Heterologous infection and vaccination shapes immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants

Immune imprinting For severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), immune responses to heterologous variants are influenced by a person’s infection history. Healthcare workers (HCWs) may be exposed to several doses and types of antigens, either by natural infection or by vaccination. Reynolds et al . studied a cohort of UK HCWs followed since March 2020. The immunological profiles of these people depended on how often the subject had encountered antigen and which variant was involved. Vaccine responses after infection were found to be less effective if the infection involved heterologous spike from a variant virus. Unfortunately, the N501Y spike mutation, found in many variants, seems to induce the regulatory T cell transcription factor FOXP3, indicating that the virus could subvert effective T cell function. Changes to antibody binding between variants also means that serology data using the Wuhan Hu-1 S1 receptor-binding domain sequence may not be a reliable measure of protection. —CA

The Employee Spirituality Scale as a Measure of Employees’ Spirituality

The aim of the study was to assess the psychometric properties of the employee spirituality scale. The employee spirituality scale was found to be a reliable measure with good internal consistency. The internal consistency of this instrument, measured with Cronbach’s α coefficient, was 0.94. Factor analysis confirmed the two-dimensional structure of this measure, the dimensions being: relationship to a Higher Power (God) and attitude towards workmates and employer. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between employee spirituality and job satisfaction, as well as age, and a negative correlation was found with their intent to leave their organization. According to expectation, the relationship to a Higher Power (God) as a religious dimension of employee spirituality was strong, positively related to religious practices and attitude towards workmates and employer, and a secular dimension of employee spirituality did not correlate with religious measures. Gender did not differentiate participants in terms of employee spirituality. The presented results provide evidence that the employee spirituality scale has good psychometric properties and is therefore recommended for use by researchers studying employee spirituality in Polish organizations.

Validation of “Trust/Mistrust in God Scale” for Spanish Cancer Patients

Trust/Mistrust in God have turned out to be two constructs that have great relevance in the study of the relationship between religion, spirituality, and health. In Spain, there are no instruments adapted to measure trust/mistrust in God, which limits the work of researchers interested in these aspects. Therefore, the aim of this study was to validate the Brief Trust/Mistrust in God Scale (BTMGS) in Spanish. The scale translated into Spanish was applied in a sample of 178 oncologic patients together with the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the significant others subscale of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, due to the existing evidence of relationships between the variables evaluated by these measures. Internal consistency, structural validity, convergent and discriminant validity were evaluated. The Spanish adaptation of the BTMGS obtained high internal consistency, both for trust subscale (α = 0.95) and for the mistrust subscale (α = 0.86). Furthermore, the correlations found between the BTMGS and the measures of positive and negative emotions and social add evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. These results suggest that the Spanish version of the BTMGS is a valid and reliable measure to be used in research on religion, spirituality and health in Spanish-speaking contexts.

Diagnostic Tests of English Vocabulary Learning Proficiency: Guessing From Context and Knowledge of Word Parts

<p>This thesis looked at the creation and validation of two tests that measure how efficiently English words are learned. Previous studies have created and validated a number of tests that measure the size (how many words are known) and the depth (how well a word is known) of vocabulary knowledge; however, existing vocabulary tests do not indicate how learners can become proficient in vocabulary learning. This research was one of the first attempts to create such tests. A guessing-from-context test (GCT) and a word part test (WPT) were created, because the skill of guessing from context and word part knowledge are teachable and are the most frequently used strategies for dealing with unknown words. The GCT consisted of the following three sections: identifying the part of speech of an unknown word, finding the contextual clue that helps guess its meaning, and deriving the unknown word’s meaning. Each of these three sections was designed to measure each of the important steps in guessing from context that was identified by previous studies. The test was validated using Rasch analysis through data from 428 Japanese learners of English. The results indicated that the GCT is a highly valid and reliable measure of the skill of guessing from context in terms of eight aspects of construct validity (content, substantial, structural, generalizability, external, consequential, responsiveness, and interpretability). Based on the results, two new equivalent forms were created in order to allow a pre- and post-test design where researchers and teachers can investigate learners’ development of the skill of guessing from context. The WPT measured 118 word parts that were selected based on frequency data in the British National Corpus. It consisted of the following three sections: form (recognition of written word parts), meaning (knowledge of their meanings), and use (knowledge of their syntactic properties). These three sections were designed to measure the important aspects of word part knowledge that were identified by previous studies. The WPT was validated using Rasch analysis through data from 440 Japanese learners of English and 1,348 people with various native languages. The results indicated that the WPT is a highly valid and reliable measure of word part knowledge in terms of the eight aspects of construct validity mentioned above. As with the GCT, two new equivalent forms were created in order to allow a pre- and post-test design. For more practical use of the test, the Word Part Levels Test (WPLT) was created by classifying the 118 word parts into three different levels of difficulty. This may allow teachers to quickly examine whether their students need to work on easy or difficult word parts and which aspects of word part knowledge need to be learned. Taken as a whole, the GCT and the WPT are useful measures both for research and practical purposes.</p>

Diagnostic Tests of English Vocabulary Learning Proficiency: Guessing From Context and Knowledge of Word Parts

<p>This thesis looked at the creation and validation of two tests that measure how efficiently English words are learned. Previous studies have created and validated a number of tests that measure the size (how many words are known) and the depth (how well a word is known) of vocabulary knowledge; however, existing vocabulary tests do not indicate how learners can become proficient in vocabulary learning. This research was one of the first attempts to create such tests. A guessing-from-context test (GCT) and a word part test (WPT) were created, because the skill of guessing from context and word part knowledge are teachable and are the most frequently used strategies for dealing with unknown words. The GCT consisted of the following three sections: identifying the part of speech of an unknown word, finding the contextual clue that helps guess its meaning, and deriving the unknown word’s meaning. Each of these three sections was designed to measure each of the important steps in guessing from context that was identified by previous studies. The test was validated using Rasch analysis through data from 428 Japanese learners of English. The results indicated that the GCT is a highly valid and reliable measure of the skill of guessing from context in terms of eight aspects of construct validity (content, substantial, structural, generalizability, external, consequential, responsiveness, and interpretability). Based on the results, two new equivalent forms were created in order to allow a pre- and post-test design where researchers and teachers can investigate learners’ development of the skill of guessing from context. The WPT measured 118 word parts that were selected based on frequency data in the British National Corpus. It consisted of the following three sections: form (recognition of written word parts), meaning (knowledge of their meanings), and use (knowledge of their syntactic properties). These three sections were designed to measure the important aspects of word part knowledge that were identified by previous studies. The WPT was validated using Rasch analysis through data from 440 Japanese learners of English and 1,348 people with various native languages. The results indicated that the WPT is a highly valid and reliable measure of word part knowledge in terms of the eight aspects of construct validity mentioned above. As with the GCT, two new equivalent forms were created in order to allow a pre- and post-test design. For more practical use of the test, the Word Part Levels Test (WPLT) was created by classifying the 118 word parts into three different levels of difficulty. This may allow teachers to quickly examine whether their students need to work on easy or difficult word parts and which aspects of word part knowledge need to be learned. Taken as a whole, the GCT and the WPT are useful measures both for research and practical purposes.</p>

Spiritual Well-Being for Croatian Cancer Patients: Validation and Applicability of the Croatian Version of the EORTC QLQ-SWB32

Spiritual well-being is a recognized predictor of health-related quality of life in palliative patients. No research in Croatia has yet addressed this field. This study, the first of its kind in Croatia, validated a Croatian translation of the EORTC QLQ-SWB32 measure of spiritual well-being with curative Croatian oncology patients and assessed its use and value. The study was conducted between July 2019 and January 2020 at the Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, University Hospital Rijeka, with 143 cancer patients, using the linguistically validated Croatian version of the measure. All patients found the measure acceptable. Confirmatory factor analysis aligned with the structure found in previous studies. Cronbach’s alpha confirmed internal consistency. Female participants scored higher on the RSG (Relationship with Someone or Something Greater), RG (Relationship with God), and EX (Existential) scales, and on Global-SWB. Patients with breast and gynecological tumors scored higher on RG. Older patients scored lower on RSG, RG and EX. Retirees and those with below-average incomes scored lower on EX. Participants who identified as having no religion scored lower on RSG. Stage I cancer patients scored higher on RG. The Croatian version of the EORTC QLQ-SWB32 is an acceptable, valid, and reliable measure of SWB for Croatian cancer patients.

Imagine Me and You, I Do: Characteristics and Functions of Imagined Interactions During Online Dating

The present study seeks to apply the interpersonal construct of imagined interactions (IIs) to CMC, specifically in the realm of online dating, to explore the nature of imagination work while using dating apps and sites. The relationship between the characteristics and functions of IIs and the degree to which they predict dating themes of honesty, trust, stigma, and overall experience was tested. Multiple regression analyses were carried out to locate the specific characteristics and functions of IIs that are activated during the online dating process. The adapted survey of imagined interactions (SII) proved to be a reliable measure of all characteristics and functions when applied to the context of online dating themes of honesty, trust, stigma, and overall experience. Several reliable psychometrics for investigating imagined interactions within the context of online dating have been established, and support for the hyperpersonal communication model is discussed.

Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire: a Factorial Validation Study in Spanish for Children (CERQ-k)

Background: The cognitive regulation of emotions is a fundamental variable in socio-affective functioning, being an essential skill in childhood due to its relationship with multiple areas of social functioning. Although there is a version that allows evaluating this construct (CERQ-k), translated and adapted for Argentine children, the structural model found does not fully coincide with the model proposed by the authors of the original version of CERQ. Objective: To test, through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), the model obtained in the adapted version and compare it with that of the original version of the instrument. Method: From a non-probabilistic sample, 761 children between the ages of 9 and 12, from the provinces of Entre Ríos and Córdoba, participated in the study. Descriptive analyzes of the items, CFA, and reliability analysis were carried out. Results: The CFA indicated an adequate fit in both models, although the second-order model proved to be more parsimonious and with satisfactory fit and error indices. Conclusion: The CERQ-k version adapted to Argentina, whose structure has been confirmed in this study, allows a valid and reliable measure of the construct to evaluate the cognitive regulation of emotion in children aged 9 to 12 years.