How to Influence Users’ Willingness to Explore the Use of Sports and Fitness Apps in China

The aim of this paper is to investigate how inertia affects users' willingness to explore the use of sports and fitness apps under the influence of status quo bias, and to explore the role of health goals in the process of exploring use based on goal setting theory. The population in this research is Chinese users who have already installed or used a sports and fitness app on their mobile device. Through an online survey technique, we collected 449 valid questionnaires by convenience sampling method. The results confirm that inertia negatively influences the users’ willingness to explore the use of sports and fitness apps and that inertia negatively influences perceived need, which, in turn, reduces the willingness to explore the use of sports and fitness apps; Furthermore, this study also verified health goal positive moderate the relationship between inertia and perceived need, as well as the relationship inertia and users’ willingness to explore the use of sports and fitness apps, revealing that health goals can effectively adjust for the effects of status quo bias in mobile fitness exercise. This study provides useful suggestions for the development and operation of sports and fitness app enterprises to help them make suitable marketing strategies according to users' needs, thus promoting the long-term development of sports and fitness app enterprises.

Does Personal Goal Pursuit Alleviate Family Caregiver Stress?

Family caregivers may experience reduced stress by maintaining their sense of self throughout their time in a caregiving role. Working towards personal goals is helpful for maintaining a sense of self, but pursuing one’s own goals amidst caregiving responsibilities may be challenging. In this study, we analyze the processes by which caregivers pursue their own personal goals – and how those processes impact daily stress – in an effort to develop a deeper understanding of goal-pursuit as a potential caregiver stress-reducing strategy. We utilized daily data from spousal (N=256 days) and adult-child (N=400 days) caregivers who participated in the PULSE (Personal Understandings of Life and Social Experiences) Project, a 100-day microlongitudinal study on goal pursuit amongst people 50 and older (Hooker et al., 2013). In daily surveys, caregivers reported progress made towards a personally-identified health and social goal, along with a 4-item measure of daily stress. We ran multi-level models to assess how daily goal progress was associated with same-day stress. Spousal caregivers’ daily stress was lower on days when their health goal (Estimate = -1.07, SE = 0.20, p<.0001) and social goal (Estimate = -0.97, SE = 0.15, p<.0001) progress was higher. Similarly, adult-child caregivers’ daily stress was lower on days when their health goal (Estimate = -0.67, SE = 0.19, p<.001) and social goal (Estimate = -0.52, SE 0.24, p=0.03) progress was higher. Results support the hypothesis that maintaining personally-meaningful goals can alleviate caregiver stress, and is a promising tool for caregiver health promotion.

The Sharp Rise in the Use of Low- and No-Calorie Sweeteners in Non-Alcoholic Beverages in Slovenia: An Update Based on 2020 Data

Reducing added sugars in non-alcoholic beverages is an important public health goal, which can result in increased use of low- and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS). The aim of this study was to investigate recent changes in the use of LNCS in non-alcoholic beverages in the Slovenian food supply. The national branded foods dataset was updated with beverages available in 2020, and compared with previous datasets. The data were extracted from food labels. In 2020, N = 1,650 unique beverages were found in shops from five different retailers, covering the majority of the national market. The use of LNCS increased from 13.2% in 2017 and 15.5% in 2019 to 20.2% in 2020, with a major growth in soft drinks (16.8, 19.6, and 26.7%, respectively). We observed a significant growth of beverages containing both LNCS and added sugar. Results were also consistent with sales data, which showed that increased offer of beverages with LNCS also resulted in similarly increased sales of such beverages. The average energy and total sugar content in non-alcoholic beverages decreased, which reflects both the higher percentage of beverages with LNCS, and also the reduction of the sugar content in beverages with only added sugar. Analyses of product-specific reformulation practices highlighted reduced sugar content in 16.8% of products, and in 3.6% with the use of LNCS. The most commonly used LNCS are acesulfame K, sucralose, and aspartame. Typically, combinations are used, however steviol glycosides, sucralose and saccharin are also used alone, in most cases combined with added sugar. The results indicated rapid changes in the use of LNCS in non-alcoholic beverages in the Slovenian food supply, making further monitoring of this area highly relevant.

Computational insight to design new potential hepatitis C virus NS5B polymerase inhibitors with drug-likeness and pharmacokinetic ADMET parameters predictions

Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is considered a worldwide health problem since it affects over 3% of the population and causes 300,000 fatalities per year. Chronic infection causes high morbidity and mortality in patients, leading to liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, fibrosis, liver cancer, and other HCV-related illnesses. Finding novel and better HCV treatments is a top international health goal right now. As a result, the pressing need for new HCV antiviral drugs has fueled research into the structural requirements of NS5B polymerase inhibitors at a molecular basis. Results In this study, an in silico technique was applied to study 79 compounds with HCV inhibitory bioactivity, with the best statistical results ($$R^{2}$$ R 2 = 0.7051, $$Q^{2}$$ Q 2 = 0.6455, $$R_{{{\text{pred}}}}^{2}$$ R pred 2 = 0.6992, $$^{{\text{c}}} R_{{\text{r}}}^{2}$$ c R r 2 = 0.6570, SEE = 0.2694). Conclusions This QSAR investigation allowed the research team to evaluate the influence of straightforward descriptors, shedding insight into the critical elements that guide the design of innovative effective molecules. Most of the innovative effective molecules exhibited better binding affinity (− 195.6 kcal/mol) than dasabuvir the reference drug (− 171.0 kcal/mol) with the target receptor (hepatitis C virus NS5B RNA polymerase). ADMET prediction disclosed enhanced pharmacokinetic properties with lower MRTD (maximum tolerated dose) of some new derivatives.

Developing Resources for Staff and Adapting Programing During COVID-19 at Fred Victor

Fred Victor is an organization that supports those experiencing poverty and homelessness in Toronto. As a practicum student in the Health Promotions department at Fred Victor, I gained experience working on health promotion projects and was able to work directly with the community. Throughout the practicum, I worked on several projects to adapt Fred Victor’s services during COVID-19. First, I worked to develop a resilience toolkit for Fred Victor staff. COVID-19 has led to higher levels of stress. This prompted Fred Victor to develop tools to support their staff. I designed a toolkit that instructs managers on how to promote resilience in their supervision sessions and team meetings. This toolkit provided information on what resilience is, as well as practical actions that managers can take to promote resilience in staff. This project involved knowledge translation to convey the research on resilience to Fred Victor staff in an accessible way. Additionally, I worked to support the development of online peer support groups. Typically, Fred Victor runs weekly in-person peer support groups for community members. However, due to COVID-19, these groups had to move to an online format. I helped facilitate this transition by developing a guide for facilitating online group programming. This guide included information on the best platforms to run online programming, how to create a safety agreement, and best practices for facilitating the group. I then conducted outreach to community members to ask for their input on the format and content of the groups. These projects are important to public health as they work to meet the public health goal to improve quality of life by promoting and encouraging healthy behaviours. These projects played an important role in promoting the health of Fred Victor staff and clients during COVID-19 by providing them with support and tools to manage their mental health.

Older Women’s Experiences of a Community-Led Walking Programme Using Activity Trackers

Promoting physical activity amongst older adults represents a major public health goal and community-led exercise programmes present benefits in promoting active lifestyles. Commercial activity trackers potentially encourage positive behaviour change with respect to physical exercise. This qualitative study investigated the experiences and attitudes of older adults following a 6-week community-led walking programme utilising activity trackers. Eleven community-dwelling older women aged 60+ completed individual phone interviews following their involvement in the programme. The programme, codesigned with a group of senior citizens, equipped participants with wrist-worn activity trackers and included biweekly check-in sessions with a researcher to monitor progress and support motivation. Interviews explored participants’ experiences of the programme and of using activity trackers for the purpose of becoming more active. A thematic analysis produced three main themes: ‘programme as a source of motivation’, ‘user experiences with the technology’ and ‘views on social dimension of the programme’. Overall, participants highlighted the self-monitoring function of activity trackers as most beneficial for their exercise levels. This study provides insights into the personal and social factors perceived by older adults in relation to being part of a community-led programme using activity trackers. It highlights the role of the programme and trackers in maintaining motivation to stay active.

COVID-19 Forecasting: A Statistical Approach

Background: SARS-coronavirus-2 is a new virus infecting people and causing COVID-19 disease. The disease is causing a worldwide pandemic. Although some people never develop any signs or symptoms of disease when they are infected, other people are at very high risk for severe disease and death. Objective: If we’re able to intervene to prevent even some transmission, we can dramatically reduce the number of cases. And this is the public health goal for controlling COVID-19. Methods: This article initializes an approach for comparatively accurate values prediction of new cases and deaths for a particular day in order to be considered for preventive measures. The three statistical analysis methods considered for forecasting are Fbprophet, Moving average and the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average algorithm. Results: The results obtained are in-line with the past and present trend of COVID-19 data collected from WHO website. Conclusion: The output is satisfactory for further consideration. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.20(5) 2021 p.85-96

A live olfactory MCMV vaccine attenuated for systemic spread, protects against superinfection.

Vaccination against the β-herpesvirus, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a public health goal. However, HCMV has proved difficult to vaccinate against. Vaccination against single HCMV determinants has not worked, suggesting that immunity to a wider antigenic profile may be required. Live attenuated vaccines provide the best prospects for protection, but the question remains as to how to balance vaccine virulence with safety. Animal models of HCMV infection provide insights into identifying targets for virus attenuation and understanding how host immunity blocks natural, mucosal infection. Here we evaluated the vaccine potential of a mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) vaccine deleted of a viral G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), designated M33, that renders it attenuated for systemic spread. A single non-invasive olfactory ΔM33 MCMV vaccine replicated locally, but as a result of the loss of the M33 GPCR, it failed to spread systemically and was attenuated for latent infection. Vaccination did not prevent host entry of a superinfecting MCMV but spread from the mucosa was blocked. This approach to vaccine design may provide a viable alternative for a safe and effective β-herpesvirus vaccine. IMPORTANCE Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the most common cause of congenital infection for which a vaccine is not yet available. Subunit vaccine candidates have failed to achieve licensure. A live HCMV vaccine may prove more efficacious, but it faces safety hurdles which include its propensity to persist and to establish latency. Understanding how pathogens infect guide rational vaccine design. However, HCMV infections are asymptomatic and thus difficult to capture. Animal models of experimental infection provide insight. Here we investigated the vaccine potential of a MCMV attenuated for systemic spread and latency. We used olfactory vaccination and virus challenge to mimic its natural acquisition. We provide proof-of-concept that a single olfactory MCMV that is deficient in systemic spread, can protect against wild type MCMV superinfection and dissemination. This approach of deleting functional counterpart genes in HCMV may provide safe and effective vaccination against congenital HCMV disease.