Research has identified self-concept clarity as a critical psychological resource; however, its mechanisms in mitigating artificial intelligence (AI) anxiety remain underexplored. This study employed a cross-sectional survey of 2176 graduate students (1584 females; M_age = 23.60, SD = 2.03) to build a moderated chain mediation model that examines the mediating role of intentional self-regulation and perceived stress, as well as the moderating role of intolerance of uncertainty. Self-concept clarity was negatively correlated with AI anxiety, perceived stress, and intolerance of uncertainty, and positively correlated with intentional self-regulation. Mediation analyses showed that self-concept clarity predicted lower AI anxiety through both independent and chain mediation effects of intentional self-regulation and perceived stress. Moreover, intolerance of uncertainty moderated the links of self-concept clarity, intentional self-regulation, and perceived stress with AI anxiety. These findings highlight the importance and key explanatory mechanisms of self-concept clarity in mitigating AI anxiety among adults, elucidating that the cultivation of self-concept clarity and acceptance of uncertainty should be a crucial target for prevention and intervention strategies.

Background/Objectives: Folk dance represents an educational and cultural practice that is capable of promoting psychological well-being, social cohesion, and identity formation. However, few studies have integrated students' voices regarding their lived experiences in these practices. This study aimed to analyze the perceptions of children and adolescents about their participation in school folk dances, exploring their impact on psychological well-being, self-confidence, and body awareness. Methods: A qualitative study with an exploratory and descriptive design was conducted with a purposive sample of 76 elementary and secondary school students who participated in the School Folk Dance Encounter "Heartbeats of My Land", organized by the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences (Chile). Semi-structured interviews were applied, and a thematic analysis was performed on 285 statements, organized into two dimensions: Psychological Well-being and Self-Confidence (PWS) and Body Awareness, Expression, and Communication (CEC). Results: The analysis revealed a predominance of the (PWS) dimension (85.3%), focused on positive emotions, self-confidence, and emotional regulation. Students' testimonies highlighted dance as a means of release, self-esteem, and joy. To a lesser extent (14.7%), the (CEC) dimension reflected the perception of the body as a vehicle for communication and symbolic expression. Conclusions: Folk dance emerges as an integral pedagogical space that enhances emotional well-being, self-confidence, and cultural identity. Its systematic inclusion in Physical Education is proposed as a strategy to foster meaningful learning, mental health, and social cohesion.

Alcohol abuse and affective disorders are severe comorbid psychiatric diseases characterized by impaired brain synaptic transmission. The role of presynaptic scaffolding proteins coordinating presynaptic plasticity and neurotransmitter release, such as Bassoon (Bsn), in the pathogenesis of these disorders remains elusive. Considering the key roles of the dopaminergic and glutamatergic systems in the pathogenesis of affective disorders and alcohol use disorder, we investigated the role of Bsn in these neuronal systems in the regulation of disease-related behaviours.

We employed two mouse models conditionally lacking Bsn in glutamatergic neurons of the forebrain or in dopaminergic neurons. Depression- and anxiety-like and alcohol-related behaviour was evaluated using a battery of behavioural tests in a sex-specific way. Brain monoamine levels were evaluated in several brain regions of mice with Bsn deletion in dopaminergic neurons.

Bsn deletion in forebrain glutamatergic neurons reduced alcohol consumption and preserved affective state in male mice. In females, loss of Bsn in these neurons. enhanced anxiety-like behaviour. A Bsn knockout in dopaminergic neurons of males was associated with increased alcohol consumption and anxiety, while depression-like behaviour was attenuated. Females with Bsn deletion in dopaminergic neurons showed no alterations in affective state and alcohol drinking behaviour, but increased dopamine levels in amygdala, indicating a potentially compensatory mechanism.

Our findings suggest that Bsn is a sex-specific regulator of affective state and alcohol consumption behaviour in a neuron type-specific way. Bsn exerts dissociating behavioural effects depending on its action in glutamatergic versus dopaminergic neurons.

Uganda implemented the antiretroviral therapy (ART) optimization program in July 2019, based on an eligibility rule. ART optimization targeted individuals with prior viral load (VL) < 1000 copies/mL, while those with VL ≥ 1000 copies/mL continued with non-optimized regimens. We assessed the effectiveness of ART optimization on VL suppression among children and adolescents with HIV (CAWH) in Uganda. We also assessed the compliance of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) clinics with the eligibility rule and its effect on ART optimization. Therefore, we designed a quasi-experimental study using data from 21 urban and rural HIV clinics. The exposure was ART optimization, defined as the initiation or transition of CAWH on dolutegravir or a protease inhibitor (boosted lopinavir). Children and adolescents with HIV on an optimized ART regimen formed the exposed group, while those on a non-optimized ART regimen comprised the nonexposed group. The primary outcome was VL suppression, defined by VL < 1000 copies/mL after ≥6 months of ART optimization. We assessed the effectiveness of ART optimization on VL suppression using 2-stage least squares instrumental variable regression due to imperfect compliance with the eligibility rule across the clinics. We also established the effectiveness of the eligibility rule on ART optimization for individuals just below and just above the cutoff. Sensitivity analysis was performed using a noncausal approach. We analyzed data from 2999 CAWH aged ≤19 years and found an overall VL suppression of 76.1% (2282/2999). We found that ART optimization showed a trend toward improved VL suppression (risk ratio [RR] 1.81, 95% CI: 0.79-4.14). However, compliance with the rule was only for 2.6% of the participants, and the rule did not improve ART optimization (RR 0.96, 95% CI: 0.88-1.05). Overall, ART optimization, guided by an eligibility rule, did not achieve the target of ≥95% VL suppression among CAWH across the 21 public HIV clinics in Uganda, partly due to low compliance with the rule, although it showed a trend toward improvement. Addressing context-specific biological, behavioral, social, and structural barriers is needed to optimize VL outcomes.

Physical function declines with ageing; however, the changes in the prevalence of impaired physical function during ageing and how the changes would be affected by physical activity are not well investigated. This study aimed to address the issues.

We included participants aged ≥ 65 years in the 2008-2010 wave, who were followed-up in the 2012-2014 and the 2016-2018 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Types of impaired physical function included weak grip strength, slow walking speed, and poor standing balance. Their prevalence in each wave was calculated and their changes over time were estimated using the mixed-effects logistic regression model.

A total of 6,537 older adults were included. The prevalence of slow walking speed ranked the highest in all the types of impaired physical function in all the 3 individual waves (all P_comparison <0.001). During follow-up, participants were increasingly being older and the prevalences of all the types of impaired physical function were gradually increased after multivariate-adjustment (all P_trend <0.001). These increases were unlikely to be significantly moderated by weight status, drinking history or the presence of diabetes (all P_interaction ≥0.19). However, the increases in the prevalences of weak grip strength and slow walking speed were nonsignificant in participants with regular physical activity, but was significant in those without (P_interaction = 0.009 and 0.01, respectively).

Despite gradual increases in the prevalence of impaired physical function during ageing, regular physical activity may help to preserve physical function in older adults.

Not applicable.

Necroptosis is a regulated form of cell death characterized by receptor-interacting protein kinase (RIPK) activation, leading to necrosome formation and subsequent membrane rupture. Increasing evidence indicates that necroptosis contributes to metabolic syndrome (MetS) by promoting tissue inflammation, insulin resistance, and metabolic dysfunction. The molecular mechanisms underlying necroptosis in MetS primarily involve activation of the RIPK1-RIPK3-MLKL axis, particularly in metabolically active tissues such as skeletal muscle, liver, adipose tissue, and pancreatic β-cells. Although numerous experimental studies have linked necroptosis to metabolic inflammation and organ injury, a systematic synthesis of its mechanistic roles, biomarker relevance, and translational potential in MetS remains limited. This review summarizes current evidence on the molecular regulation of necroptosis in MetS, its involvement in disease progression across multiple organs, and emerging diagnostic, prognostic, and theragnostic biomarkers. In addition, this review discusses therapeutic strategies targeting necroptosis and critically evaluates their translational challenges. By integrating mechanistic and translational perspectives, this review aims to provide a balanced framework for understanding the role of necroptosis in MetS and to highlight key knowledge gaps that warrant further investigation.

Sports dentistry is increasingly recognised as an important partner in sports medicine and integral to overall athlete health and wellbeing. For instance, dentists are working with sports organisations, federations and teams in a wide variety of activities. However, the roles, responsibilities and spectrum of involvement of sports dentists is not well-understood. Just what does a sports dentist do all day? What is involved in such specialised activity and how does it interface with sports medicine? These questions are important to understand for those considering a role within sports dentistry as well as those in sports medicine to understand what this role can offer to the athlete health support team. The interviews that follow will shed light on the role of sports dentists, through five current practitioners and one sports medic.

The rising prevalence of diabetes is increasing the healthcare costs especially when associated with infection. We aimed to assess the antibiotic consumption and medication costs in diabetes.

We performed a retrospective claims-based study using Iranian Health Insurance Organization (IHIO) dataset from 24 provinces during 2014-2017. Systemic antibacterials were quantified in defined daily doses and diabetic patients were stratified into "No antibiotic" (NAb) and quartiles of cumulative antibiotic exposure (Q1-Q4). A dominant antidiabetic regimen was assigned when ≥80% of a patient's diabetes prescriptions came from one drug class or combination. Inflation-adjusted annual medication costs were modelled with log-link Gamma generalized linear models.

The study comprised 1,704,182 individuals (62.0% women). Biguanides alone were most common dominant diabetes regimen (40%), whereas penicillin accounted for 35.8% of all antibiotic dispensing. Mean annual medication costs were 93 USD for women and 138 USD for men; however, after adjustment men incurred slightly lower costs than women. Compared with the NAb group, costs rose progressively with antibiotic exposure, reaching an adjusted mean ratio (MR) 3.17 (95%CI 3.09-3.25) in Q4. Relative to biguanide monotherapy, costs were markedly higher for regimens biguanides + insulins (MR 5.75, 5.54-5.97) or insulins alone (MR 5.53, 5.38-5.68).

Quantifying the joint impact of antidiabetic regimens and antibiotic use on treatment costs highlights key factors driving healthcare expenditures. These findings can inform targeted antibiotic stewardship strategies and guide reimbursement policy to optimize resource allocation and reduce the financial burden on both patients and insurers.

Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is often accompanied by comorbidities such as hypertension (HTN), cardiovascular disease (CVD), and chronic kidney disease (CKD), which increase the disease burden and complicate its management. In Iran, where diabetes prevalence is growing, understanding the extent and determinants of these comorbidities is crucial for improving clinical care and informing national public health strategies.

We used data from the WHO STEPwise approach to non-communicable diseases risk factor surveillance (STEPS) 2021 to assess the prevalence of comorbidities among Iranian patients with T2DM. Comorbidity was defined as ≥ 2 of: HTN, CKD, history of CVD, or cancer. Multivariable logistic regression was done to identify the potential socio-demographic factors associated with comorbidities.

Of a total of 2,900 participants aged 25-70 years with T2DM (56.24% women), 27.00% (95% confidence interval (CI): 24.74-29.40) had no comorbidity, 39.82% (95% CI: 37.26-42.43) had one comorbidity (HTN: 79.62%, CKD: 10.66%, CVD: 8.64%, cancer: 1.09%), and 33.18% (95% CI: 30.58-35.89) had ≥ 2 comorbidities. The prevalence of comorbidity was significantly associated with male gender, age ≥ 60 years, living in a rural area, body mass index >30 kg/m2 (all p-values < 0.05). However, higher years of schooling, being employed, and physical activity ≥ 150 min/week were associated with lower odds of comorbidities.

Over 70% of Iranian adults have additional health conditions alongside diabetes, which significantly impact public health and underscore the need for personalized and multi-faceted preventive approaches.