title: PeerJ description: Articles published in PeerJ link: https://peerj.com/articles/index.rss3?journal=peerj&page=666 creator: info@peerj.com PeerJ errorsTo: info@peerj.com PeerJ language: en title: Impact of emotional intelligence on adherence to the Mediterranean diet in elementary education school students. A structural equation model link: https://peerj.com/articles/13839 last-modified: 2022-08-23 description: BackgroundAdolescence is one of the stages where a large number of physical, psychological and emotional changes occur, the latter playing a key role in adherence to a healthy dietary pattern. Taking into account the above, this research reflects the objectives of developing an explanatory model of the incidence of attention, clarity and emotional repair on adherence to the Mediterranean diet and to contrast the structural model through a multigroup analysis based on Mediterranean adherence to this dietary pattern.MethodsTo this end, a comparative descriptive cross-sectional study has been carried out with 293 students from the third cycle of primary education. The instruments used were a sociodemographic questionnaire, the KIDMED test and the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24).ResultsStudents who show low adherence to the Mediterranean diet have a negative association with the repair of negative emotions. Participants who show a medium adherence to the Mediterranean diet, it is observed that they have a negative relationship with emotional clarity, while students who claim to have a high adherence to the Mediterranean diet show positive relationships with each of the constructs that make up emotional intelligence. creator: Eduardo Melguizo-Ibáñez creator: Georgian Badicu creator: Filipe Manuel Clemente creator: Ana Filipa Silva creator: Jose Luis Ubago-Jiménez creator: Gabriel González-Valero uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13839 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Melguizo-Ibáñez et al. title: Drift macroalgal distribution in northern Gulf of Mexico seagrass meadows link: https://peerj.com/articles/13855 last-modified: 2022-08-23 description: Drift macroalgae, often found in clumps or mats adjacent to or within seagrass beds, can increase the value of seagrass beds as habitat for nekton via added food resources and structural complexity. But, as algal biomass increases, it can also decrease light availability, inhibit faunal movements, smother benthic communities, and contribute to hypoxia, all of which can reduce nekton abundance. We quantified the abundance and distribution of drift macroalgae within seagrass meadows dominated by turtle grass Thalassia testudinum across the northern Gulf of Mexico and compared seagrass characteristics to macroalgal biomass and distribution. Drift macroalgae were most abundant in areas with higher seagrass shoot densities and intermediate canopy heights. We did not find significant relationships between algal biomass and point measures of salinity, temperature, or depth. The macroalgal genera Laurencia and Gracilaria were present across the study region, Agardhiella and Digenia were collected in the western Gulf of Mexico, and Acanthophora was collected in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Our survey revealed drift algae to be abundant and widespread throughout seagrass meadows in the northern Gulf of Mexico, which likely influences the habitat value of seagrass ecosystems. creator: Kelly M. Correia creator: Scott B. Alford creator: Benjamin A. Belgrad creator: Kelly M. Darnell creator: M. Zachary Darnell creator: Bradley T. Furman creator: Margaret O. Hall creator: Christian T. Hayes creator: Charles W. Martin creator: Ashley M. McDonald creator: Delbert L. Smee uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13855 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Correia et al. title: The effects of university students’ fragmented reading on cognitive development in the new media age: evidence from Chinese higher education link: https://peerj.com/articles/13861 last-modified: 2022-08-23 description: IntroductionThe impacts of fragmented reading have been felt on a huge scale during the new media age. An increasingly fast-paced society and a corresponding drop in theoretical reading have affected reading literacy and cognitive development across communities—and among university students in particular. This study sought to identify the components of fragmented reading and cognitive development and investigate the former’s effects on the latter among university students in the new media age.MethodsPaper-based and electronic surveys were used to gather demographic and related-reading data from undergraduates at six Chinese universities in early 2021. After testing the data from 916 samples for reliability and validity, descriptive statistics were obtained and path analysis was undertaken using structural equation modeling.ResultsThe students reported relatively high levels of fragmented reading, particularly in its temporal form. Significant associations were found between the constructs of fragmented reading and cognitive development. Specifically, the fragmentation of content, time, and attention in reading behavior had significant, positive effects on cognitive breadth. However, each of these components was somewhat negatively associated with cognitive depth.ConclusionsThe findings disclosed the dual effects of fragmented reading on the cognitive development of students, opening a new perspective on this debate. As fragmented reading in the new media age grows inexorably, the study highlights the need to utilize its positive effects on cognitive development by integrating and classifying fragmented information into the mental maps of learners. creator: Wei Liu creator: Heng Huang creator: Atif Saleem creator: Zhongping Zhao uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13861 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Liu et al. title: Body mass index and attention bias of food cues in women: a mediation model of body weight dissatisfaction link: https://peerj.com/articles/13863 last-modified: 2022-08-23 description: Food attention bias could be used to indicate diet-related diseases in individuals with obesity. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and food attention bias, and the mediating role of body weight dissatisfaction (BWD) on this relationship in women. Seventy-five participants were recruited to complete a visual dot task with eye tracking. The results showed that BMI would positively predict response latency and duration bias on high-calorie foods; the relationship between BMI and response latency of high-calorie food was a complete mediation of BWD; the relationship between BMI and duration bias of high-calorie food was a complete mediation of BWD; and BWD positively predicts response latency and duration bias on high-calorie foods. These findings suggest a positive relationship between BMI and food attention bias, and the effect of a complete mediation of BWD in women. creator: Aibao Zhou creator: Pei Xie creator: Md Zahir Ahmed creator: Mary C. Jobe creator: Oli Ahmed uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13863 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Zhou et al. title: Probability-based preservational variations within the early Cambrian Chengjiang biota (China) link: https://peerj.com/articles/13869 last-modified: 2022-08-23 description: The Chengjiang biota (Yunnan Province, China) is a treasure trove of soft-bodied animal fossils from the earliest stages of the Cambrian explosion. The mechanisms contributing to its unique preservation, known as the Burgess Shale-type preservation, are well understood. However, little is known about the preservation differences between various animal groups within this biota. This study compares tissue-occurrence data of 11 major animal groups in the Chengjiang biota using a probabilistic methodology. The fossil-based data from this study is compared to previous decay experiments. This shows that all groups are not equally preserved with some higher taxa more likely to preserve soft tissues than others. These differences in fossil preservation between taxa can be explained by the interaction of biological and environmental characteristics. A bias also results from differential taxonomic recognition, as some taxa are easily recognized from even poorly preserved fragments while other specimens are difficult to assign to higher taxa even with exquisite preservation. creator: Farid Saleh creator: Xiaoya Ma creator: Pauline Guenser creator: M. Gabriela Mángano creator: Luis A. Buatois creator: Jonathan B. Antcliffe uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13869 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Saleh et al. title: Long non-coding RNA BZRAP1-AS1 functions in malignancy and prognosis for non-small-cell lung cancer link: https://peerj.com/articles/13871 last-modified: 2022-08-23 description: PurposeThe function of BZRAP1-AS1 is unknown in lung cancer. We evaluated the clinicopathologic significance of BZRAP1-AS1, and its role in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progression.Patient and methodsSixty-three NSCLC patients from Beijing Chest Hospital were included. The expression of BZRAP1-AS1 was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues. Then, the clinicopathological significance and prognostic value of BZRAP1-AS1 were analyzed by using our cohort and TCGA cohort. Finally, the effect of BZRAP1-AS1 on proliferation and motility of NSCLC cell lines were evaluated by cell growth assay, colony formation assay, xenograft tumorigenesis experiment in nude mice and transwell assays respectively.ResultsCompared with adjacent normal tissues, BZRAP1-AS1 showed lower expression in NSCLC tumor tissues. As for the relationship between BZRAP1-AS1 and clinical characteristics, our results were consistent with those of TCGA data. BZRAP1-AS1 was lower in T1 than T2–T4 patients, N1-N3 than N0 patients. Low level BZRAP1-AS1 was related to shorter overall survival time (OS) in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), and poor first progression time (FP) in LUAD and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) patients. BZRAP1-AS1 was significantly associated with the prognosis of NSCLC patients. Overexpression of BZRAP1-AS1 inhibited proliferation and migration of H1299 and HCC827 cells.ConclusionBZRAP1-AS1 expression decreases in tumor tissues with the increase of malignancy grades in NSCLC. BZRAP1-AS1 plays an anticancer role by inhibiting cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis, and has a potential prognostic value in NSCLC. BZRAP1-AS1 may serve as a diagnostic marker and therapeutic target for NSCLC. creator: Xuefeng Hao creator: Minghang Zhang creator: Meng Gu creator: Ziyu Wang creator: Shijie Zhou creator: Weiying Li creator: Shaofa Xu uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13871 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Hao et al. title: Predictability and transferability of local biodiversity environment relationships link: https://peerj.com/articles/13872 last-modified: 2022-08-23 description: BackgroundBiodiversity varies in space and time, and often in response to environmental heterogeneity. Indicators in the form of local biodiversity measures–such as species richness or abundance–are common tools to capture this variation. The rise of readily available remote sensing data has enabled the characterization of environmental heterogeneity in a globally robust and replicable manner. Based on the assumption that differences in biodiversity measures are generally related to differences in environmental heterogeneity, these data have enabled projections and extrapolations of biodiversity in space and time. However so far little work has been done on quantitatively evaluating if and how accurately local biodiversity measures can be predicted.MethodsHere I combine estimates of biodiversity measures from terrestrial local biodiversity surveys with remotely-sensed data on environmental heterogeneity globally. I then determine through a cross-validation framework how accurately local biodiversity measures can be predicted within (“predictability”) and across similar (“transferability”) biodiversity surveys.ResultsI found that prediction errors can be substantial, with error magnitudes varying between different biodiversity measures, taxonomic groups, sampling techniques and types of environmental heterogeneity characterizations. And although errors associated with model predictability were in many cases relatively low, these results question–particular for transferability–our capability to accurately predict and project local biodiversity measures based on environmental heterogeneity. I make the case that future predictions should be evaluated based on their accuracy and inherent uncertainty, and ecological theories be tested against whether we are able to make accurate predictions from local biodiversity data. creator: Martin Jung uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13872 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2022 Jung title: Pediatrics HIV-positive status disclosure and its predictors in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis link: https://peerj.com/articles/13896 last-modified: 2022-08-23 description: IntroductionHIV-positive status disclosure for children is challenging for family members, guardians, and healthcare professionals. Disclosure is very challenging, particularly for children, yet no systematic synthesis of evidence accurately measures HIV-positive status disclosure in children. This systematic review and meta-analysis study aimed to quantify the national prevalence of pediatric HIV-positive status disclosure in Ethiopia and identify factors associated with HIV-positive status disclosure.MethodWe systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science databases, and google scholar for relevant published studies. Studies published in the English language and conducted with cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional designs were eligible for the review. The primary and secondary outcomes of the study were HIV-positive status disclosure and factors associated with HIV-positive status disclosure, respectively. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools. A random effect- model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of HIV-positive status disclosure. Heterogeneity and publication bias of included studies was determined using I2 and Egger’s test, respectively.ResultFrom 601 records screened, nine relevant studies consisting of 2,442 HIV-positive children were included in the analysis. The overall pooled prevalence of HIV-positive status disclosure among children living with HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia was 31.2% (95% CI [23.9–38.5]). HIV-negative status of caregivers (AOR: 2.01; 95% CI [1.28–3.18]), long duration on ART (greater than 5 years) (AOR: 3.2; 95% CI [1.77–5.78]) and older age of the child (>10 years) (AOR: 7.2; 95% CI [4.37–11.88]) were significantly associated with HIV-positive status disclosure.ConclusionLow prevalence of pediatric HIV-positive status disclosure was observed in Ethiopia. The longer duration of ART, the HIV-negative status of the caregiver, and older age greater than 10 years were the predictors of pediatric HIV-positive status disclosure. Health system leaders and policymakers shall design training and counseling programs for healthcare professionals and caregivers to enhance their awareness about HIV-positive status disclosure.Trial registrationThis review was registered under PROSPERO and received a unique registration number, CRD42019119049. creator: Getaneh Mulualem Belay creator: Fikadu Ambaw Yehualashet creator: Amare Wondim Ewunetie creator: Kendalem Asmare Atalell uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13896 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Belay et al. title: Chemistry, taxonomy and ecology of the potentially chimpanzee-dispersed Vepris teva sp.nov. (Rutaceae) endangered in coastal thicket in the Congo Republic link: https://peerj.com/articles/13926 last-modified: 2022-08-23 description: Continuing a survey of the chemistry of species of the largely continental African genus Vepris, we investigate a species previously referred to as Vepris sp. 1 of Congo. From the leaves of Vepris sp. 1 we report six compounds. The compounds were three furoquinoline alkaloids, kokusaginine (1), maculine (2), and flindersiamine (3), two acridone alkaloids, arborinine (4) and 1-hydroxy-3-methoxy-10-methylacridone (5), and the triterpenoid, ß-amyrin (6). Compounds 1–4 are commonly isolated from other Vepris species, compound 5 has been reported before once, from Malagasy Vepris pilosa, while this is the first report of ß-amyrin from Vepris. This combination of compounds has never before been reported from any species of Vepris. We test the hypothesis that Vepris sp. 1 is new to science and formally describe it as Vepris teva, unique in the genus in that the trifoliolate leaves are subsessile, with the median petiolule far exceeding the petiole in length. Similar fleshy-leathery four-locular syncarpous fruits are otherwise only known in the genus in Vepris glaberrima (formerly the monotypic genus Oriciopsis Engl.), a potential sister species, but requiring further investigation to confirm this phylogenetic position. We briefly characterise the unusual and poorly documented Atlantic coast equatorial ecosystem, where Vepris teva is restricted to evergreen thicket on white sand, unusual in a genus usually confined to evergreen forest. This endemic-rich ecosystem with a unique amphibian as well as plants, extends along the coastline from the mouth of the Congo River to southern Rio Muni, a distance of about 1,000 km, traversing five countries. We map and illustrate Vepris teva and assess its extinction risk as Endangered (EN B1ab(iii)+B2ab(iii)) using the IUCN, 2012 standard. Only three locations are known, and threats include port and oil refinery construction and associated activities, with only one protected location, the Jane Goodall Institute’s Tchimpounga Reserve. Initial evidence indicates that the seeds of Vepris teva are dispersed by chimpanzees, previously unreported in the genus. creator: Moses K. Langat creator: Teva Kami creator: Martin Cheek uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13926 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2022 Langat et al. title: An assessment of heavy metals in green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) hatchlings from Saudi Arabia’s largest rookery, Ras Baridi link: https://peerj.com/articles/13928 last-modified: 2022-08-23 description: BackgroundAnthropogenic sources can lead to the accumulation of heavy metals in marine organisms through ingestion, absorption, or inhalation. For sea turtle embryos, heavy metals can be absorbed into the egg from the incubation environment or be maternally transferred to the offspring causing neurological, reproductive, and developmental problems. Here, we report heavy metal concentrations in green turtle hatchlings from the largest rookery on the Red Sea, Ras Baridi.MethodsDeceased hatchlings were collected from two beaches near a cement factory at Ras Baridi, from which heavy metal concentrations (chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), selenium (Se), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb)) were measured from the liver, muscle, and residual yolk of the hatchlings.ResultsAlthough based on a small sample of hatchlings, the data presented here provides the first measurements of heavy metals from sea turtles in the Red Sea and highlights the link between human activity and its impact on the ecology of sea turtles. In general, the heavy metal concentrations of heavy metals were not significantly different between the beach next to the cement factory and the beach downwind from the factory. However, the concentrations of heavy metals were significantly different between sampled tissues (liver, muscle, and residual yolk).DiscussionThis study provides insight into current heavy metal levels in green turtle hatchlings, which can be used as bio-indicators for environmental contaminants as coastal development increases in the Red Sea. Moreover, we found a lack of standardized methodology to evaluate heavy metals in hatchling sea turtles. Future efforts should work toward creating comparable techniques for long-term heavy metal monitoring, as this is a useful determinant of anthropogenic pollution. creator: Lyndsey K. Tanabe creator: Kirsty Scott creator: Vijayalaxmi Dasari creator: Michael L. Berumen uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13928 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2022 Tanabe et al.