Psychometric property of the Japanese version of self-efficacy for managing chronic disease scale in individuals with chronic diseases.

Background: Although accurately assessing self-efficacy for self-management is crucial in chronic illness care, important, there is a scarcity of validated psychometric properties in Japan. This study aimed to validate a Japanese version of the Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease (SEMCD-J) scale.

Methods: Individuals with self-reported chronic diseases, symptoms, or conditions for over one year were recruited online.

Online peer support for mental health in individuals with post-acute sequelae of COVID-19: A pre-post pilot study with mixed methods.

Aim: This pilot examined the effect of online peer support on mental health problems among individuals with post-acute sequelae of COVID-2019 (PASC).

Methods: A single-arm pre-post design of online peer-support design consisting of eight sessions of 1 h per week with three to six participants and two facilitators per group was performed. Participants were recruited from online communities, social media, and medical clinics for the PASC between May and August 2023.

Effects of the Mental Health Supporter Training Program on mental health-related public stigma among Japanese people: A pretest/posttest study.

Aim: The Mental Health Supporter Training Program is a national project conducted in Japan. This study aimed to determine the effects on mental health-related stigma, mental health literacy, and knowledge about mental health difficulties and support techniques among program participants.

Methods: The target population was local residents of a wide range of generations in Japan.

Development and validation of the Japanese version of the Bedtime Procrastination Scale (BPS-J).

Background: The average sleep duration of Japanese people is shorter than that of people from other countries, and bedtime procrastination is suspected to be one of the factors contributing to this issue. This study aimed to develop and validate the Japanese version of the Bedtime Procrastination Scale (BPS-J).

Methods: The BPS-J was developed through procedures including the translation and back-translation of the scale, cognitive interviews with 100 participants who reported having experiences of being diagnosed with insufficient sleep syndrome (ISS) or receiving treatment for ISS using open-ended online questionnaires, and expert checking.

Characterization of a half-wave plate for cosmic microwave background circular polarization measurement with POLARBEAR.

A half-wave plate (HWP) is often used as a modulator to suppress systematic error in the measurements of cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization. A HWP can also be used to measure circular polarization (CP) through its optical leakage from CP to linear polarization. The CP of the CMB is predicted from various sources, such as interactions in the Universe and extension of the standard model.

Difference in the risk of discrimination on psychological distress experienced by early wave infected and late wave infected COVID-19 survivors in Japan.

The psychological distress experienced by coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) survivors after recovery from the illness is amplified by discrimination endured because of their infection status. However, the difference in the risk of facing discrimination and risk of experiencing psychological distress in the early and late waves of the COVID-19 pandemic remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether the risk of facing discrimination because of infection status was lower in the early or late waves and whether risk of discrimination on psychological distress was more serious in later, rather than earlier waves.

Corrigendum: Decrease in social zeitgebers is associated with worsened delayed sleep-wake phase disorder: findings during the pandemic in Japan.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.

Development of an epoxy-based millimeter absorber with expanded polystyrenes and carbon black for an astronomical telescope.

We recently developed and characterized an absorber for millimeter wavelengths. To absorb a millimeter wave efficiently, we had to develop a low reflection and high absorption material. To meet these requirements, we added polystyrene beads in the epoxy for multiscattering in the absorber.

Association of preexisting psychiatric disorders with post-COVID-19 prevalence: a cross-sectional study.

Evidence demonstrating the association of preexisting psychiatric disorders with post-COVID-19 is limited. We aim to investigate the association using larger sample sizes and more extended postinfection periods than previous studies. A total of 6015 (response rate = 77.

Relationship between attitudes toward COVID-19 infection, depression and anxiety: a cross-sectional survey in Japan.

Background: Although negative attitudes are known to develop with experiences of COVID-19 infection, it remains unclear whether such attitudes contribute to depression and anxiety as sequelae of COVID-19. We aimed to investigate the relationships between attitude towards COVID-19 infection and post-COVID-19 depression and anxiety.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of COVID-19 recovered patients was conducted from July to September 2021 in Japan.

Differences in the Course of Depression and Anxiety after COVID-19 Infection between Recovered Patients with and without a Psychiatric History: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: This study aimed to examine the course of depression and anxiety in COVID-19 survivors with a psychiatric history compared with those without a psychiatric history.

Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey for COVID-19 survivors was conducted from July to September 2021. A total of 6016 COVID-19 survivors, the accuracy of whose responses was determined to be assured, were included in analyses.

Relationship between COVID-19-specific occupational stressors and mental distress in frontline and non-frontline staff.

This study investigated the difference in the severity of mental distress and factors contributing to mental distress in frontline and non-frontline healthcare professionals during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. A cross-sectional web-based survey of medical staff collected by snow-ball sampling was performed in Japan in October 2020 using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) as an outcome measure for mental distress. Originally developed items asking about the degree of change in psychological and physical burdens, COVID-19-related fear, and experience of discrimination were obtained.

Decrease in Social Zeitgebers Is Associated With Worsened Delayed Sleep-Wake Phase Disorder: Findings During the Pandemic in Japan.

Background: Delay in sleep-wake rhythms was observed in the general population during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Patients with delayed sleep-wake phase disorder (DSWPD) may have also experienced exacerbation of symptoms, but no studies have investigated this topic. In this study, we aimed to retrospectively examine the changes in symptoms of outpatients with DSWPD both before and during the pandemic and to identify the factors associated with the exacerbation of sleep-wake rhythms.

Sleep disturbance and health-related quality of life in Parkinson's disease: A clear correlation between health-related quality of life and subjective sleep quality.

Introduction: Comorbid insomnia and poor sleep quality in Parkinson's disease (PD) are associated with a poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, the relationship between HRQoL and sleep measures obtained using polysomnography (PSG) remains unclear. We aimed to examine the association between various sleep measures and HRQoL in PD patients.

Association of Subjective Quality and Quantity of Sleep with Quality of Life among a General Population.

This study aimed to determine whether both subjective sleep quality and sleep duration are directly associated with quality of life (QOL), as well as indirectly associated with QOL through insomnia symptoms. Individuals aged 20-69 years without mental illness ( = 9305) were enrolled in this web-based cross-sectional survey. The Short Form-8 was used to assess physical and mental QOL.

Psychological burden of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder traits on medical workers under the COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional web-based questionnaire survey.

Objectives: There are numerous reports on the psychological burden of medical workers after the COVID-19 outbreak; however, no study has examined the influence of developmental characteristics on the mental health of medical workers. The objective of this study was to examine whether the developmental characteristics of medical workers are associated with anxiety and depression after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Design: We conducted an online cross-sectional questionnaire survey in October 2020.

Development and validation of the hypersomnia-specific beliefs scale.

Objective/background: Patients with Central hypersomnia, especially Narcolepsy type 1 and Idiopathic Hypersomnia (NT1 and IHS) often have psychological frustration in their daily lives. We aimed to develop the first scale of hypersomnia-specific beliefs (HSB).

Patients/methods: We developed the HSB scale consisting of three factors ("aversion toward doze", "hypersensitivity toward others" reactions about my doze", and "sense of defeat caused by doze") with 12 items through interviews to 11 patients with NT1 and IHS.

Internal Delensing of Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization B-Modes with the POLARBEAR Experiment.

Using only cosmic microwave background polarization data from the polarbear experiment, we measure B-mode polarization delensing on subdegree scales at more than 5σ significance. We achieve a 14% B-mode power variance reduction, the highest to date for internal delensing, and improve this result to 22% by applying for the first time an iterative maximum a posteriori delensing method. Our analysis demonstrates the capability of internal delensing as a means of improving constraints on inflationary models, paving the way for the optimal analysis of next-generation primordial B-mode experiments.

Wide field-of-view crossed Dragone optical system using anamorphic aspherical surfaces.

A side-fed crossed Dragone telescope provides a wide field of view. This type of telescope is commonly employed in the measurement of cosmic microwave background polarization, which requires an image-space telecentric telescope with a large focal plane over broadband coverage. We report the design of a wide field-of-view crossed Dragone optical system using anamorphic aspherical surfaces with correction terms up to the 10th order.