time (ST) in the following timespan and vice versa to maintain an overall stable PA level. Until now, existing literature revealed inconsistent results regarding compensatory behaviour across children and adolescents. Thus, the aim of the present study is (1) to investigate whether ST in the morning is compensated by active behaviour in the afternoon and (2) whether ST during the week is compensated by active behaviour during the weekend in (pre)adolescent girls. Additionally, we aimed to differentiate between positive and negative compensatory behaviour and examine whether it is moderated by socioeconomic status (SES), age or weight status.Methods: The participants were 370 sixth grade school girls (mean age 11.6 years) from Munich that participated in the CReActivity study, a school based intervention study aiming to identify the mechanisms of behavioural changes in PA among girls. ST and PA were measured over seven consecutive days using accelerometery. Descriptive determination of compensatory behaviour, as well as Bayesian multivariate multilevel analysis were conducted with data clustered on the individual (ID), class and school level.Results: Descriptive analysis revealed rather constant compensatory behaviour of about 60% for after-school days and weekends over all observation points. However, regarding all girls, compensation was predominantly negative. Differentiated analysis indicated that all girls with low ST levels in the morning or on weekdays, compensated for this behaviour with lower PA levels in the afternoon or on weekends. Multilevel covariate analysis indicated great variability between the participants. Furthermore, differences in compensatory behaviour can also be seen on class and school levels. Interestingly, PA compensatory behaviour is not associated with age, weight status or SES.Conclusion: Our findings could neither confirm nor reject the ActivityStat Hypothesis. Overall, due to the great variability across the girls, it seems that compensation depends on individual factors. In the future, to prevent negative compensation, school-based interventions that have the potential to provide opportunities to be physically active, should not neglect (pre)adolescents' leisure time behaviour.Trial Registration: DRKS00015723 (date of registration: 2018/10/22 retrospectively registered). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Study Aim. This study investigated whether the physical activity and the type of motivation among students inactive in professional sport can enhance their life satisfaction. Material and Methods. An experimental study was conducted with the participation of 164 students (not athletes) aged 24,52±4. In the experimental groups participants engaged in physical activity which they performed at their leisure 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes for 6 weeks. Additionally, the students were motivated to be active in a positive way (focus on benefits), in a negative way (focus on avoiding losses) or were not motivated at all. The experiment was based on a mixed group plan - with the initial and final measurement of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Results. The results confirm that involvement in regular sport brings benefits in terms of improving psychological well-being. The type of motivation proved to determine the influence of the practiced sport on life satisfaction. Students who were negatively motivated achieved a positive change but in terms of the level of negative affect it was lower than in the other groups. On the other hand, positively motivated students achieved the greatest change in terms of positive and negative emotions. However, there was no increase in the level of subjective well-being in these subjects. The greatest psychological benefits of sports activity were achieved by the subjects who were focused only on being active without additional motivation. There were no changes in the analyzed variables in the control group. Conclusions. This data may contribute to promoting undertaking leisure activities that will actually increase life satisfaction of young adults.

Multiple concentrations of fatty acids in the range of C10 - C18 atoms in light mineral oil were tested in this study. The experiments were carried out in a high-tech laboratory to predict pressure and flow parameters in the confines of a screw driven positive displacement piston. Theoretical and experimental data were compared for pure light mineral oil and fatty acid mixtures. The viscous forces were found to lead to the full pressure drop whereas a minor pressure drop was caused by molecular forces. With increased temperature, less pressure was required to pump the oil through the extremely thin space between parallel plates. The increase in viscosity as concentration increased, resulted in an increase of experimental strain. Variations in film temperatures showed that fluid friction was higher for the fatty acid mixture than for pure light mineral oil. For the variance of pressure with concentration, a regression analysis was plotted. The study was carried out to promote the use of surfactants in the lubricant and dynamic seal industry.

With the rise of positive psychology (PP) and its emphasis on the affordances of positive emotions to second/foreign language teaching and learning, numerous studies have been conducted on different PP constructs all over the world. Nonetheless, the status of researching this school of psychology in L2 education is still imprecise. To fill this gap, the present state -of-the -art paper intends to flesh out the conceptualizations, premises, versatilities, emerging theories and methods, and research trends in PP and second language acquisition (SLA). Moreover, it elaborates on the seven PP factors, including optimism, immediacy, connectedness, commitment, academic buoyancy, immunity, and mindfulness. Such sample variables have also been supported by scientific evidence from different contexts. Additionally, some potential implications are drawn for stakeholders to enlighten the process and quality of L2 education. Finally, the study suggests some avenues for future studies to expand the scope of PP and SLA research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Introduction: Bottom 40% (B40) is those who have income less than RM4850. They are more susceptible to psychological distress as compared to others. However, good positive mental health could prevent mental health disorder. The aim of this study is to describe positive mental health among B40 population in Malaysia specifically in Public Work Department (PWD) Quarters, Kuala Lumpur and its associated factors. Methodology: Cross sectional study used on 171 residents of PWD quarters based on simple random sampling. Data was collected using the 47-item PMH Instrument assessing on general coping (GC), emotional (E), spirituality (S), interpersonal skills (IS), personal growth and autonomy (PGA), and global affect (GA), and sociodemographic data of individuals using self-administered questionnaire. All data collected was analysed using descriptive analysis, Kruskal Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman's correlation. Significant level was set at p-value <0.05. Results: There were 147 eligible respondents including 135 Malay (91.8%), 5 Chinese (3.4%) and 7 Indian (4.8%) (response rate = 86%). There were significant correlations in total PMH and domain specific scores across sociodemographic characteristics. Age, gender, ethnicity and religion were significantly associated with total PMH scores and mixed domain specific scores. Educational level was associated with IS and PGA, while household income and marital status were not significant with all scores. It was found that gender, ethnicity and religion had association with positive mental health as the p-value is less than 0.05 (p=0.04). Conclusion: The study showed that PMH had significant association with gender, ethnicity and religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physical activity levels after bariatric surgery are usually low, despite the significant protective health benefits of physical activity in this population. Positive psychological well-being is associated with improved adherence to health behaviors, but bariatric surgery patients often have negative associations with physical activity that prevent sustained engagement. Objective: The Gaining Optimism After weight Loss Surgery (GOALS) pilot randomized controlled trial is aimed at testing a novel intervention to increase physical activity after bariatric surgery, which incorporates positive psychological skill-building with motivational interviewing and goal-setting. Methods: The GOALS trial is a 2-arm, 24-week pilot randomized controlled trial that aims to enroll 58 adults who report less than 200 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous physical activity and a desire to become more active 6-12 months after bariatric surgery. GOALS is testing the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a positive psychology-motivational interviewing telephone intervention targeting to increase physical activity and associated positive affect. Intervention components include positive psychology, goal-setting, self-monitoring via provided Fitbits, and motivational interviewing to overcome barriers and increase motivation. The intervention is compared to a physical activity education control that includes mailings with psychoeducation around physical activity and provision of a Fitbit. The primary outcomes of the pilot trial are feasibility and acceptability, measured as session completion rates and participant ratings of ease and helpfulness of each session. The main secondary outcome is change in accelerometer-measured moderate to vigorous physical activity post intervention and at 24-week follow-up. Additional outcomes include changes in attitudes related to physical activity, psychological well-being, and physical health measures. Results: This multiphase project was funded in 2020 and institutional review board approval was obtained for the proposed trial in 2021. Recruitment for the randomized controlled trial began in July 2022. Upon completion of the pilot trial, we will examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the intervention. Conclusions: Although bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment available for severe obesity, weight regain occurs, often in the context of low psychological well-being. Many individuals would benefit from learning strategies to increase positive psychological well-being after bariatric surgery, which could help them maintain lifestyle changes. Positive psychology is a novel approach to improve adherence by increasing positive associations with health behaviors including physical activity. The GOALS pilot trial will determine whether this type of intervention is feasible and acceptable to this population and will provide a foundation for a future full-scale randomized controlled efficacy trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An evolving concept in recovery from mental illness dwells on the patients' perspectives towards attainment of life goals despite incomplete remission. The study aims to explore the level of recovery attitude and the possible association with socio-demographic and clinical variables. Two hundred and eighty two male and female patients' with schizophrenia were interviewed using structured instruments: Recovery Attitude Questionnaire (RAQ), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Oslo 3 Social Support Scale, Morisky Medication adherence Scale (MMAS) and Simpson and Angus Scale (SAS). Chi square analysis was used to assess for the correlates of recovery attitude and variables with significant associations were subjected to binary logistic regression analysis. Two hundred and forty two (85.8%) of the participants had positive recovery attitude and the correlates of positive recovery attitude were: being employed (χ² = 5.702; p = 0.017), duration of illness less than one year (χ² = 7.947; p = 0.047), nil hospital admission (χ² = 10.75; p = 0.013), nil history of relapse (χ² = 6.307; p = 0.012), normal to minimally ill on BPRS (χ² =18.20; p = 0.000), high social support (χ² = 44.72; p = 0.000) and low stigma on discrimination (χ2 = 8.173; p = 0.004), social withdrawal (χ² (χ² = 33.36; p = 0.000). The study revealed a high level of positive recovery attitude among patients with schizophrenia with high social support being the greatest independent predictor of recovery attitude. The outcome of this study therefore draws attention to the potential benefit of programmes that strengthen the social network as well as hope inspiring activities to enhance recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exponential decay of transient values in discrete-time nonlinear standard and fractional orders systems with linear positive linear part and positive feedbacks is investigated. Sufficient conditions for the exponential decay of transient values in this class of positive nonlinear systems are established. A procedure for computation of gains characterizing the class of nonlinear elements are given and illustrated on simple example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with bipolar disorder (BD) report lower quality of life and lower levels of well-being than the general population. Despite the growing availability of psychotherapeutic and self-management interventions, important unmet needs remain. These unmet needs are closely linked to positive psychology domains. Although a growing number of studies have evaluated the impact of positive psychology interventions (PPIs) on patients with severe mental illness in general, only few have addressed the application of positive psychology for BD. Objective: This study aimed to gain insight into the opinions of patients with BD and health care professionals about (web-based) PPIs for BD and to develop and pilot-test an app containing PPIs specifically designed for patients with BD. Methods: The study was conducted in accordance with the Center for eHealth and Disease Management road map principles and incorporated cocreation and designing for implementation. Data were collected using focus group discussions, questionnaires, rapid prototyping, and web-based feedback on a prototype from the participants. In total, 3 focus groups were conducted with 62% (8/13) of patients with BD and 38% (5/13) of professionals. The collected data were used to develop a smartphone app containing short PPIs. The content was based on PPIs for which a solid base of evidence is available. Finally, a pilot test was conducted to test the app. Results: Focus groups revealed that PPIs as part of the current BD treatment can potentially meet the following needs: offering hope, increasing self-esteem, expressing feelings, acceptance, and preventing social isolation. Some patients expressed concern that PPIs may provoke a manic or hypomanic episode by increasing positive affect. The pilot of the app showed that the PPIs are moderately to highly valued by the participants. There were no adverse effects such as increase in manic or hypomanic symptoms. Conclusions: With the systematic use of user involvement (patients and professionals) in all steps of the development process, we were able to create an app that can potentially fulfill some of the current unmet needs in the treatment of BD. We reached consensus among consumers and professionals about the potential benefits of PPIs to address the unmet needs of patients with BD. The use of PPI for BD is intriguing and can be usefully explored in further studies. We emphasize that more evaluation studies (quantitative and qualitative) that are focused on the effect of PPIs in the treatment of BD should be conducted. In addition, to establish the working mechanisms in BD, explorative, qualitative, designed studies are required to reveal whether PPIs can address unmet needs in BD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review aimed to explore how wish-granting interventions impact on the health and well-being of children with life-threatening health conditions and their families, using any study design. Six electronic databases (Medline; PsycINFO; CINAHL; Embase; AMED and HMIC) were systematically searched to identify eligible research articles. Studies were critically appraised using a Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Findings were synthesized narratively. 10 papers were included, reporting studies conducted across five countries, published from 2007 to 2019. Study designs were diverse (four quantitative; two qualitative and four mixed method). Results indicated improvements to physical and mental health, quality of life, social well-being, resilience and coping for wish children, parents and siblings. In conclusion, wish-granting interventions can positively impact health and therefore should not be discouraged; however, more research is needed to define and quantify the impact of wish fulfilment and to understand how it can be maximized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]