Psychology

This study aimed to evaluate how the duration of travel affects the behavior of urban and rural residents regarding free COVID-19 vaccination, and provide scientific evidence for promoting free vaccination and building an immune barrier to cope with future epidemics. From August 3, 2022 to February,18,2023, A follow-up survey was conducted in urban and rural adults in four cities in China to collect information on socio-demographic factors, vaccination status and travel time for vaccination. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was deployed to measure the net difference of the enhanced vaccination rate between urban and rural residents in different traffic time distribution. A total of 5780 samples were included in the study. The vaccination rate of the booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine among rural residents was higher than that of urban residents with a significant P-value (69.36% VS 64.49%, < .001). The traffic time had a significant negative impact on the COVID-19 booster vaccination behavior of urban and rural residents. There was a significant interaction between the travel time to the vaccination point and the level of trust in doctors. Travel time had a negative impact on the free vaccination behavior of both urban and rural residents. The government should optimize and expand the number of vaccination sites and enhance residents' trust in the medical system. This is crucial for promoting free vaccination and effective epidemic management in the future.

Data on routine childhood vaccination coverage can only tell us who is under-vaccinated; it cannot explain why vaccine coverage is low. Collecting data on the reasons behind under-vaccination is necessary to implement cost-effective strategies that address key barriers and target interventions appropriately. However, no instruments that measure both vaccine acceptance and access factors among parents of children <5 y have been validated in high-income countries. This study aims to develop and validate the Vaccine Barriers Assessment Tool (VBAT) for Australia. We applied three phases of mixed methods data collection and analysis. In Phase 1, we developed a comprehensive list of 80 items reflecting all potential parental barriers to childhood vaccination, derived from published literature and behavioral theory. Through cognitive interviews ( = 28), we refined this list to 45 items. In Phase 2, we conducted a two-wave online survey to test the reliability and validity of these items in an Australian sample of parents ( = 532) with structural equation modeling, further refining the list to 35 items. In Phase 3, we conducted a final parent survey ( = 156), administering these items along with the Parent Attitudes toward Childhood Vaccination (PACV) scale for comparison. We reviewed participants' immunization register data to assess the predictive validity of the proposed models. The final 6-item short form and 15-item long form Vaccine Barriers Assessment Tool assess access, communal benefit, personal risk, equity, commitment, social norms, and trust in health-care workers. It is being applied for national surveillance in Australia and will be adapted for additional populations and vaccines.

A systematic literature review (SLR) of seven papers written between 2015 and 2021 explored the educational experiences of learners with dyslexia in mainstream schools in England from an ecosystemic perspective and how to improve the situation. The analysis employed keywords for database searches and followed the PRISMA flow protocol. It synthesised evidence using thematic analysis and identified seven themes: dyslexia challenges; differential treatment; negative stereotypes; early intervention; teachers' training; power dynamics; and collaboration. The results suggest that several factors can influence the learning experiences of learners with dyslexia in English mainstream schools. Similarly, such factors can, in turn, be dependent on education policies. On that premise, this systematic literature review recommends that to promote positive learning experiences for learners with dyslexia, classroom strategies targeting interventions should be supported with broader environmental strategies shaping individuals' learning experience and offer support from different perspectives. A whole-school approach to providing intervention, teachers' training, parents and school partnerships, and professional collaboration can improve learners' educational experiences. A further recommendation is for learning interventions to target all learners, to prevent differential treatment of learners with dyslexia and to avoid them standing out from their peers and creating a negative experience.

Disability is identified in surveys using various question sets, with little understanding of reliability across these measures, nor how these estimates may vary across age groups, including adolescents and young adults (AYA). The purpose of this study was to assess AYA prevalence of disability using two disability question sets and reliability of these measures.

Conspiracy beliefs have spread during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is important to understand them because of their potential to undermine trust in societal institutions and willingness to get vaccined. In the present research (N = 538), we assessed the links between conspiracy beliefs, trust in institutions (e.g., government, WHO), and attitudes towards the Covid-19 vaccination across the USA, Brazil and the UK. A moderated mediation analysis revealed the crucial role of political leaders in linking conspiracy beliefs with vaccination attitudes. Trust in the president was positively associated with conspiracy beliefs in Brazil because of its conspiracist president at the time (Bolsonaro), which in turn was negatively associated with vaccination attitudes. In contrast, trust in political leaders at the time in the UK (Johnson) and the USA (Biden) was negatively associated with conspiracy beliefs. In conclusion, our findings contribute to understanding the underlying mechanisms that link conspiracy beliefs with trust and vaccination attitudes.

This study aimed to explore the neuro-cognitive paradigm in anxiety diseases by integrating neurobiological and cognitive perspectives. The ideal was to enhance our understanding of the complex interplay between neural and cognitive processes in anxiety and its counteraccusations for treatment. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted, examining studies that delved into the neurobiological supplements and cognitive impulses in anxiety. The findings revealed the involvement of brain regions similar to the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus in anxiety diseases, along with dysregulation in neurotransmitter systems. Cognitive impulses, including attentional bias towards trouble, interpretation bias, and memory impulses, were constantly observed in individuals with anxiety. The results stressed the bidirectional relationship between neurobiology and cognition, demonstrating that neurobiological factors impact cognitive processes, and cognitive factors modulate neural exertion. Integrated interventions targeting both neurobiological and cognitive factors showed a pledge in treating anxiety diseases. The study linked gaps in the literature and emphasized the significance of considering artistic factors and developing individualized treatment approaches. Overall, this study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of anxiety diseases and informs unborn exploration and clinical practice.

Perineuronal nets (PNN) are specialized extracellular matrix (ECM) components of the central nervous system, frequently accumulating at the surface of inhibitory GABAergic interneurons. While an altered distribution of PNN has been observed in neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and epilepsy, their anatomical distribution also changes during physiological brain maturation and aging. Such an age-dependent shift was experimentally associated also with hippocampal engram formation during brain maturation. Our aim was to histopathologically assess PNN in the hippocampus of adult and pediatric patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) compared to age-matched post-mortem control subjects and to compare PNN-related changes with memory impairment observed in our patient cohort.

There is limited research examining the views of general practice pharmacists (GPPs) on their role and their impact in general practice. The aim of this study was to explore GPPs' views regarding this role and its potential impact within general practice in Northern Ireland (NI).

Behavioral activation (BA) is an effective intervention for both depression and substance use disorders. Combining BA with a standard smoking cessation intervention may improve quit rates by addressing depressive symptoms, a key barrier to quitting. This study preliminarily evaluated the acceptability and efficacy of the BA-based Actify! mobile health application (mHealth app) for smoking cessation.

Positive affect has been shown to promote task-switching performance in healthy young adults. Given the well-documented age-related decline in executive functioning, we asked whether induced positive affect also helps to improve task-switching performance in older adults. Sixty-eight younger and older adults performed a switching task before and after they had watched cartoon clips (positive affect group) or documentaries (neutral affect group). Positive affect was associated with reduced error rates across all trial types in both age groups. In older adults, the increase in accuracy came at the expense of slower response times for task-switch trials, resulting in greater switch costs. This pattern of findings is inconsistent with the popular notion that positive affect supports greater cognitive flexibility. Instead, positive affect may trigger adjustments in response control settings - such as a shift in the speed-accuracy trade-off toward more cautious responding - depending on the experienced level of task difficulty.

Post-stroke depression (PSD) is a significant impediment to successful rehabilitation and recovery after a stroke. Current therapeutic options are limited, leaving an unmet demand for specific and effective therapeutic options. Our objective was to investigate the safety of Maraviroc, a CCR5 antagonist, as a possible mechanism-based add-on therapeutic option for PSD in an open-label proof-of-concept clinical trial.

Nurses play a crucial role within medical institutions, maintaining direct interaction with patient data. Despite this, there is a scarcity of tools for evaluating nurses' perspectives on patient information security. This study aimed to translate the Information Security Attitude Questionnaire into Chinese and validate its reliability and validity among clinical nurses.

The Covid-19 pandemic initiated an enduring shift in working patterns, with many employees now working at home (w@h). This shift has exacerbated existing high levels of occupational sedentary behaviour (SB) in office workers, which is a recognised risk to health and well-being. This study aimed to use the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) model to better understand both employees' SB, and line managers behaviour to assist employees to reduce SB when w@h, and identify how employees can best be supported to reduce SB.

 About 65% of adult Americans report playing video games. Despite potential impacts to functioning, there is limited research on the relationship between video game use and sleep, specifically among adults. The present study expands upon the literature by describing demographic, video game, and sleep characteristics of an international adult sample of gamers.  The participants were 3,481 adults aged 18 to 74 who responded to an online questionnaire about video game use (i.e., quantity of play, most common game type), general sleep characteristics (i.e., sleep onset latency [SOL]; duration, sleep timing, and sleep quality), and gaming-specific sleep disruptors (i.e., game-related night awakenings and sleep delays). Most identified as cisgender male (79.8%) and white (77%).  Participants reported an average SOL of 24.63 minutes, and most (64.5%) had a sleep duration from 7 to 9 hours with an overall average of 8.42 hours. Most (58.7%) reported that their sleep quality was to . Bed and wake times were generally delayed, with 51% reporting a late evening or early morning bedtime and an average wake time of 8:28 am. A majority (81.2%) indicated that their bedtime was delayed due to game-related activities, but game-related night awakenings were less common.  Although many report a sufficient amount of sleep, adult gamers tend to report sleep disruptions in other domains, particularly regarding a delayed sleep schedule and poor sleep quality. This may be attributable to game-related bedtime delays or other game-specific factors (e.g., game type) that should be evaluated in the future.

Most Norwegian adolescents experience their first sexual intercourse during late adolescence. Use of contraception is important to avoid unwanted pregnancy, while condoms can also protect against sexually transmitted diseases. There are few studies on the use of contraception at first sexual intercourse, most with varying results, and some studies have only examined the use of contraception among girls. In our study, we aimed to determine the use of contraception at first sexual intercourse, and to investigate associations between use of contraceptives at first sexual intercourse, sociodemographic factors, and alcohol and other substance use.

While global efforts are increasingly relying upon biomedical advancements such as antiretroviral therapy and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to end the HIV epidemic, HIV-related stigma remains a concern. This study aimed to assess the general public's awareness and perception of "Undetectable = Untransmittable" (U = U) and PrEP, and the patterns of public stigma towards people living with HIV (PLWH) and their determinants in an Asian Pacific city.

Insufficient sleep and irregular sleep hours are common in adolescents, who experience a delayed sleep phase due to biopsychosocial changes associated with puberty, resulting in later sleep times. However, early morning class hours shorten sleep duration on weekdays. This condition is harmful to cognitive performance, which may be accentuated in girls due to a greater sleep need and less resistance to sleep deprivation. In this study, we evaluated sex differences concerning temporal sleep patterns, social jetlag, and attention in high school adolescents attending morning classes. Students (  = 146 - F: 73-16.1 ± 0.8 years; M: 73-16.2 ± 0.9 years) completed a Health and Sleep questionnaire, kept a sleep diary for 10 days, which incorporated a Maldonado Sleepiness Scale, and performed a Continuous Performance Task. Girls went to bed earlier and woke up on weekends, and spent more time in bed at night and in 24 h on weekdays and weekends, while they also had a greater irregularity in wake-up times (  < 0.05). There were no differences between sexes in terms of social jetlag, sleep debt, and sleepiness upon awakening (  > 0.05). Regarding attention, the girls had a longer reaction time in phasic alertness (  < 0.01) and a tendency to have fewer errors in selective attention (  = 0.06). These results persisted when controlled for sleep parameters. Therefore, we suggest that girls have a greater sleep need and less resistance to sleep deprivation, while the differences in attention performance could be due to different strategies, the girls could be making a trade, increasing reaction time in favor of better accuracy, while the boys could be prioritizing a faster response time.

Despite the extensive benefits associated with the provision of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) within a school context, many initial teacher training programs inadequately prepare pre-service teachers to deliver this content. Programs that do provide such instruction do not routinely share details of their curriculum, syllabi, or evaluation data.

This longitudinal study in Mainland China (2021-2022) explored the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) symptoms, with a focus on the role of self-compassion. Among 18,933 surveyed university students, 21.2% reported experiencing at least one ACE. Results revealed a clear relationship between ACEs and CPTSD symptoms. Furthermore, self-compassion, particularly the dimensions of self-judgment and isolation, moderated the association between retrospective ACEs and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and disturbance in self-organization (DSO) symptoms. These findings highlight the enduring impact of ACEs on CPTSD symptoms and emphasize the importance of early identification and targeted interventions, especially addressing self-judgment and isolation, to mitigate CPTSD risk among young Chinese adults.

Continued smoking after a cancer diagnosis can be associated with lower treatment tolerance, poorer outcomes, and reduced quality of life compared to non-smoking cancer patients or to those who have quit. Yet about 60% of patients continue to smoke after being diagnosed and find it difficult to quit. To address this problem, it is necessary to identify current and past smoking patterns (e.g., frequency of use, types of tobacco products) and determine whether there is motivation to quit. Similarly, factors associated with continued smoking should be identified. These data will provide the basis for the development of smoking cessation programs tailored to the needs of cancer patients.

People with severe mental illness (SMI) such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are at a substantially higher risk of premature death in that they die between 10 and 20 years earlier than the general population. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes are the main potentially avoidable contributors to early death. Research that explores the experiences of people with SMI highlights their struggles in engaging with health professionals and accessing effective and timely interventions for physical health conditions. A consequence of such struggles to navigate and access physical healthcare results in many people with SMI relying heavily on support provided by informal carers (e.g., family members, close friends). Despite this, the experiences of informal carers, and the roles they undertake in relation to supporting the physical health and psychotropic medication use of people with SMI, remains under-researched.

In response to climate change (CC), medicine needs to consider new aspects in health counselling of patients. Such climate-sensitive health counselling (CSHC) may include counselling patients on preventing and coping with climate-sensitive diseases or on leading healthy and climate-friendly lifestyles. This study aimed to identify previous participation in and preferences for CSHC as well as associated sociodemographic and attitudinal factors among the general public in Germany.

Epilepsy is a global health and economic burden with major problems that have an impact on physical, psychological, and social activities. Quality of life (QoL) is often disturbed and can be influenced by many factors, like anti-seizure medication side effects, the sociocultural environment, and various disease-related factors. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to provide an overview of the most recent information available regarding the pooled prevalence of poor quality of life and associated factors among adult people with epilepsy in Ethiopia.

A central challenge in understanding the evolution of cognition is the ability to compare a set of species differing in a trait of interest while being ecologically and phylogenetically close. Here, we examine whether differences in bower-building flexibility are related to differences in cognitive flexibility between two Tanganyikan cichlids. Cognitive flexibility enables animals to modify their decision rules when faced with new situations, and inhibitory control, the ability to inhibit a normally favoured response, is an essential component of this capacity. We tested male and in a choice-against-preference paradigm. Both species clean their bowers of foreign objects and we found that both preferred to remove a snail shell over a stone. We tested their ability to modify this preference and learned to preferably select the stone instead of the shell. Although neither species showed clear learning of the new preference rule, both demonstrated inhibitory control through increased decision times and manipulations of the objects when selecting the stone. Specifically, , the species exhibiting greater behavioural flexibility in the construction of their bowers, selected the stone in fewer trials than , providing support for a link between behavioural flexibility in bower construction and cognitive flexibility.

To investigate the changes in the unhealthy eye-related behaviors of junior middle school students during the COVID-19 pandemic and the double reduction policy and its relationship with myopia.

Culturally sensitive care is integral to effective and equitable healthcare delivery, necessitating an understanding and acknowledgment of patients' cultural needs, preferences, and expectations. This study investigates the perceptions of cultural sensitivity among general practitioners (GPs), focusing on their intentions, willingness and perceived responsibilities in providing care tailored to cultural needs.

Determine the association of cumulative concussion and repetitive head impacts with self-reported sleep quality in healthy collegiate-aged athletes.

Access to data concerning mental health, particularly alcohol use disorders (AUD), in sub-Saharan Africa is very limited. This study aimed to estimate AUD prevalence and identify the associated factors in Togo and Benin.

Online education has emerged as a crucial tool for imparting knowledge and skills to students in the twenty-first century, especially in developing nations like India, which previously relied heavily on traditional teaching methods.

Cervical cancer (CxCa), although preventable, is still among the most prevalent cancers in women. Mortality from this cancer is high, especially in low-income countries where preventive strategies are often lacking. We studied the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding CxCa among Yemeni women.

Brief questionnaires that comprehensively capture key restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRBs) across different informants have potential to support autism diagnostic services. We tested the psychometric properties of the 20-item Repetitive Behaviours Questionnaire-3 (RBQ-3), a questionnaire that includes self-report and informant-report versions enabling use across the lifespan.

The turn of the century brought a resurgence of interest in psychedelics as a treatment for addiction and other psychiatric conditions, accompanied by extensive positive media attention and private equity investment. Government regulatory bodies in Australia, Israel, Canada and the United States now permit use of psychedelics for medical purposes. In the United States, citizen action and corporate financing have led to petitions and ballot initiatives to legalize psilocybin and other psychedelics for medical and recreational use. Given this momentum, policymakers must grapple with important questions that define whether and how psychedelics are made available to the public, as well as how companies produce and promote them. The current push to broaden the production, sale, and use of psychedelics bears many parallels to the movement to legalize cannabis in the United States and other nations-most notably, the use of poorly-evidenced therapeutic claims to create a de facto recreational market via the health care system. Experience with cannabis highlights the value of debating the question of legalization for nonmedical use as such rather than misrepresenting it as a medical issue. The lessons of cannabis policy also suggest a need to challenge hyping of psychedelic research findings; to promote rigorous clinical research on dosing and potency; to minimize the influence of for-profit industry in shaping policies to their economic advantage; and to coordinate federal, state, and local governments to regulate the manufacture, sale and distribution of psychedelic drugs (regardless of whether they are legalized for medical and/or recreational use).

Harmonized tools are essential for reliable data sharing and accurate identification of relevant factors in mental health research. The primary objective of this study was to create a harmonized questionnaire to collect demographic, clinical and behavioral data in diverse clinical trials in adult psychiatry.

Daily electronic media use, including television viewing and computer use, is common in older adulthood. Yet, increased electronic media usage may disrupt nightly sleep, leading to sleeping fewer hours and more sleep disruptions. The current study examined these relationships in older adulthood, as well as the potential buffering effect of having a regular sleep schedule.

The transition of new nurses from training to employment in rural practice can be difficult in the best of times. The COVID-19 pandemic amplified challenges in supporting new nurses transitioning from education to employment. Drawing together Benner's novice-to-expert model and the concept of human flourishing, this article reports on research that explored new nurses' experiences transitioning from training to employment in rural nursing during the initial years of the COVID-19 pandemic, using case study methodology combining an online recruitment survey and in-depth semi-structured interviews. Participants identified a lack of on-the-job training and mentorship, feeling unprepared for the acuity of patients and concerns about patient safety, feeling unprepared for leadership roles, feeling unsupported by management, feeling fatigued and anxious, and a lack of optimism about the future of rural health care. On the positive side, participants reported valuing social connections and teamwork, gratitude from patients, and a sense of community, as well as increasing competency at work. Their stories and self-rated flourishing revealed both strengths and challenges in transitioning to practice in rural settings during times of adversity. This research can inform theories of nursing development as well as policies and practices that support new nurses to thrive in rural contexts.

Maternal empowerment - the capacity to make decisions within households - is linked to better child feeding and nutritional outcomes, but few studies have considered the mediating role of caregiver knowledge. Further, existing literature centres primarily on the husband-wife dyad while overlooking grandmothers as important childcare decision-makers.

The long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on brain structure remain uncertain. Given evidence that a single significant brain injury event increases the risk of dementia, brain-age estimation could provide a novel and efficient indexing of the long-term consequences of TBI. Brain-age procedures use predictive modeling to calculate brain-age scores for an individual using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. Complicated mild, moderate, and severe TBI (cmsTBI) is associated with a higher predicted age difference (PAD), but the progression of PAD over time remains unclear. We sought to examine whether PAD increases as a function of time since injury (TSI) and if injury severity and sex interacted to influence this progression.

To conceptualise and identify characteristics of clinical leadership in the nursing home setting.

This article discusses the important yet under-addressed issue of clinician bodies within eating disorder services. I would like to further the discussion on a particular correspondence in, where a professional who was perceived as dangerously thin was challenged and confronted by their colleagues in a work setting. This article will consider the issue from four perspectives, being the implications for the therapeutic relationship, how we approach biases and assumptions about weight and body size, ethical and legal issues, and how to manage lived experience. I argue for a more nuanced, considered approach towards professionals in the field before decisions are made to manage or confront them.

The ability to flexibly transition between defensive states is crucial for adaptive responding in life-threatening situations. Potentially threatening situations typically induce a sustained feeling of apprehension in association with hypervigilance, while acute threat is usually characterized by an intense and transient response to cope with the imminent danger. While potential and acute threat states have traditionally been viewed as mutually exclusive, this distinction is being challenged by a growing body of evidence suggesting a more complex interplay during simultaneous activation of these states. However, the interaction between potential and acute threat on a psychophysiological level remains elusive. To fill this gap, 94 healthy individuals participated in one of two contextual fear-conditioning paradigms. In both paradigms, a differential fear-learning phase was conducted, followed by a test phase in which the conditioned stimuli were presented in front of either conditioned or inherently aversive contextual images compared to neutral contexts. To capture defensive responses, we recorded subjective (threat and expectancy ratings) and physiological (electrodermal and cardiovascular) activity to the conditioned stimuli as a function of contextual threat. Besides indices of successful fear conditioning, our results revealed stronger threat and unconditioned stimulus expectancy ratings, cardiac deceleration, and skin conductance responses for threat and safety cues presented in inherently aversive compared to neutral contexts. Conditioned contexts had less impact on physiological responses to threat and safety cues than inherently aversive contexts. These findings provide new insights into the additive nature of defensive responses to fear cues and situations of contextual threat.

Integrating work and family life is a relevant concern, especially for women in the banking industry. While the impact of job characteristics on work-family conflict is well-documented, the moderating role of core self-evaluations (CSE) remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the role of CSE in moderating the relationship between job characteristics and work-family conflict among married female bank employees in Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 245 married female bank employees in Enugu state. Participants were assessed using the Core Self-Evaluation, Job Characteristics, and Work-Family Conflict Scales. Pearson correlation analysis and path coefficient evaluation were utilised to test the study's hypotheses. Job characteristics, notably autonomy, feedback, skill variety, task identity, and task significance, influence work-family conflict across three dimensions: behaviour-based, strain-based, and time-based. Notably, CSE emerged as a significant moderator, with its influence varying depending on the job characteristics. The findings highlight the importance of considering both job characteristics and individual psychological attributes in addressing work-family conflicts. Organisations should adopt a multidimensional, individual-centred approach, recognising the intertwined roles of job factors and personal evaluations in shaping employees' work-life balance experiences.

People with HIV/AIDS (PWHA) have 7-36 times greater risk for completed suicide associated with depression symptoms compared to general population. However, no study has sufficiently analyzed the mediating or moderating variables of the relationship between depression and suicidal ideation in Rwanda.

With the spread of COVID-19, concerns regarding its adverse effects have arisen. Based on affect regulation theory and construal level theory, this study explored how COVID-19 affects intertemporal choice in the health and economy domains, self-other differences for intertemporal choice were also inspected. The study examined whether psychological safety can moderate the relationship between COVID-19 and intertemporal choice.

Illness perception is a crucial area of study that has seen significant growth and development over the years. This study conducts a comprehensive bibliometric and network analysis of illness perception research, capturing its evolution from 1975 to 2023. Utilizing 1813 publications from the Scopus database, authored by 5428 researchers, we identify key scholars and influential articles in the field. Our analysis includes various bibliometric networks such as citation, co-citation, collaboration, and keyword co-occurrence networks, along with the presentation of intellectual structure maps. Major research areas include the role of illness perception in mental health conditions like depression, coping mechanisms, quality of life, and chronic illnesses like diabetes, as well as the influence of lay beliefs on health behaviors, and the impact of illness beliefs on conditions like Myocardial Infarction and stroke. The results show a growing academic interest in understanding how illness perceptions shape healthcare outcomes and behaviors.

Stress significantly affects both the physical and emotional health of individuals, particularly students in health-related fields. Medical students in Brazil face unique challenges due to the demanding nature of their studies, especially during assessment periods, which heighten academic pressure. These pressures often lead to poor coping strategies and mental health concerns. It is crucial to understand the complex dynamics of stress within medical education to develop strategies that improve student well-being and promote a healthier academic environment. This study aims to investigate the intricate relationship between assessment periods and stress levels among medical students. It seeks to understand how academic demands and sociodemographic factors contribute to stress dynamics during these periods.

To investigate the "supercompensation" effect of preschoolers during the coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown by comparing the changes in physical activity (PA), psychological, and sleep indicators before and after the lockdown.

The Pacific population in Aotearoa New Zealand is youthful, with the majority (55%) being under the age of 25 (Statistics New Zealand, 2014). It is vital that youth mental health for Pacific is understood in relation to their overall wellbeing (Paterson et al., 2018). In parallel to this, the World Health Organization (2022) accentuates the need to protect and promote mental wellbeing for young people globally. Specifically, Pacific youth were far more likely than Aotearoa New Zealand European counterparts to have poorer mental health and higher numbers of suicidality and self-harming behaviours (Ataera-Minster & Trowland, 2018; Fa'alili-Fidow et al., 2016). Moreover, research confirms that Pacific people aged 15-24 years have higher levels of psychological distress of 38% compared to 35% of Pacific adults aged 45-64 years (Ataera-Minster & Trowland, 2018). There is a lack of evidence-based psychological approaches that are culturally appropriate and applicable for Pacific people in Aotearoa New Zealand. Considerably, substantial evidence supports the need to provide more accessible resources and interventions that are flexible, culturally adaptable and cost-effective for Pacific youth. This review aims to (1) provide an insight into Pacific people in Aotearoa New Zealand, (2) have an understanding of Pacific worldview & wellbeing, (3) highlight mental health for Aotearoa New Zealand youth & globally (4) identify therapeutic approaches, including digital mental health globally and in Aotearoa New Zealand.Understanding the perspectives of Pacific youth is a significant first step. Therefore, this article will examine the therapeutic approaches, specifically in the digital space, that are proven effective when promoting wellness for Pacific youth.

Throughout the day, humans show natural fluctuations in arousal that impact cognitive function. To study the behavioural dynamics of cognitive control during high and low arousal states, healthy participants performed an auditory conflict task during high-intensity physical exercise (N = 39) or drowsiness (N = 33). In line with the pre-registered hypotheses, conflict and conflict adaptation effects were preserved during both altered arousal states. Overall task performance was markedly poorer during low arousal, but not for high arousal. Modelling behavioural dynamics with drift diffusion analysis revealed evidence accumulation and non-decision time decelerated, and decisional boundaries became wider during low arousal, whereas high arousal was unexpectedly associated with a decrease in the interference of task-irrelevant information processing. These findings show how arousal differentially modulates cognitive control at both sides of normal alertness, and further validate drowsiness and physical exercise as key experimental models to disentangle the interaction between physiological fluctuations on cognitive dynamics.

Disordered eating behaviors (DEBs), a risk factor for the development of eating disorders (EDs), are prevalent in young people and different DEBs frequently co-occur. Previous studies on DEB-patterns have largely used traditional retrospective questionnaires to assess DEBs. In addition, most previous studies did not specifically exclude individuals with clinical EDs, which limits current knowledge concerning purely subclinical patterns of DEBs. In the present study, we aimed to explore phenotypes and group sizes of subclinical patterns of DEBs reported in everyday life via smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in adolescents and young adults from the general population without lifetime EDs. In secondary analyses, we further aimed to investigate whether DEB-patterns would be associated with additional previously identified risk factors for ED-development.

The role of fetal vitamin D [25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D)], one of the nuclear steroid transcription regulators, and brain development is unclear. We previously found a weak but persistent association between cord blood 25(OH)D and child language abilities at 18 months and 4 years of age, but no association with cognition or behaviour. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between cord blood 25(OH)D and a range of neurodevelopmental outcomes in these same children at 7 years of age.

According to previous studies, unpredictability in childhood could significantly increase the risk of depression in adulthood. Only a few studies have explored the relationship between these two variables in China. This paper aims to explore the relationship between unpredictability in childhood and depression and examine the mediating roles of coping styles and resilience.

Patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) have multiple concurrent physical and psychological symptoms. This study aimed to explore the relationship between anxiety, depression, and symptom burden in advanced CRC.

Much research has focused on how emotional and spiritual intelligences promote well-being and help combat mental health issues. This comparative study, which was conducted in Israel and India with emerging adults enrolled in higher education, explored the relationship of emotional intelligence, spiritual intelligence, anxiety and depression, and satisfaction with life. The results in Israel showed a positive correlation of emotional intelligence with satisfaction with life, but in India, only spiritual intelligence correlated positively with satisfaction with life. In both groups, female participants scored higher on all variables than male participants. We offer initial explanations for these results.

Sedentary behavior (SB) is deeply ingrained in the daily lives of community-dwelling older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the specific underlying mechanisms of the determinants associated with SB remain elusive. We aimed to explore the determinants of SB based on the behavior change wheel framework as well as a literature review.

Facebook has become a part of daily life for its users and therefore become a very significant factor of mental health. As the number of Facebook users increases exponentially, the problems related to immense use have become more evident and more frequent. Therefore, the study aimed to explore the impact of Facebook addiction on depression among its users.

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) are two common concerns experienced by cancer survivors. However, the relationship between these two concerns is poorly understood, and whether CRF and FCR influence each other over time is unclear.

Parent carers of children with special educational needs or disabilities are at risk of poorer health and wellbeing outcomes because of the distinct and challenging circumstances they face. Evaluations of interventions promoting the health of parent carers should focus on measuring the aspects of health and wellbeing which are most relevant to this group. As part of a programme of research on parent carer-focused interventions, this study aimed to understand which aspects of health and wellbeing are perceived by parent carers as most meaningful and important.

Self-report studies show that sleep and positive and negative affect are closely and bidirectionally linked. However, studies assessing sleep objectively yield more inconsistent results. This study assessed the reciprocal, daily relationship between sleep as measured with electroencephalography (EEG) and affect (measured in the evening) in a natural setting. We assessed sleep both on the macrolevel (i.e., rapid eye movement [REM] sleep and slow-wave sleep [SWS] duration) and on the microlevel (i.e., REM sleep fragmentation). In this study, 33 participants (i.e., healthy college students, mean [standard deviation] age 21.55 [3.73] years, 67% female) were followed for 2 weeks. Each participant wore an EEG headband for 15 nights and had polysomnography during 3 of the 15 nights providing 72 analysable nights of polysomnography and 271 analysable nights with the EEG headband. Every evening participants reported their momentary negative and positive affect. We examined the relationship between pre-sleep affect and the sleep variables, as well as the reverse relationship, with sleep variables predicting evening affect the next day. We detected that higher negative affect in the evening was related to more fragmented REM sleep. However, this result was only found with polysomnography and not with the EEG headband. No significant associations were found between affect and time spent in REM sleep and SWS. Overall, no support was found for the reciprocal association between negative and positive affect and EEG measured sleep. Only limited support was found for an association in one direction (i.e., evening negative affect was associated with more REM sleep fragmentation at night).

Despite the numerous advantages of mastering biostatistics, medical students generally perceive biostatistics as a difficult and challenging subject and even experience anxiety during the courses. Evidence for the correlation between students' academic achievements and their attitudes, indicating that attitudes at the beginning of the biostatistics course may affect cognitive competence at the end of the course and subsequently influence student academic performance. However, there are current disagreements regarding the measurement and evaluation of attitudes related to statistics. Thus, there is a need for standard instruments to assess them. This study was conducted to develop a Chinese version of the Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics (SATS-36) in order to acquire a valid instrument to measure medical students' attitudes toward biostatistics under Chinese medical educational background.

Imprisonment impacts women's childbearing and mothering experiences. Using sociological concepts of total institutions, pains of imprisonment and gendered pains of imprisonment, this study aims to explore the childbearing experiences of 18 Filipino incarcerated women.

Research shows that features of food packaging can help to promote healthy food choices. Laboratory-based studies demonstrate that smart design of packaging facilitates portion control. However, the extent to which consumers notice packaging features for portion control is not known. Therefore, this study investigated how individuals interact with food packaging, how they utilise the on-pack serving-size guidelines and how they make portion decisions. To do this, 25 adult participants were recruited to participate in an online semi-structured interview. Data were analysed using thematic analysis until saturation was achieved. Participants reported that they rarely attend to on-pack serving recommendations and indicated some resistance to them. Some structural features (small/single serving, pre-portioned and resealable packaging) were identified as facilitators of portion control. In contrast, the healthiness evaluation of the product from packaging cues was described as a permissive cue to eat more of the product. Participants in this study value their autonomy and control, preferring convenient behavioural choices over recommended portion servings. They also reported future concerns about the effects of their diet on health, but that current context (hunger, convenience) sometimes presented a barrier to healthy eating. Packaging does more than protect its contents, packaging can affect eating decisions to support portion control, and for some, offers permission to overconsume. This study identified ways that participants use packaging to make portion decisions, revealing the role of habits, current context and future health considerations. The interviews revealed the importance of consumer values on food choice in general and portion control in particular. In conclusion, smart food packaging design could use these findings to nudge healthy portion decisions by incorporating consumer values and by recognising consumer needs for habitual, current and future concerns.

Functioning describes how well a person handles life, but the constituents of functioning and its measurement remain subjects of debate among researchers. However, approaches investigating how the concept of functioning is understood among laypeople and practitioners have received less attention. The present study uses a bottom-up approach to explore the concept of functioning among laypeople and mental health professionals in a Scandinavian context. Participants were asked to describe a person doing well in life and a person not doing well in life, resulting in a total of 2,345 statements from 128 laypeople and 78 mental health professionals. Initially, statements were rated according to the meta-concepts of Agency and Communion. This analysis revealed a dominant prevalence of Agency across groups, with laypeople demonstrating a heightened emphasis on Agency when characterizing an individual not doing well in life, suggesting an intensified focus on personal responsibility and achievement when describing dysfunction. Next, an independent semantic domain analysis was used to elucidate and identify distinctive features of functioning within the statements. This revealed a shared conceptualization of functioning among both laypeople and mental health professionals based on three main domains: (1) thriving; (2) daily activities and social roles; and (3) personality features. The findings underscore the importance of considering subjective experiences of thriving, efficacy in managing daily tasks and roles, and personality traits in attaining a comprehensive understanding of functioning levels.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGF) are a type of cell signaling proteins that are mostly produced by macrophages. They are essential for a variety of biological activities involved in normal development. Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is the newest and youngest member of the FGF endocrine subfamily, along with fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) and fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). In this study, we conduct a systematic review of all known literature to identify the risk of elevated FGF23 in the cardiovascular system. The analysis includes the risk of cardiovascular disease for both primary and secondary causes of elevated FGF23, such as chronic renal insufficiency. This systematic literature review adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) standards. A total of 4,793 records were identified across different databases. After that, 273 records were retrieved and reviewed. After carefully examining the titles and summaries of each report, 249 additional entries were eliminated. About 24 studies from the remaining records were chosen by primary and secondary authors for screening, and they performed a quality assessment using common quality check tools. Finally, this review included 11 studies. Following a thorough analysis, we came to the conclusion that FGF23 can be regarded as a novel biomarker and should be included in the group of heart biomarkers that have already been identified, such as B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), for the early identification of a variety of highly prevalent cardiovascular disorders.

Nordic walking (NW) has several potential benefits for individuals with cardiovascular (CV) disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity and/or overweight. NW improves cardiovascular health, including exercise capacity and blood pressure control. NW enhances glycemic control and insulin sensitivity in diabetes, and aids in weight management and body composition improvement. NW offers additional advantages, such as improvement in muscular strength, joint mobility, physical activity levels, and psychological well-being.

Black communities bear a disproportionate burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Barriers and facilitators for improving cardiovascular health (CVH) in churches with predominantly black congregations were explored through a qualitative needs assessment.

To conduct a randomized controlled trial to compare 3 implementation strategies and the impact of facilitated referrals on linkage of Federally Qualified Health Center patients to the Illinois Tobacco Quitline (ITQL).

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and Black populations are disproportionately affected. Black populations also have high rates of religiosity, which may be an important health motivator, but mechanisms are unclear.

Stress and stressful events are widely accepted risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases, including coronary heart disease and diabetes. As language plays a seminal role in development and regulation of emotions and appraisals of stressful situations, it may contribute to documented differences in the stress-cardiometabolic disease association across ethnic groups. We investigated associations between language preferences (Spanish vs English) and downstream health consequences of stress. Using data from the Sociocultural Ancillary Study of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, we assessed the relationship between reported stress and risk factors (alcohol use, smoking, body mass index, depressive symptoms) and prevalence of self-reported (coronary heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD]) and clinically assessed chronic conditions (diabetes, hypertension) among 5154 Hispanic/Latino adults living in the US. Factor analysis was used to calculate a composite stress variable from participants' self-reported chronic stress, perceived stress, and adverse childhood experiences. Sampling weights and survey methodology were integrated in all analyses to account for this study's complex survey design. After controlling for sociodemographic factors (Hispanic/Latino background, study site, years in the US, social acculturation, education, income, age, sex), higher composite stress scores were associated with elevated risk factors and greater prevalence of coronary heart disease, diabetes, and COPD. Furthermore, the relationship between stress and COPD was significantly stronger among Hispanic/Latino adults who preferred to be interviewed in Spanish (compared to English). Stronger connections between stress and likelihood of drinking alcohol among English-preferring persons also emerged. These results are interpreted in light of the Hispanic health paradox and the role of cultural processes in the development of health risk factors and chronic conditions. Our findings can be integrated into relevant approaches to address health disparities within and across Hispanic/Latino populations in the US.

Due to sociostructural factors, Black women living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States represent the highest percentage of women with HIV and experience mental health struggles that impact health behaviors. This study examines associations between mental health, self-care, medication adherence, engagement with healthcare, HIV-related healthcare visits, and hospitalization.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the United States and harms Black men disproportionately. Most US men are uninformed about many key facts important to make an informed decision about prostate cancer. Most experts agree that it is important for men to learn about these problems as early as possible in their lifetime.

It is becoming increasingly common for laboratories to allow the rehoming of dogs when they are no longer needed. There is no research, however, comparing the characteristics of dogs from laboratories to dogs acquired from more traditional sources for pets. This study used the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) to compare emotional and behavioural characteristics of 100 former laboratory Beagles who were rehomed to a convenience sample of 244 pet Beagles with no known history of laboratory use. Our results revealed that the former laboratory Beagles exhibited increased fearfulness, attention and attachment behaviours, and more abnormal behaviours than the convenience sample, yet were significantly less aggressive, and likely to chase other animals or escape. Importantly, we also found no significant differences in a majority of the everyday behaviours assessed. Our findings demonstrate dogs rehomed from laboratories form strong bonds with their caregivers, and make equally good companions as their non-laboratory counterparts. Our findings may be helpful in designing appropriate rehabilitation programmes, educating laboratory workers and potential adopters, and support the ongoing efforts to offer these dogs for adoption.

In a nationally representative sample, first-year US college students "somewhat agree", on average, that they feel like they belong at their school. However, belonging varies by key institutional and student characteristics; of note, racial-ethnic minority and first-generation students report lower belonging than peers at four-year schools, while the opposite is true at two-year schools. Further, at four-year schools, belonging predicts better persistence, engagement, and mental health, even after extensive covariate adjustment. Although descriptive, these patterns highlight the need to better measure and understand belonging and related psychological factors that may promote college students' success and well-being.

It has been estimated that more than one-third of university students suffer from insomnia. Few accessible eHealth sleep education programmes exist for university students and of the ones that do exist, fewer were developed using a user-centred approach, which allows for student input to be systematically collected and utilized to provide students with a programme that they consider to be easy to use and implement and to be effective. () is a four-session eHealth sleep education programme designed for youth but previously only evaluated in younger adolescents (ages 14-18 years).

In the latest research, the concept of stress is associated with the deregulation of several biological systems sensitive to stress, such as the immune system, the microbiome, the endocrine system and neuroanatomical substrates. The objective of the research was to identify the fecal microbiome in patients diagnosed with chronic stress and in healthy patients through a metabarcoding analysis. The methodology used fecal samples collected from 20 patients with stress and 20 healthy patients. For the diagnosis of stress, psychological tools previously validated by external researchers were used. For metabarcoding analysis, metagenomic DNA extraction was performed from the fecal samples. Next Generation Illumina genetic sequencing targeting the 16S rDNA gene was then performed, followed by bioinformatic analysis using QUIME II software. The results, at the psychological test level, 20 people with chronic stress were diagnosed, on the other hand, at the metabarcoding level, specifically at the Gender level, the Asteroleplasma bacteria present only in the 20 healthy patients was molecularly identified. On the other hand, the bacteria Alistipes and Bifidobacterium were identified with greater predominance in the 20 patients with stress. Concluding, the bacteria Alistipes and Bifidobacterium are candidates as possible markers of the intestinal microbiome in patients with chronic stress, and the bacteria Asteroleplasma are candidates as a bacterial marker of the intestinal microbiome in healthy people. Finally, the identification of the microbiome in patients with stress opens a new path to understanding stress and its relationship to dysregulation with the microbiome.

Women with gynecological cancer often experience psychological distress, particularly in response to surgical procedures. The impact of mandala art therapy (MAT) during the perioperative period for gynecological cancer patients remains uncertain. We aimed to examine the effects of the MAT program in women with gynecological cancer.

This research conducted two studies in South Korea to explore the relationship between smokers' self-construals and the types of cigarettes they use, emphasizing their combined effects on cessation campaign effectiveness.

There is wide acknowledgement in the literature that social connection is protective against loneliness and depression. More robust research, however, is needed to evaluate interventions that promote social connection. This protocol paper outlines the evaluation of a community-wide social connection program, , in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia to support people 65 years and older to increase access to local community services/activities; and to ascertain impact on social connection, loneliness, depressive symptoms, physical and mental wellbeing, and use of health services.

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a significant health problem, and trauma exposure is a known risk factor for the escalation of substance use. However, the shared neural mechanisms through which trauma is associated with substance use are still unknown. Therefore, we systematically review neuroimaging studies focusing on three domains that may contribute to the overlapping mechanisms of SUD and trauma-reward salience, negative emotionality, and inhibition. Using PRISMA guidelines, we identified 45 studies utilizing tasks measuring these domains in alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use groups. Greater reward, lesser regulation of inhibitory processes, and mixed findings of negative emotionality processes in individuals who use substances versus controls were found. Specifically, greater orbitofrontal cortex, ventral tegmental area, striatum, amygdala, and hippocampal activation was found in response to reward-related tasks, and reduced activation was found in the inferior frontal gyrus and hippocampus in response to inhibition-related tasks. Importantly, no studies in trauma-exposed individuals met our review criteria. Future studies examining the role of trauma-related factors are needed, and more studies should explore inhibition- and negative-emotionality domains in individuals who use substances to uncover clinically significant alterations in these domains that place an individual at greater risk for developing a SUD.

Over the first years of life, the brain undergoes substantial organization in response to environmental stimulation. In a silent world, it may promote vision by (i) recruiting resources from the auditory cortex and (ii) making the visual cortex more efficient. It is unclear when such changes occur and how adaptive they are, questions that children with cochlear implants can help address. Here, we examined 7-18 years old children: 50 had cochlear implants, with delayed or age-appropriate language abilities, and 25 had typical hearing and language. High-density electroencephalography and functional near-infrared spectroscopy were used to evaluate cortical responses to a low-level visual task. Evidence for a 'weaker visual cortex response' and 'less synchronized or less inhibitory activity of auditory association areas' in the implanted children with language delays suggests that cross-modal reorganization can be maladaptive and does not necessarily strengthen the dominant visual sense.

To the best of our knowledge, dental school students have never been evaluated for stress, anxiety, burnout, physiological indexes during a 24-h working day, and executive function performance post-work and post-work after returning from vacation; therefore, this research has been conducted.

The rapid detection of neutral faces with emotional value plays an important role in social relationships for both young and older adults. Recent psychological studies have indicated that young adults show efficient value learning for neutral faces and the detection of "value-associated faces," while older adults show slightly different patterns of value learning and value-based detection of neutral faces. However, the mechanisms underlying these processes remain unknown. To investigate this, we applied hierarchical reinforcement learning and diffusion models to a value learning task and value-driven detection task that involved neutral faces; the tasks were completed by young and older adults. The results for the learning task suggested that the sensitivity of learning feedback might decrease with age. In the detection task, the younger adults accumulated information more efficiently than the older adults, and the perceptual time leading to motion onset was shorter in the younger adults. In younger adults only, the reward sensitivity during associative learning might enhance the accumulation of information during a visual search for neutral faces in a rewarded task. These results provide insight into the processing linked to efficient detection of faces associated with emotional values, and the age-related changes therein.

When visual stimuli are presented briefly, words are perceived better than nonwords. It is widely accepted that this word superiority effect reflects the efficiency with which words are perceived. However, most of what is known about the effect comes from languages (like English) using the basic Latin alphabet and little is known about whether languages using an alphabetic variant with very different properties can also produce word superiority. Here we report an experiment in which words and nonwords were presented briefly in Turkish, which uses a unique variant of the Latin alphabet containing 29 separate letters, 12 of which are close visual replications of other letters. Despite the potential for visual confusability and perceptual uncertainty, the findings revealed a clear advantage for words over nonwords, indicating that word superiority observed previously for the Latin alphabet can also be observed with the very different variant of this alphabet used for Turkish. Implications of these findings for processes involved in visual word perception are discussed.

According to the reactivity hypothesis and the diathesis-stress model, repeated activation of the stress system has a negative effect on health, and this effect may differ because of individual characteristics. Thus, the present study explores the effect of chronic stress on fatigue and investigates its mechanism.

Behavioral inhibition (BI) is a temperamental style that poses risk for later anxiety. Efficacious interventions have been developed for inhibited children, but their success depends on parent engagement. However, little is known regarding predictors of parent engagement in interventions for BI. This study examined parent-, child- and treatment-level (i.e., parent-only or parent-child) factors as independent and interactive predictors of parent engagement (attendance, and parent-reported homework completion and treatment satisfaction) in a randomized-controlled trial comparing two interventions for inhibited preschoolers: Cool Little Kids (CLK) and the Turtle Program ("Turtle"). We also explored predictors of co-parent (CP) attendance. The sample comprised 151 primary parents (PPs) and their 45-64-month-old children. Attendance was greater in Turtle and homework completion was slightly greater in CLK, with no group difference in satisfaction. In Turtle, child anxiety predicted greater PP attendance and PP depression predicted lower satisfaction. In CLK, the interaction between child and PP anxiety significantly predicted satisfaction. Across groups, child anxiety predicted greater homework completion and CP anxiety predicted greater CP attendance. Results suggest that child anxiety may motivate parent engagement, particularly when children receive concurrent treatment and/or in-vivo coaching. However, intensive treatment may be too burdensome for depressed parents, whereas less intensive treatments may be more acceptable to non-anxious parents of anxious children. These findings can inform approaches to improve parent engagement in early interventions targeting BI.

Bladder cancer is one of the most important diseases that threatens oral and dental health due to its nature and side effects of chemotherapy. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between oral health literacy and oral health-related quality of life in patients with bladder cancer.

Exposure to short-wavelength light before bedtime is known to disrupt nocturnal melatonin secretion and can impair subsequent sleep. However, while it has been demonstrated that older adults are less affected by short-wavelength light, there is limited research exploring differences between adolescents and young adults. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether the effects of evening short-wavelength light on sleep architecture extend to sleep-related processes, such as declarative memory consolidation. Here, we recorded polysomnography from 33 male adolescents (15.42 ± 0.97 years) and 35 male young adults (21.51 ± 2.06 years) in a within-subject design during three different nights to investigate the impact of reading for 90 min either on a smartphone with or without a blue-light filter or from a printed book. We measured subjective sleepiness, melatonin secretion, sleep physiology and sleep-dependent memory consolidation. While subjective sleepiness remained unaffected, we observed a significant melatonin attenuation effect in both age groups immediately after reading on the smartphone without a blue-light filter. Interestingly, adolescents fully recovered from the melatonin attenuation in the following 50 min before bedtime, whereas adults still, at bedtime, exhibited significantly reduced melatonin levels. Sleep-dependent memory consolidation and the coupling between sleep spindles and slow oscillations were not affected by short-wavelength light in both age groups. Nevertheless, adults showed a reduction in N3 sleep during the first night quarter. In summary, avoiding smartphone use in the last hour before bedtime is advisable for adolescents and young adults to prevent sleep disturbances. Our research empirically supports general sleep hygiene advice and can inform future recommendations regarding the use of smartphones and other screen-based devices before bedtime.

The death of a parent can have profound negative impacts on children, and a lack of adequate support can exacerbate negative life experiences.

Despite unresolved questions about replicability, a substantial number of studies find that disgust influences and arises from evaluations of immoral behavior and people. Departing from prior emphases, the current research examines a novel, related question: Are people who are viewed as disgusting (i.e., people whose habits seem disgusting) perceived as more immoral than typical or unusual people? Four experiments examined this, also exploring the downstream impacts of moral character judgments. Adults who seemed disgusting were regarded as more immoral for purity and non-purity violations (Experiment 1) and less praiseworthy for prosocial acts (Experiment 2). In Experiment 3, an 8-year-old with typical (but seemingly disgusting) habits was rated as "naughtier" and likelier to misbehave than an atypical child who loved vegetables and disliked sweets. Experiment 4 revealed how, when no behavioral information is available, beliefs about target disgust influence beliefs about future behavior, helping explain why seemingly disgusting targets are viewed as more immoral, but not always more punishable for their bad behavior.

Psoriasis is a common, life-long skin disease with a significant negative health and societal impact. Data on rates of disease control and treatment strategies are lacking in Central and Eastern European countries. We aimed to describe the real-world disease severity, control, and treatment strategies for psoriasis in patients from Central and Eastern European countries. CRYSTAL (EUPAS36459) was a cross-sectional, retrospective study in adults (18-75 years) from Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Russia. We enrolled patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis receiving continuous systemic treatment for ≥24 weeks. We used the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) to describe disease severity and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) to assess quality of life (QoL) and collected other outcomes [psoriasis work productivity and activity impairment (WPAI-PSO), patient satisfaction] at enrollment. Analyses were descriptive. A total of 690 patients were included in the analyses. Median disease duration was 11.8 years. Current treatment was monotherapy for most patients (95.8%) with either biological (BIO group; 88.4%) or conventional (NON-BIO group; 7.4%) agents. Mean (± standard deviation) absolute PASI scores were 3.5 ± 5.7, 3.1 ± 5.3, and 6.6 ± 7.4 in the overall population, the BIO group, and the NON-BIO group, respectively. Among patients treated with monotherapy, absolute PASI scores ≤1, ≤3, and ≤5 were observed for 44.1%, 72.0%, and 82.6% of BIO patients and 21.6%, 33.3%, and 49.0% of NON-BIO patients. Mean DLQI total score was 3.3 ± 5.1; higher scores were noted for higher absolute PASI. The most impacted WPAI-PSO domain was presenteeism; for all domains, impact increased with increased absolute PASI. A total of 91.8% of BIO patients and 74.5% of NON-BIO patients were satisfied with the current treatment. We observed a better disease control in BIO than NON-BIO patients. However, around half of BIO patients did not reach clear skin status and reported an impact on QoL. An improvement in treatment strategies is still needed in Central and Eastern European countries to optimize outcomes of moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

Psychological distress is a growing public health challenge among people living with HIV. This study investigated the prevalence of psychological distress among individuals who know their HIV positive or negative serostatus in South Africa using 2017 data from a nationwide cross-sectional household-based population survey.

Rats, being synanthropic, are hosts to agents of zoonotic diseases that pose a threat to human and domestic animal health. The nematode parasite , commonly known as the rat lungworm, is no exception; it can cause potentially fatal neural disease in humans, dogs and other species. The distribution of (haplotypes SYD.1 and Ac13) and its close relative, is not well understood in Australia. We investigated the prevalence of in rats in Sydney, Australia, primarily faecal qPCR, and identified the species and haplotypes using partial 1 sequencing. We found a moderate prevalence of infection (29%; 95% CI: 16.1-46.6%) in black () and brown () rats around public parks and residential areas. This study demonstrates that Sydney's urban rat population is a reservoir for . Modelling infection status as a function of rat species, sex, tibia length (as a proxy for age), and health index (a measure of weight by size) revealed that older rats are statistically more likely to be infected (  = 5.331,  = 0.021). We observed a dominant presence of the SYD.1 haplotype, for which the implications are not yet known. No was detected, leading us to suspect it may have a more restricted host- and geographical range. Overall, this study illustrates the presence and potential risk of infection in Sydney. Public education regarding transmission routes and preventative measures is crucial to safeguard human and animal health.

The mental health of unverisity students is influenced by diverse factorsis multifaceted, requiring further investigation to evaluate its current status and determinants. The present study aims to address this gap by targeting Chinese university students and employing the Psychological Resilience Dynamic System model. Through a questionnaire survey, this research endeavors to explore the mental health status and influencing factors. Ultimately, the findings of this study aim to provide a theoretical basis and tailored practical guidance for the development of mental health intervention strategies for university students.

Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability among stroke survivors. Despite the availability of numerous stroke rehabilitative therapies, such as mirror therapy, bilateral arm training, and robot-assisted therapy, the recovery of motor function after stroke remains incomplete. Bilateral arm function is a key component in stroke patients to perform activities of daily living and to reflect their functional autonomy.

Healthcare workers play a central role in communicating information to the public regarding vaccines. Most of the literature has focused on healthcare workers' hesitancy and doubts about getting the flu vaccine themselves. However, few studies have dealt with how they perceive their role in communicating information regarding vaccines, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ribosome profiling is a powerful technique to study translation at a transcriptome-wide level. However, ensuring good data quality is paramount for accurate interpretation, as is ensuring that the analyses are reproducible. We introduce a new Nextflow DSL2 pipeline, riboseq-flow, designed for processing and comprehensive quality control of ribosome profiling experiments. Riboseq-flow is user-friendly, versatile and upholds high standards in reproducibility, scalability, portability, version control and continuous integration. It enables users to efficiently analyse multiple samples in parallel and helps them evaluate the quality and utility of their data based on the detailed metrics and visualisations that are automatically generated. Riboseq-flow is available at https://github.com/iraiosub/riboseq-flow.

Attentional processing of pain has been theorized to play a key role in the severity of pain and associated disability. In particular attentional bias towards pain information, resulting in poor pain outcomes, has been extensively researched. Recently, the idea was put forward that attention bias malleability (AM), , the readiness to acquire an attentional bias irrespective of its direction, may be key in predicting poor pain outcomes. We tested this hypothesis in two studies.

Psilocybin and related tryptamines have come into the spotlight in recent years as potential therapeutics for depression. Research on the mechanisms of these effects has historically focused on the direct effects of these drugs on neural processes. However, in addition to such neural effects, alterations in peripheral physiology may also contribute to their therapeutic effects. In particular, substantial support exists for a gut microbiome-mediated pathway for the antidepressant efficacy of other drug classes, but no prior studies have determined the effects of tryptamines on microbiota.

The finding that familiarity can support associative memory by unitizing the to -be-learned items into a novel representation has been widely accepted, but its effects on overall performance of associative memory and recollection are still controversial.