Could Better-Quality Employment Improve Population Health? Findings From a Scoping Review of Multi-Dimensional Employment Quality Research and a Proposed Research Direction.

Background: Precarious employment, a specific part of the conceptual spectrum of employment quality (EQ), has been established as an important risk to individual and population health and well-being when compared to a standard employment circumstance. There remains a need, however, to explore whether and how EQ might be used as a tool to not only protect but also advance population health and well-being.

Methods: The purposes of this scoping review were to assess the analytic treatment of the multiple dimensions of EQ and the stances researchers take to characterize the state of knowledge of EQ that supports the idea that better EQ is a health-promoting factor.

A Systematic Review of Evaluated Labor Market Initiatives Addressing Precarious Employment: Findings and Public Health Implications.

Precarious employment (PE) is a major determinant of population health and contributor to health and social inequities. The purpose of this article is to synthesize and critically appraise available evidence on labor market initiatives addressing PE identified through a systematic review. Of the 21 initiatives reviewed, grouped into four categories-labor market policies, legislation, and reforms; union strategies; apprenticeships and other youth programs; social protection programs-10 showed consistently positive outcomes and 11 a combination of negative, mixed, or inconclusive outcomes.

Biochar boost: revolutionizing functionalization of a difficult material.

The challenge with synthetically modified biochars is that they are notoriously difficult to characterize, and a new characterization approach that circumvents the challenges posed by overlapping bands in IR spectra is needed. We report multinuclear NMR approaches successful in the easy identification and quantification of covalently-bound functional groups on the biochar surface using P{H} CPMAS NMR spectroscopy.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Nitrite Detection.

Nitrite is an important chemical intermediate in the nitrogen cycle and is ubiquitously present in environmental and biological systems as a metabolite or additive in the agricultural and food industries. However, nitrite can also be toxic in excessive concentrations. As such, the development of quick, sensitive, and portable assays for its measurement is desirable.

Developing a decision support tool to predict delayed discharge from hospitals using machine learning.

Background: The growing demand for healthcare services challenges patient flow management in health systems. Alternative Level of Care (ALC) patients who no longer need acute care yet face discharge barriers contribute to prolonged stays and hospital overcrowding. Predicting these patients at admission allows for better resource planning, reducing bottlenecks, and improving flow.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for the Detection of Reactive Oxygen Species.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play fundamental roles in various biological and chemical processes in nature and industries, including cell signaling, disease development and aging, immune defenses, environmental remediation, pharmaceutical syntheses, metal corrosion, energy production, etc. As such, their detection is of paramount importance, but their accurate identification and quantification are technically challenging due to their transient nature with short lifetimes and low steady-state concentrations. As a highly sensitive and selective analytical technique, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is promising for detecting ROS in real-time, enabling in situ monitoring of ROS-involved electrochemical and biochemical events with exceptional resolution.

US state death rates: Structural equation modeling of Big Five personality, socioeconomic status, and health risk factors.

Structural equation modeling (SEM) tested the of a model with neuroticism, openness to experience, socioeconomic status (SES), and race as predictors of a composite of six health risks and age-adjusted all-cause mortality in 2020 using the 48 contiguous American states as analytic units. In the final model, neuroticism, openness, and SES accounted for 80% of the health risk composite variance. These three variables and composite health risk accounted for 85% of the death rate variance.

Precarious employment, strenuous working conditions and the long-term risk of diagnosed chronic musculoskeletal disorders.

Objectives: To investigate the effect of precarious employment (PE) on the risk of diagnosed chronic musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among Swedish workers in occupations with strenuous working conditions.

Methods: This nationwide register-based cohort study included workers registered as living in Sweden in 2005, aged 21-60 at the 2010 baseline. Three samples were included: workers with high biomechanical workload (n=680 841), repetitive work (n=659 422) or low job control (n=703 645).

Assessing attitudes toward seeking psychological professional help among adolescents: the roles of demographics and self-esteem.

Background: Various factors associated with attitudes toward the utilization of professional psychological help among the school-going population have been explored, but studies from Arabian Gulf countries are lacking. This study aimed to assess attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, examine how demographic factors and self-esteem are associated with seeking psychological help, and understand the interaction between these variables.

Methods: A cross-sectional correlational design was used.

Alternate Level of Care Patients in Canada: a Scoping Review.

Background: There has been increasing concern over the growing number of Alternate Level of Care (ALC) patients in Canada who must wait in hospitals for more appropriate settings to meet their needs. ALC patients may have to stay in hospitals for days or months due to a lack of available long-term care capacity, home care services, or other discharge routes.

Method: We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) method to review 35 papers on the topic of ALC patients and delayed discharge in Canada from different perspectives, including (1) the shared characteristics of ALC patients in Canada; and (2) their impact on the Canadian health-care system, medical staff, and family members.

A new moradisaurine captorhinid reptile (Amniota: Eureptilia) from the upper Permian of India.

Upper Permian rocks of the former supercontinent Gondwana record climax late Paleozoic terrestrial vertebrate faunas that were dominated numerically and ecologically by therapsid synapsids. Older faunal elements of earlier Paleozoic faunas, such as captorhinid reptiles, are rare and scattered components of the first amniote faunas to inhabit high-latitude regions. Here we describe a new genus and species of moradisaurine captorhinid that represents an archaic faunal element of the high-fibre herbivore fauna of the late Permian of what is now peninsular India.

It's not all that bad: associations among pain characteristics and sexual well-being in people living with chronic pain.

Background: Individuals experiencing chronic pain often report adverse effects on their sexual functioning. However, other important aspects of sexual well-being (SWB), such as sexual distress and sexual self-esteem, have received little attention. This is an important omission because a SWB involves more than just good sexual function.

Speciation Analysis of Metals and Metalloids by Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

The presence of metalloids and heavy metals in the environment is of critical concern due to their toxicological impacts. However, not all metallic species have the same risk level. Specifically, the physical, chemical, and isotopic speciation of the metal(loids) dictate their metabolism, toxicity, and environmental fate.

Animal companionship and psycho-social well-being: Findings from a national study of community-dwelling aging Canadians.

A growing body of evidence has provided support for the beneficial impact of human-animal interactions on a range of biological, social, and psychological outcomes for humans; however, less is conclusively known about the association between animal companionship and psycho-social health specifically among aging populations. In this study, we assessed the association between animal companionship and psycho-social well-being in a large sample (N = 30,865) of community dwelling Canadians aged 45 and older. Using cross-sectional data from the Canadian Community Health Survey-Healthy Aging, we conducted hierarchical multiple regression to assess the relationship between animal companionship and four domains of psycho-social well-being (satisfaction with life, loneliness, depression, and levels of social support) after controlling for socio-demographic factors and psycho-social measures.

Enhanced favipiravir drug degradation using the synergy of PbO-based anodic oxidation and Fe-MOF-based cathodic electro-Fenton.

Favipiravir (FAV) is a widely utilized antiviral drug effective against various viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and RNA viruses. This article aims to introduce a novel approach, known as Linear-Paired Electrocatalytic Degradation (LPED), as an efficient technique for the electrocatalytic degradation of emerging pollutants. LPED involves simultaneously utilizing a carbon-Felt/Co-PbO anode and a carbon-felt/Co/Fe-MOF-74 cathode, working together to degrade and mineralize FAV.

Increasing Sexual Violence Reporting and Disclosure in Higher Education Institutions: A Proposed Approach to Critically Analyze the Internal Organizational Context.

Aims: This article explores the underreporting of sexual violence (SV) in higher education, highlighting serious implications for survivors who may silently cope with its aftermath instead of accessing crucial resources.

Methods: We utilize Bolman and Deal's four-frame model for organizational change to assess how internal factors within organizations may influence reporting of SV. The four frames-symbolic, structural, human resources, and political-offer a systematic analysis of the internal organizational context in higher education institutions concerning SV reporting.

Culturally Diverse Female-Identified Students Discuss Sexual Assault Policies: Dialectics of Safety/Danger.

This article presents dialectical themes that emerged from the grounded theory analysis of 42 focus groups about university sexual assault policies held at four universities in Nova Scotia, Canada. Fourteen cultural communities were represented. Data from female-identified focus groups representing five cultures is deployed to exemplify dialectical themes.

Precarious work on the rise.

Precarious employment (PE) is non-standard employment with uncertain and unstable contract duration, low wages, and limited labour protections and rights. Research has associated PE with workers' poor mental health and well-being; however, this association has been studied primarily using quantitative methods. This qualitative study seeks to examine the mechanisms between PE and mental health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada.

Geographical Disparities in Colorectal Cancer in Canada: A Review.

Purpose Of Review: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prominent contributor to cancer-related mortality in Canada. This review paper sheds light on the research conducted in Canada to scrutinize the influence of economicfactors. The review seeks to uncover notable disparities in Colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rate across diverse Canadian populations, including Indigenous communities, rural dwellers, and individuals with lower socioeconomic status (SES).

The Persistent Paradox of Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (REMS): Brain Waves and Dreaming.

The original conceptualization of REM sleep as paradoxical sleep was based on its EEG resembling wakefulness and its association with dreaming. Over time, the concept of paradox was expanded to include various associations with REM sleep, such as dream exclusivity, high recall, and pathophysiology. However, none of these associations are unique to REM sleep; they can also occur in other sleep states.

Definitions of Having Sex in Older Men and Women and Their Relationship with Sexual Well-Being.

The goal of this study was to explore the sexual activities that older adults consider as having had sex and to examine correlates of the ways that older men and women define sex. A sample of 286 men and women aged 60 years and older who were involved in a romantic relationship were recruited online from Prolific and Facebook advertisements. Participants were presented a list of 19 different sexual activities and asked whether they would think they had sex if they engaged in each one of those activities.

Disability and the stratification of post-secondary pathways: Evidence from a large administrative linkage.

Research has linked disability to differential experiences and outcomes for students at multiple levels of education. To date, however, available data sources have prevented comprehensive analyses of the statistical relationship between disability and the pathways traveled by students through Ontario post-secondary education (PSE). Through this study, we examine this topic by leveraging a large multifaceted linkage that brings together rich administrative data from the Toronto District School Board (Grades 9-12), Ontario college and university enrollment records (2009-2018), as well as government student loans and tax records.

A novel multi-objective robust possibilistic flexible programming to design a sustainable apparel closed-loop supply chain network.

Designing a sustainable Closed-Loop Supply Chain (CLSC) network is imperative for the apparel industry, given its escalating adverse effects on economic, environmental, and social dimensions. In this study, a novel tri-objective location-allocation optimization model is specifically developed for designing a sustainable apparel CLSC, incorporating the industry's unique facilities. The aim of the model is to simultaneously minimize the costs and negative environmental impacts while maximizing social benefits under demands and returns uncertainty.