Psychology

Real-world data on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) are scarce and studies have been restricted in terms of instruments used for assessments.

This study compares pharmacy students' performance using face-to-face (FTF) team-based learning (TBL) vs. virtual TBL across multiple courses and different academic levels while accounting for student demographic and academic factors.

Performance validity tests (PVTs) and symptom validity tests (SVTs) are essential to neuropsychological evaluations, helping ensure findings reflect true abilities or concerns. It is unclear how PVTs and SVTs perform in children who received radiotherapy for brain tumors. Accordingly, we investigated the rate of noncredible performance on validity indicators as well as associations with fatigue and lower intellectual functioning.

Autistic children experience more stressful life events (SLEs) than their neurotypical peers, which are related to poor mental health outcomes in both neurotypical and autistic individuals. However, there is a lack of longitudinal research assessing the perceived impact of stressful life events on autistic children's mental health.

Depression is already the leading psychological disability around the world, impairing daily life, well-being, and social functioning and leading to personal and social costs. Despite the effectiveness of Evidence-Based Psychological Practices (EBPP), a significant percentage of depressive individuals remain untreated, especially in Primary Care (PC) settings in Spain. There are numerous barriers that limit access to EBPPs, including high costs, professional training, and adherence problems. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) offer a cost-effective way to disseminate and scale EBPPs to address these barriers. The iCBT program Smiling is Fun has been demonstrated to be a cost-effective treatment for depression in various Randomized Control Trials. However, adherence and implementation problems in real-world settings need to be addressed. Implementation research can help evaluate these challenges by identifying facilitators and barriers to the implementation process in PC. In this regard, including human support has been pointed out as a possible key factor in addressing the population's mental health needs and promoting treatment adherence.

Fatigue and neurocognitive impairment are highly prevalent in patients with glioma, significantly impacting health-related quality of life. Despite the presumed association between these two factors, evidence remains sparse. Therefore, we aimed to investigate this relationship using multinational data.

Concerning levels of stress, strain, and poorer mental health are observed in family carers of patients diagnosed with high-grade glioma (HGG). Understanding the reported unmet needs of these carers will enable future interventions to address such needs to improve their preparedness for care and well-being. In this secondary analysis, we aimed to explore: (i) ; and (ii)

The microstructural damage underlying compromise of white matter following treatment for pediatric brain tumors is unclear. We use multimodal imaging employing advanced diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and magnetization transfer imaging (MTI) MRI methods to examine chronic microstructural damage to white matter in children and adolescents treated for pediatric brain tumor. Notably, MTI may be more sensitive to macromolecular content, including myelin, than DTI.

Quantitative studies show people living with a lower-grade glioma (LGG) often report low health-related quality of life. However, it is unclear how this impact is experienced; resulting supportive care needs are also poorly understood. We explored how people experience the impact of living long-term with an LGG, to help identify potential supportive care needs.

Sleep disorders represent an important comorbidity in individuals with ADHD. While the links between ADHD and sleep disturbances have been extensively investigated, research on the management of sleep disorders in individuals with ADHD is relatively limited, albeit expanding.

Over the past few decades, the incidence of cancer among adolescents and young adults (AYA) has been increasing. The impact of behaviors, such as physical activity (PA) and nutrition, on disease progression, prognosis, and overall health and quality of life for AYA cancer survivors is of significant importance. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of PA and diet interventions for AYA cancer survivors and to critically evaluate existing literature, gaps, and limitations.

The brain processes underlying the distinction between emotion-label words (e.g. happy, sad) and emotion-laden words (e.g. successful, failed) remain inconclusive in bilingualism research. The present study aims to directly compare the processing of these two types of emotion words in both the first language (L1) and second language (L2) by recording event-related potentials (ERP) from late Chinese-English bilinguals during a lexical decision task. The results revealed that in the early word processing stages, the N170 emotion effect emerged only for L1 negative emotion-laden words and L2 negative emotion-label words. In addition, larger early posterior negativity (EPN) was elicited by emotion-laden words than emotion-label words in both L1 and L2. In the later processing stages, the N400 emotion effect was evident for L1 emotion words, excluding positive emotion-laden words, while it was absent in L2. Notably, L1 emotion words elicited enhanced N400 and attenuated late positive complex (LPC) compared to those in L2. Taken together, these findings confirmed the engagement of emotion, and highlighted the modulation of emotion word type and valence on word processing in both early and late processing stages. Different neural mechanisms between L1 and L2 in processing written emotion words were elucidated.

Social media takes advantage of people's predisposition to attend to threatening stimuli by promoting content in algorithms that capture attention. However, this content is often not what people expressly state they would like to see. We propose that social media companies should weigh users' expressed preferences more heavily in algorithms. We propose modest changes to user interfaces that could reduce the abundance of threatening content in the online environment.

The mental representation of numbers inherently involves a spatial organization, often positioning smaller numbers to the left and larger numbers to the right. The SNARC effect, characterized by faster responses to small numbers using the left hand and vice versa for large numbers, is typically attributed to this left-to-right oriented mental number line (MNL). However, the direction of the SNARC effect seems to rely on reading direction, with most research exploring these mechanisms conducted within left-to-right reading cultures where the SNARC effect is prevalent. This study takes advantage of a sample from a left-to-right reading culture that does not exhibit the SNARC effect, allowing us to isolate and elucidate the stand-alone effects of recent experiences on SNARC. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate how MNL-compatible and MNL-incompatible practices induce an effect within a sample lacking the SNARC effect. To accomplish this, we reinvited the individuals from the sample which had previously shown no SNARC, and retested those who agreed to take part in the current study after an MNL-compatible or MNL-incompatible practice manipulation. The findings revealed an absence of the SNARC effect with MNL-compatible practices. Conversely, MNL-incompatible practices yielded a reverse SNARC effect. These results prompt a discussion on SNARC mechanisms within the framework of practice effects.

The advent of structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) at the end of the 20th century opened the way toward a deeper understanding of the neurophysiology of psychiatric disorders, substantiating regional structural abnormalities underlying this group of clinical conditions. However, despite abundant and flourishing scientific research, sMRI methodologies are not currently integrated into daily diagnostic practice. One reason behind this failed translation may be the prevailing approach to logical reasoning in neuroimaging: The forward inference via frequentist-based statistics. This reasoning prevents clinicians from obtaining information about the selectivity of results, which are therefore of limited use regarding the definition of biomarkers and refinement of diagnostic processes. Recently, another type of inferential approach has started to emerge in the neuroimaging field: The reverse inference via Bayesian statistics. Here, we introduce the key concepts of this approach, with a particular emphasis on the clinical sMRI environment. We survey recent findings showing significant potential for clinical translation. Clinical opportunities and challenges for developing reverse inference-based neural markers for psychiatry are also discussed. We propose that a systematic sharing of imaging data across the human brain mapping community is an essential first step toward a paradigmatic clinical shift. We conclude that a defined synergy between forward-based and reverse-based sMRI research can illuminate current discussions on diagnostic brain markers, offering clarity on key issues and fostering new tailored diagnostic avenues.

Eating disorders (EDs) have a harmful impact on the lives of millions of individuals in the United States. Research indicates that comorbid trauma could negatively impact treatment outcomes, reinforcing ED symptomology. Transdiagnostic approaches underscore experiential avoidance as a maintaining factor for EDs and other comorbid concerns, while mindfulness and adaptive coping help disrupt avoidance of emotional experiences. In addition to treatment approaches, clinicians must consider cultural identity factors, such as religion and spirituality (R/S), to engage in culturally responsive treatment. In the present study, we examined transdiagnostic factors in a clinical sample of 1153 individuals with comorbid EDs and post-traumatic stress disorder (99.6% of the sample), specifically considering differences between those who identified as religious, spiritual, or neither. Using a one-way analysis of variance, we found statistically significant differences in ED symptomology and adaptive coping scores across groups. Conversely, we found no statistically significant differences in mindfulness and experiential avoidance scores across groups. Despite the small effect sizes, these preliminary findings add to the existing body of research on R/S using a transdiagnostic framework, supporting the integration of spirituality into ED treatment to promote adaptive coping. Future research is needed to address the study's limitations, such as exploring adaptive coping styles that may further explain these relationships.

The subdivisions of the extended cingulate cortex of the human brain are implicated in a number of high-level behaviors and affected by a range of neuropsychiatric disorders. Its anatomy, function, and response to therapeutics are often studied using non-human animals, including the mouse. However, the similarity of human and mouse frontal cortex, including cingulate areas, is still not fully understood. Some accounts emphasize resemblances between mouse cingulate cortex and human cingulate cortex while others emphasize similarities with human granular prefrontal cortex. We use comparative neuroimaging to study the connectivity of the cingulate cortex in the mouse and human, allowing comparisons between mouse 'gold standard' tracer and imaging data, and, in addition, comparison between the mouse and the human using comparable imaging data. We find overall similarities in organization of the cingulate between species, including anterior and midcingulate areas and a retrosplenial area. However, human cingulate contains subareas with a more fine-grained organization than is apparent in the mouse and it has connections to prefrontal areas not present in the mouse. Results such as these help formally address between-species brain organization and aim to improve the translation from preclinical to human results.

Affective polarization, the extent to which political actors treat each other as disliked outgroups, is challenging political exchange and deliberation, for example, via mistrust of the "political enemy" and unwillingness to discuss political topics with them. The present experiments address this problem and study what makes people approach, and not avoid, potential discussion partners in the context of polarized political topics in Germany. We hypothesized that intellectual humility, the recognition of one's intellectual limitations, would predict both less affective polarization and higher approach and lower avoidance tendencies toward contrary-minded others. Across four preregistered online-survey experiments ( = 1,668), we manipulated how intellectually humble a target person was perceived and measured participants' self-reported (topic-specific) intellectual humility. Results revealed that participants' intellectual humility was consistently negatively correlated with affective polarization. Additionally, intellectual humility of both the target person and the participants was beneficial, and sometimes even necessary, to make participants approach, and not avoid, the target person. Intellectual humility was more important than moral conviction, opinion, and opinion strength. Furthermore, the effects on approach and avoidance were mediated by more positive expectations regarding the debate, and the effects on future willingness for contact by higher target liking. Our findings suggest that intellectual humility is an important characteristic to enable political exchange as it leads to seeing political outgroups more positively and to a higher willingness to engage in intergroup contact. Implications for intergroup contact of political groups as well as ideas for future research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Neurofeedback training (NFT) is a promising adjuvant intervention method. The desynchronization of mu rhythm (8-13 Hz) in the electroencephalogram (EEG) over centro-parietal areas is known as a valid indicator of mirror neuron system (MNS) activation, which has been associated with social skills. Still, the effect of neurofeedback training on the MNS requires to be well investigated. The present study examined the possible impact of NFT with a mu suppression training protocol encompassing 15 NFT sessions (45 min each) on 16 healthy neurotypical participants. In separate pre- and post-training sessions, 64-channel EEG was recorded while participants (1) observed videos with various types of movements (including complex goal-directed hand movements and social interaction scenes) and (2) performed the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test" (RMET). EEG source reconstruction analysis revealed statistically significant mu suppression during hand movement observation across MNS-attributed fronto-parietal areas after NFT. The frequency analysis showed no significant mu suppression after NFT, despite the fact that numerical mu suppression appeared to be visible in a majority of participants during goal-directed hand movement observation. At the behavioral level, RMET accuracy scores did not suggest an effect of NFT on the ability to interpret subtle emotional expressions, although RMET response times were reduced after NFT. In conclusion, the present study exhibited preliminary and partial evidence that mu suppression NFT can induce mu suppression in MNS-attributed areas. More powerful experimental designs and longer training may be necessary to induce substantial and consistent mu suppression, particularly while observing social scenarios.

Despite consensually non-monogamous people being a minority population with specific healthcare needs, research on this group is minimal, especially in relation to sexual healthcare. This study explores the motivations behind consensually non-monogamous individuals' choices of sexual healthcare service options. Qualitative survey data was collected from 67 consensual non-monogamists and analysed using thematic analysis. Two key themes captured participants' perspectives on the selection of sexual healthcare services. 'Feeling Comfortable' highlighted preferences for sexually inclusive clinics and LGBT+- focused services due to perceived better quality of care and comfort. 'Practicalities' emphasised convenience, proximity and the availability of STI testing options as critical factors influencing service selection. Accordingly, this research provides insight into the specific sexual healthcare service needs, desires and motivations of those who are consensually non-monogamous. Suggestions are made for increased training and awareness when working with relationship diverse patients.

The study mapped depressive and anxiety symptom trajectories throughout adolescence and early adulthood, arrayed by time since menarche, a novel indicator of pubertal change and examined the effect of age of menarche and pubertal timing, more frequently used variables, on depressive and anxiety symptom severity trajectories.

An overview of circumstances in which twins take the place of their co-twin is presented. Various explanations and speculations are proposed for understanding twins' willingness to do so in certain situations. This section is followed by reviews of timely twin research, namely single versus multiple embryo transfer; neurimaging of twins with periventricular nodular heterotopia; a twin dietary comparison; and a new book of twin-related readings from Hungary. The final portion of this article concerns human interest stories that both inform and entertain. They involve valedictorian and salutatorian twins; a mother delivering twins at age seventy; twins reunited by TikTok; a new film about twins with selective mutism; and twins becoming doctors.

Depression and suicidal ideation (SI) are common in adolescents. However, the relation between the two is unclear. According to the cognitive model of suicidal behavior and learned helplessness theory, lack of certainty in control (LCC), referring to individuals' deficiency in predictability, certainty, and control of life, may be an important factor linking the two. Thus, the current study aimed to investigate the temporal relation between depression and SI in adolescents and to assess the mediating role of LCC in this relation.

Decision-making heuristics rely on proxies so the elements of heuristics appear to map well to the elements of proxies identified by John et al. However, unlike proxy failure, heuristics do not fail because of feedback. This may be because for successful heuristics the goals of regulators and agents are aligned, but this is not the case for proxy failure.

The study tested how the use of positive- (e.g. beautiful) and negative-valenced (e.g. horrible) words in natural language and its change in time affects the severity of depression and anxiety symptoms among depressed and non-depressed individuals. This longitudinal mixed methods study ( = 40 participants, = 1440 narratives) with three measurements within a year showed that at the between-person level the use of negative-valenced words was strongly associated with the increase in anxiety and depression symptoms over time while the use of positive-valenced words was slightly associated with the decrease in anxiety and depression symptom. These effects were not supported for within-person level (i.e. changes in word usage). No significant differences were observed in the effects between depressed and non-depressed groups. Summing up, the overall use of positive- and negative-valenced words (particularly negative-valenced words) had a stronger effect on the severity of psychopathological symptoms than their change over time. The results were discussed in the context of natural language processing and its application in diagnosing depression and anxiety symptoms.

We propose that the logic of a genie - an agent that exploits an ambiguous request to intentionally misunderstand a stated goal - underlies a common and consequential phenomenon, well within what is currently called proxy failures. We argue that such intentional misunderstandings are not covered by the current proposed framework for proxy failures, and suggest to expand it.

We studied the role of time in the experience of boredom and its relationship with various psychological states using virtual reality. Sixty-six participants visited nine virtual waiting rooms and evaluated their perception of time and psychological experiences, including boredom, exhaustion, restlessness, amotivation, frustration, anger, unhappiness, spontaneous and deliberate mind-wandering, fantasy, and absorption. Results confirmed the relationship between boredom and time perception, showing that the higher the levels of boredom, the slower time seems to pass. However, manipulating time-related information via a slower/faster ticking clock did not affect boredom. We also found that boredom increased as participants progressed through the nine virtual rooms, and its affective characterisation over time remained stable, while its cognitive characterisation fluctuated. While boredom was consistently associated with exhaustion, restlessness, amotivation, and frustration, its relationship with fantasy, absorption, spontaneous mind-wandering and deliberate mind-wandering, evolved over time. These findings provide novel insights into the intricate and differentiated cognitive and affective consequences of being bored.

Stepping Together for Children after Trauma (ST-CT) is the first step of the promising intervention Stepped Care CBT for Children after Trauma. In ST-CT, the task of leading treatment is partially shifted to the parents, and the child and parent work together to complete therapeutic tasks from a workbook with therapist supervision. We aimed to investigate the feasibility of ST-CT in Norwegian first line services and explore child factors predicting outcome. Eighty-two children (mean age 9.9 years, 56% girls) participated. Feasibility was defined by treatment completion, reductions of child posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) mid- and post-treatment, and client treatment satisfaction. Predictors included child baseline PTSS, depressive symptoms, posttraumatic cognitions, externalizing symptoms, number of different traumatic events, and type of trauma. Results showed that rates of completion (78.0%) and response (81% of completers/59.8% intention-to-treat) were comparable to previous studies by the ST-CT developer. Overall treatment effect was d = 2.46 and client treatment satisfaction was high (mean score child: 8.3, parent: 9.0, on a scale from 0 - 10). Higher baseline PTSS and depressive symptoms predicted poorer outcome at both mid- and post-treatment, while more posttraumatic cognitions, and exposure to interpersonal trauma predicted poorer outcome at mid-treatment only. These associations were no longer significant in the fully adjusted models. In conclusion, ST-CT shows promise as an effective first line treatment in this new context, with two of three children responding to the treatment. Baseline PTSS, depression, post-traumatic cognitions and type of trauma may be related to outcomes and should be explored further. (Trial registration:  ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04073862. Retrospectively registered June 3rd 2019, first patient recruited May 19th 2019).

Limited understanding exists regarding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide attempts (SA) in depressed adolescents. The maturation of brain network is crucial during adolescence, yet the abnormal alternations in depressed adolescents with NSSI or NSSI+SA remain poorly understood.

Inhibition, an executive function, is critical for achieving goals that require suppressing unwanted behaviours, thoughts, or distractions. One hypothesis of the emotion and goal compatibility theory is that emotions of sadness and fear enhance inhibitory control. Across Experiments 1-4, we tested this hypothesis by inducing a happy, sad, fearful, and neutral emotional state prior to completing an inhibition task that indexed a specific facet of inhibition (oculomotor, resisting interference, behavioural, and cognitive). In Experiment 4, we included an anger induction to examine whether valence or motivational-orientation best-predicted performance. We found support that fear and sadness enhanced inhibition except when inhibition required resisting interference. We argue that sadness and fear enhance inhibitory control aiding the detection and analysis of problems (i.e. sadness) or threats (i.e. fear) within one's environment. In sum, this work highlights the importance of identifying how negative emotions can be beneficial for and interact with specific executive functions influencing down-stream processing including attention, cognition, and memory.

Overweight (OW) and obesity (OB) have become prevalent issues in the global public health arena. Serving as a prominent risk factor for various chronic diseases, overweight/obesity not only poses serious threats to people's physical and mental health but also imposes significant medical and economic burdens on society as a whole. In recent years, there has been a growing focus on basic scientific research dedicated to seeking the neural evidence underlying overweight/obesity, aiming to elucidate its causes and effects by revealing functional alterations in brain networks. Among them, dysfunction in the reward network (RN) and executive control network (ECN) during both resting state and task conditions is considered pivotal in neuroscience research on overweight/obesity. Their aberrations contribute to explaining why persons with overweight/obesity exhibit heightened sensitivity to food rewards and eating disinhibition. This review centers on the reward and executive control network by analyzing and organizing the resting-state and task-based fMRI studies of functional brain network alterations in overweight/obesity. Building upon this foundation, the authors further summarize a reward-inhibition dual-system model, with a view to establishing a theoretical framework for future exploration in this field.

Perceived discrimination is associated with racial cognitive health disparities. Links between discrimination and cognitive performance, like working memory, in everyday settings (i.e. ambulatory performance) require investigation. Depressive symptoms may be a mechanism through which discrimination relates to ambulatory working memory.

The significance of spirituality in navigating the meaning of illness and death has been well-established. However, healthcare professionals working with palliation also grapple with their own spiritual dimensions when confronted with these circumstances. This study aimed to explore spirituality from a subjective standpoint among a sample of palliative care professionals, investigating its role and associated needs. For the first time, the FICA Spiritual History Tool was applied in a focus group setting. The meetings were transcribed, and thematic analysis was performed. The findings underscore how spirituality is perceived as more relational than transcendent, potentially fostering connections between the self, patients, and colleagues, thereby enhancing resilience. Simultaneously, spirituality needs to be considered as a potential source of suffering that could impact both the quality of life and work of healthcare workers involved. This issue should be addressed through dedicated moments of shared reprocessing, with beneficial implications for public health.

Moral identity is an important moral variable which has positive moral functions, such as contributing to prosocial behaviours, reducing antisocial behaviours, and resisting the risk factors of antisocial behaviours. However, little is known about the neural correlates of moral identity and the neural basis of the effect of moral identity on the risk factors of antisocial behaviours, including moral disengagement. In this study, we explored these issues in 142 college students by estimating the regional homogeneity (ReHo) through resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The whole-brain correlation analyses found that higher internalized moral identity was correlated with higher ReHo in the precuneus. Furthermore, the ReHo in the precuneus was negatively correlated with moral disengagement, suggesting positive moral functions of the neural mechanisms of moral identity. These findings deepen our understanding of individual differences in moral identity and provide inspiration for the education of moral identity and the intervention for moral disengagement from the perspective of the brain.

The present study sought to investigate the influence of advice on decision-making in older age, as well as the potential influence of depressive symptoms and age-related differences in the cognitively demanding emotion regulation on advice-taking.

Chronic pruritus (CP) is frequent in general medicine and the most common complaint in general dermatology. The prevalence of CP is expected to rise in the future due to the ageing population. The clinical presentation, underlying aetiology and treatment strategy of CP are heterogeneous. Also, individual treatment aims and physical, psychic and economic burdens of patients might vary. Chronic prurigo (CPG) is the most severe disease in the chronic pruritus spectrum, being associated with long-standing scratch-induced skin lesions and a therapy refractory itch-scratch-cycle. It is thus important to raise disease awareness for CP and CPG in the general public and among decision-makers in the health system. Further, there is a need to support a rational clinical framework to optimize both diagnostics and therapeutics. Currently, there is still a shortcoming regarding approved therapies and understanding CP/CPG as severe medical conditions. Therefore, the EADV Task Force Pruritus decided to publish this white paper based on several consensus meetings. The group consented on the following goals: (a) ensure that CP is recognized as a serious condition, (b) increase public awareness and understanding of CP and CPG as chronic and burdensome diseases that can greatly affect a person's quality of life, (c) clarify that in most cases CP and CPG are non-communicable and not caused by a psychiatric disease, (d) improve the support and treatment given to patients with CP to help them manage their disease and (e) publicize existing therapies including current guidelines. We aim to point to necessary improvements in access and quality of care directed to decision-makers in health policy, among payers and administrations as well as in practical care.

This mixed-methods study used an online cross-sectional survey to explore perspectives of 533 adult Australian women living with endometriosis pain, and their relationship with biopsychosocial factors. Four themes were constructed: The primary theme, 'Stigma and change' reflected women's experience of dismissal, and the wish to reverse the narrative of pain as normal. Some women emphasised self-education and self-advocacy to affect change, reflecting the theme 'self-empowerment'. Participants described the 'debilitating impact' of endometriosis and the enduring difficulty of 'inadequate healthcare', reflecting themes three and four. Analysis indicated type of social support may impact perceived outcomes for endometriosis. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated too few significant relationships between biopsychosocial factors and themes to indicate meaningful patterns without risk of common method variance. Future research should explore the influence of social support and interventions which develop participant autonomy and practitioner competence and knowledge, using disease-specific measures over time.

The golden lion tamarin (GLT) is an Endangered primate endemic to Brazil's lowland Atlantic Forest. After centuries of deforestation and capture for the pet trade, only a few hundred individuals survived, all in isolated forest fragments 85 km from Rio de Janeiro city. Intensive conservation actions, including reintroduction of zoo-born tamarins, increased numbers to about 3700 in 2014. The most severe yellow fever epidemic/epizootic in Brazil in 80 years reduced two of the largest GLT populations by over 90%. Herein we report the results of a 2023 survey of GLTs designed to examine the dynamics of population recovery following yellow fever. Results indicate that populations hard hit by yellow fever are recovering due in part to immigration from adjacent forest fragments. No local extirpations were observed. About 4800 GLTs live in the survey area. This represents a 31% increase since the baseline survey completed in 2014. Two factors explain most of the increase: four large areas that had no GLTs or very low-density populations in 2014 are now at moderate density (three areas) or low density (one area), explaining 71% of overall increase since 2014. Increase in forest area within our survey area may explain up to 16% of the increase in GLT numbers since 2014. Results of computer simulations suggest that strengthening forest connectivity will facilitate metapopulation resilience in the face of mortality factors such as yellow fever.

This research examined religious engagement and subsequent antibody responses to the COVID-19 vaccine. Using publicly available data from the Understanding Society survey, we employed a longitudinal design. Between January 2016 and May 2018, respondents completed measures of religious belonging, frequency of attending religious services (i.e., extrinsic religiosity), and the difference religion made to their lives (i.e., intrinsic religiosity). A COVID-19 survey wave was collected in March 2021 and measured antibody responses to the COVID-19 vaccine via blood draw. A final sample of 746 adults [462 (61.9%) females, M = 61.94, SD = 19.07] was achieved. Mediation analyses (PROCESS, Model 4; Hayes, Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach, The Guildford Press, 2022; Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach; The Guildford Press) revealed one pathway through which religion and antibody responses to the COVID-19 vaccine are associated, namely via extrinsic factors-attendance at religious services. In contrast, intrinsic religious factors which is the difference religion can make to one's life, was not a significant mediator. Overall, this analysis provides evidence that behavioural enactment of religion matters to the effectiveness of vaccination and the management of public health crises. It also highlights the value of social resources associated with engagement in valued social groups-and in particular religious social groups-for public health.

Internalized HIV stigma has been associated with several poor mental and physical health outcomes among people living with HIV (PLWH); yet, little research has explored how internalized HIV stigma may be affected by syndemic burden. This study sought to examine the relationship between syndemic conditions and HIV stigma over and above the potential effects of two social determinants of health, age and sexual minority status, using a linear regression approach ( = 1343). Syndemic burden was significantly positively associated with internalized HIV stigma above and beyond the effects of age and sexual minority status ( = 0.23). Additionally, age ( = -0.02) and being a sexually minority ( = -0.31) were significantly negatively associated with internalized HIV stigma. Findings should inform future treatment targets for this population by specifically working to reduce internalized HIV stigma for people with a greater syndemic burden and, potentially, among young adults and heterosexual PLWH.

Joint action theorizing implies that any coordinated behaviour that induces co-representation with a partner should increase social identification, especially when the associated actions require a high degree of coordination and are experienced as being performed effectively. The current research provides a first test of this new theoretical prediction for complementary (rather than synchronous) joint actions. In each of two pre-registered experiments establishing a novel paradigm, participants performed a digital joystick task with a joint performance goal with three different partners. The task varied in coordination requirements across partners. In Experiment 1, results showed that when task segments were discrete between partners, they identified less as a group than when they had to coordinate their behaviour. Surprisingly, although constant coordination increased co-representation relative to intermittent coordination, it did not correspondingly increase social identification. However, performance correlated positively with identification; as performance was worse when participants had to coordinate, this may explain the results. Experiment 2 showed that performance is causally linked to identification when coordination is necessary. Taken together, our results suggest that experiencing effective coordination leads to greater social identification. In general, paradigms capable of examining the perceptual and motor aspects of collective behaviour may offer a new perspective on social identification in general and the performance-identification link in particular.

Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an event-related potential component automatically elicited by events that violate predictions based on prior events. To elicit this component, researchers use stimulus repetition to induce predictions, and the MMN is obtained by subtracting the brain response to rare or unpredicted stimuli from that of frequent stimuli. Under the Predictive Processing framework, one increasingly popular interpretation of the mismatch response postulates that MMN represents a prediction error. In this context, the reduced MMN amplitude to auditory stimuli has been considered a potential biomarker of Schizophrenia, representing a reduced prediction error and the inability to update the mental model of the world based on the sensory signals. It is unclear, however, whether this amplitude reduction is specific for auditory events or if the visual MMN reveals a similar pattern in schizophrenia spectrum disorder. This review and meta-analysis aimed to summarise the available literature on the vMMN in schizophrenia. A systematic literature search resulted in 10 eligible studies that resulted in a combined effect size of g = -.63, CI [-.86, -.41], reflecting lower vMMN amplitudes in patients. These results are in line with the findings in the auditory domain. This component offers certain advantages, such as less susceptibility to overlap with components generated by attentional demands. Future studies should use vMMN to explore abnormalities in the Predictive Processing framework in different stages and groups of the SSD and increase the knowledge in the search for biomarkers in schizophrenia.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common inflammatory diseases, and has a higher prevalence among females in adulthood. The aim of this observational, cross-sectional, survey-based study was to evaluate the impact of AD on the daily lives of adult women patients. A scientific committee composed exclusively of women constructed a specific questionnaire in partnership with the French Eczema Association. Severity of AD was evaluated with the Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM). A sample of 1,009 adult women (mean age ± standard deviation: 41.8 ± 14.2 years) with AD was identified from a representative sample of the French population (82% response rate 1,230 women surveyed). According to the POEM, 50.64% (n = 511) of subjects were identified as having mild AD, 39.35% (n = 397) moderate AD, and 10.01% (n = 101) severe AD. Overall, 67.7% (n = 682) reported that their eczema involved a visible area (face, neck or hands), and 19.6% (n = 198) a sensual area (breasts/chest, genital area or buttocks). Of the 720 women with menstrual cycles, exacerbations of AD were reported to occur mostly before (50.6%) and during (48.3%) menstruation. A small proportion of women, 7.3% (n = 74), reported being afraid of  becoming pregnant because of their eczema. If AD involvement was in a visible area it had a greater impact on romantic relationships, sexual relationships and occupation. If AD involvement was in a sensual area it had a greater influence on romantic relationships and sexuality. Particular attention should be given to patients with localization of AD on the face, neck or hands, as they have a higher risk of social exclusion. Moreover, these results should encourage health professionals to ask patients with AD about the possible involvement of sensual areas.

For stroke patients with unknown time of onset, mismatch between diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can guide thrombolytic intervention. However, access to MRI for hyperacute stroke is limited. Here, we sought to evaluate whether a portable, low-field (LF)-MRI scanner can identify DWI-FLAIR mismatch in acute ischemic stroke.

Natural selection is slow, so behavioral goals must be based on patterns of reward. Addictions are rewarded in the same way as adaptive choice, so they can be distinguished only by their time course. In addition, the reward process is more plastic than is generally recognized, so abstract goals are shaped by the "legibility" of their proxies.

A societal shift has occurred toward making impactful decisions on the basis of objective metrics rather than subjective impressions. This shift is commonly justified by claims that we should not trust subjective intuitions. These are often unjust and thereby corrupt. However, the proxies used to make objective decisions are subject to a different form of corruption, characterized as proxy failure.

The youth mental health crisis is exacerbated for Latinx adolescents, a group whose families are targets of anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy.

Dementia is a common and progressive condition whose prevalence is growing worldwide. It is challenging for healthcare systems to provide continuity in clinical services for all patients from diagnosis to death.

Reductionist methodologies reduce phenomena to some of their lower-level components. Researchers gradually shift their focus away from observing the actual object of study toward investigating and optimizing such lower-level proxies. Following reductionism, these proxies progressively diverge further from the original object of study. We vividly illustrate this in the evolution of target-based drug discovery from rational and phenotypic drug discovery.

English is widely regarded as a global language, and it has become increasingly important for global communication. As a result, the demand for English language education has been on the rise. In China, a significant number of individuals are engaged in learning the English language. However, many English learners in China encounter challenges when it comes to developing their speaking skills. This study aims to investigate the factors influencing the speaking skills of English learners in China. Employing a mixed-methods approach, data were collected through a questionnaire from 455 college students from three different courses (arts, science & business, and commerce) in China. The study findings identified several factors impacting the speaking skills of English learners in China, including limited opportunities for speaking practice, fear of making mistakes, limited exposure to English-speaking environments, inadequate teacher training, and the influence of the Chinese language on English pronunciation. Additionally, the study highlighted that learners who have greater exposure to English-speaking environments and more opportunities for speaking practice tend to demonstrate better speaking skills. The novelty of this study lies in its valuable insights into the factors influencing the speaking skills of English learners in China. Based on the findings, it is recommended that English teachers receive enhanced training to effectively teach speaking skills, and learners should be provided with increased opportunities for speaking practice, such as participating in group discussions or engaging in speaking activities.

Most evidence on suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts comes from Western countries; prevalence rates may differ in other parts of the world.

In school-age children, upper extremity fractures are associated with both parental and child-related factors and represent a multifactorial entity. This study aims to explore the psychological risk factors associated with upper extremity fractures in preschool children.

Language is frequently affected in patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (sALS), with reduced performance in naming, syntactic comprehension, grammatical expression, and orthographic processing. However, the language profile of patients with familial type 8 ALS (ALS8), linked to p.P56S VAPB mutation, remains unclear. We investigated language in patients with ALS8 by examining their auditory comprehension and verbal production.

School attendance problems (SAPs) are associated with negative short- and long-term outcomes. Despite high prevalence of SAPs, there is a shortage of evidence-based interventions. Existing approaches often target either school refusal or truancy, leaving a gap in effective interventions addressing both types of SAPs. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) assessed the effectiveness of Back2School (B2S), a modular transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for SAPs, compared to treatment as usual (TAU). Outcomes included youths' school attendance and mental health. A group (B2S, TAU) × time (Pre, Post, 3-Month Follow-Up) design involving 152 youths (B2S; n = 74, TAU; n = 78) with SAPs (i.e., ≥ 10% absence in the past three months), aged 6-16 years (M = 12.2, SD = 2.2, males = 60%) were used. B2S comprised three months of CBT with youths, parents, and school involvement, while TAU comprised public and/or private intervention services. On average, youths in B2S received 15.0, (SD = 3.9) hours of intervention, while those in TAU received 13.4, (SD = 21.6). Intervention effects were investigated using mixed linear models. Both B2S and TAU exhibited significant within-group improvements in school attendance, with no significant differences between them. However, the B2S group significantly outperformed TAU in reducing youths' emotional problems, conduct problems, problems with peers, the overall impact of problems, and increasing youths self-efficacy for attending school and parent self-efficacy for dealing with a SAP. This RCT represents the first evaluation of a modular transdiagnostic CBT for youths displaying SAPs, showing significant mental health and self-efficacy benefits.  (Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03459677).

Substance use disorders among juveniles are a major public health concern and are often intertwined with other psychosocial risk factors including antisocial behavior. Identifying etiological risks and mechanisms promoting substance use disorders remains a high priority for informing more focused interventions in high-risk populations. The present study examined brain gray matter structure in relation to substance use severity among = 152 high-risk, incarcerated boys (aged 14-20). Substance use severity was positively associated with gray matter volume across several frontal/striatal brain regions including amygdala, pallidum, putamen, insula, and orbitofrontal cortex. Effects were apparent when using voxel-based-morphometric analysis, as well as in whole-brain, data-driven, network-based approaches (source-based morphometry). These findings support the hypothesis that elevated gray matter volume in striatal reward circuits may be an endogenous marker for vulnerability to severe substance use behaviors among youth.

Prior research has identified trust trait, trust expectation, trust risk and trust behavior as integral components of interpersonal trust. However, there still lack an in-depth exploration of the structural relationships among these integral components-how these integral components collectively constitute interpersonal trust. The current study innovatively proposed that interpersonal trust is anchored by individual trust trait, mediated by the dynamic equilibrium between trust risk and trust expectation, and culminates in trust behavior as the outcome. Interpersonal trust results from the synergistic interplay of individual and environmental factors. We called such structural relationships as the pyramid structure model of interpersonal trust, and proved its rationality by empirical evidence.

In several large-scale replication projects, statistically non-significant results in both the original and the replication study have been interpreted as a 'replication success.' Here, we discuss the logical problems with this approach: Non-significance in both studies does not ensure that the studies provide evidence for the absence of an effect and 'replication success' can virtually always be achieved if the sample sizes are small enough. In addition, the relevant error rates are not controlled. We show how methods, such as equivalence testing and Bayes factors, can be used to adequately quantify the evidence for the absence of an effect and how they can be applied in the replication setting. Using data from the Reproducibility Project: Cancer Biology, the Experimental Philosophy Replicability Project, and the Reproducibility Project: Psychology we illustrate that many original and replication studies with 'null results' are in fact inconclusive. We conclude that it is important to also replicate studies with statistically non-significant results, but that they should be designed, analyzed, and interpreted appropriately.

Gender-affirming hormonal therapy (GAHT), which includes estrogen, testosterone, androgen agonists, is commonly used in transgender individuals to change their secondary sexual characteristics to align with their gender identity. However, this treatment could result in metabolic side effects that could increase the chances of acquiring type 2 diabetes mellitus. Thus, this study aims to compare differences in body mass index (BMI), insulin resistance, and the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus between cisgender and transgender individuals undergoing GAHT. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) standards, we conducted a systematic review searching through PubMed, Google Scholar, Medline (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online), and ResearchGate for articles published between 2014 and 2024. The final search was conducted in February 2024. Out of the 3,934 articles reviewed, 11 were selected, focusing on insulin sensitivity/resistance, diabetes incidence, and BMI changes with GAHT. Although our result findings did not show clear evidence of increased diabetes incidence among GAHT patients, it was observed that GAHT does increase BMI and insulin resistance in transgender individuals. Notably, compared to transgender men, transgender women on GAHT were found to be more prone to insulin resistance. We recommend regularly monitoring insulin sensitivity parameters and HbA1c during GAHT to monitor metabolic side effects. Further research and more clinical trials are needed to confirm the GAHT's impact on insulin resistance and to evaluate its role in the onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the impact of early sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) initiation on long-term cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause mortality among patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). For this study, we adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guideline. Two researchers independently performed a comprehensive literature search on PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library, spanning from the inception of each database to February 24, 2023, without language limitations. The outcomes examined in this meta-analysis comprised major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (as defined by individual studies), all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, stroke (ischemic and hemorrhagic), recurrent ACS, and hospitalization due to heart failure (HF). A total of nine studies were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled analysis of nine studies revealed a significant reduction in the risk of MACE, all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and cardiovascular-related hospitalizations among patients receiving SGLT2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) compared to those in the control group. Additionally, there was a trend toward a lower risk of recurrent ACS in the SGLT2i group, although this difference did not reach statistical significance. The findings of this study suggest a promising therapeutic effect of SGLT2 inhibitors in this population. Further research, particularly focusing on myocardial infarction (MI) patients, is warranted to validate these results and potentially revolutionize ACS management.

Etanercept (ETN) is a disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that works as a tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNF inhibitor) by blocking the effects of naturally occurring TNF. This review will evaluate the effect of ETN as a monotherapy or combination therapy with methotrexate (MTX) in the treatment of RA. This systematic review was carried out in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. A systematic search was done on PubMed and Google Scholar from 1999 to 2023. Predefined eligibility criteria were set for selected studies, which include: free full-text articles published; randomized control trials (RCTs); systematic reviews and meta-analyses; and observational studies in a patient with RA treated with ETN as initial therapy or as an add-on to conventional disease-modified therapy. Hence, the data had been extracted, and a quality assessment of each study was done by two individual authors. When comparing patients who received 15-25 mg of MTX with those who also received 25 mg of ETN in combination, 71% achieved American College of Rheumatology 20 (ACR20) by 24 weeks, compared to 27% in the MTX and placebo groups (p<0.001), and 39% achieved American College of Rheumatology 50 (ACR50), compared to 3% in the placebo + MTX group (p<0.001). Low disease activity (DAS 28) was more common in patients who had both MTX and ETN (64.5% with DAS <2.4 and 56.3% with DAS 28 <3.2) compared to patients who received only one medication (44.4% with DAS <2.4 and 33.2% with DAS 28 <3.2 for ETN and 38.6% with DAS <2.4 and 28.5% with DAS 28 <3.2 for MTX, with P<0.01). ETN demonstrated smaller changes from baseline in the modified Sharp score (TSS) and erosion scores (ES) at 12 months and two years, as well as a decreased change in the ES score at one year (with a trend of P value = 0.06 for the TSS score), in comparison to those receiving DMARD. Reactions at the injection site (42% vs. 7%, P<0.001) were the only events that occurred significantly more frequently in the ETN plus-MTX group. Combining ETN and MTX appears to help control RA symptoms by decreasing the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) response and DAS score, as well as halting the disease's progression on X-rays. The most common adverse effects were reactions to ETN administered alone at the injection site, likely because of patient awareness of the treatment received. There was also concern about tuberculosis and malignancy, but no recent data is available. Therefore, a larger clinical trial with longer follow-up is required to ascertain long-term safety and benefits.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a rare, life-threatening disorder typically presenting with a classic pentad of symptoms: thrombocytopenia, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, neurological abnormalities, renal dysfunction, and fever. This report explores an unusual presentation of TTP in a 47-year-old female with a medical history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and chronic TTP, who exhibited only petechial rashes, generalized weakness, and headache. Notably, the petechial rash, a less common manifestation of TTP, became a pivotal clue for the diagnosis, underscoring the necessity for vigilance even when classic symptoms are absent. This case reinforces the imperative of a high suspicion index for TTP, especially in patients with thrombocytopenia and hemolytic anemia, irrespective of other traditional signs. Plasmapheresis remains the treatment cornerstone, removing autoantibodies and replenishing ADAMTS13, as evidenced by the patient's initial response. The administration of rituximab, targeting B cells to mitigate autoantibody production against ADAMTS13, featured prominently in her management, aligning with its recognized role in refractory or relapsing TTP cases. Despite an encouraging response to rituximab, a subsequent decline in platelet count indicated the unpredictable nature of TTP and the necessity for multi-pronged therapeutic strategies. The patient's medical background and persistently low ADAMTS13 levels hinted at a chronic relapsing trajectory associated with increased morbidity and mortality. This necessitates ongoing vigilance and treatment flexibility. Highlighting this atypical TTP presentation, the report calls for immediate, robust intervention, serving as a critical reminder of the heterogeneity of TTP manifestations and the complexities in its management, thereby contributing to broader clinical awareness and improved patient prognoses.

 Postdate pregnancy is characterized by a heightened risk for both maternal and perinatal complications. Owing to the risks, clinicians frequently turn to elective labor induction as a management strategy for postdate pregnancies. However, patients are increasingly informed and apprehensive about this approach and its associated risks. This has prompted a search for alternative management methods that may encourage spontaneous labor in pregnant women. One such approach is the use of fetal membrane sweeping, a method known to increase the likelihood of spontaneous labor onset. Yet, it remains unclear whether a single fetal membrane sweeping procedure can effectively reduce the need for elective labor induction in postdate pregnancies while minimizing risks to both the mother and fetus.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) presents a formidable challenge in critical care, often resulting in high mortality rates, particularly in severe cases or those compounded by preexisting conditions. Despite substantial advancements in critical care, the heterogeneous nature of ARDS necessitates nuanced clinical approaches. ARDS is generally diagnosed through clinical evaluation, radiographic imaging, and laboratory tests, as well as acute onset, bilateral lung infiltrates on imaging, and a partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (PaO2)/fraction of inspiratory oxygen concentration (FiO2) ratio of less than 300 mmHg. Management involves measurements to improve oxygenation and provide mechanical ventilation to assist breathing. The typical manifestation of ARDS is diffuse lung involvement, which affects multiple lobes symmetrically. Here, we report an unusual case of ARDS in a 53-year-old female who was brought into the hospital in an unresponsive state, exhibiting hypoxic and hypotension requiring intubation. Subsequent imaging revealed a distinctive pattern: the preservation of the right middle lobe, diverging from the conventional diffuse pulmonary affliction. This case underscores the need for clinical vigilance and adaptability, as such atypical presentations can confound diagnosis and management, posing unique clinical challenges. This case highlights the importance of recognizing ARDS' diverse presentations. Moreover, understanding the mechanisms behind the lobar sparing could provide greater insight into the disease heterogeneity and guide tailored therapeutic approaches. The imperative for further research into these uncommon presentations is clear, as it may be vital to improving outcomes for a broader spectrum of ARDS patients.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)is an extremely common gastrointestinal disorder that can give rise to dysplasia and colorectal cancer (CRC). There are various diagnostic methods but endoscopy has proved to be the best in the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of IBD. The objective of this review is to evaluate the efficacy of endoscopy in detecting patients with IBD. A structured search strategy on PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar was used, as well as formal inclusion or exclusion, data extraction, validity assessment, and meta-analysis. RevMan 5.4 (Review Manager (RevMan) (Computer program). Version 5.4. The Cochrane Collaboration, 2020) was used for the meta-analysis, and forest plots were generated for each outcome separately. All of these studies are prospective cohorts and 11 of these are randomized controlled trials (RCTs). In IBD, both chromoendoscopy and white light endoscopy are useful in detecting dysplasia and neoplastic lesions. Furthermore, narrow-band imaging is a less time-consuming option for endoscopic surveillance. The meta-analysis also showed that chromoendoscopy is superior to other methods.

Cognitive symptoms and sleep disturbance (SD) are common non-mood-related symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD). In clinical practice, both cognitive symptoms and SD are related to MDD progression. However, there are only a few studies investigating the connection between cognitive symptoms and SD in patients with MDD, and only preliminary evidence suggests a significant association between cognitive symptoms and SD in patients with mood disorders. This study investigates the relationship between cognitive symptoms and sleep quality in patients with major depressive disorder. Patients (n = 20) with MDD were enrolled; their mean Hamilton Depression Scale-17 score was 21.95 (±2.76). Gold standard polysomnography (PSG) was used to assess sleep quality, and the validated THINC-integrated tool (the cognitive screening tool) was used to evaluate cognitive function in MDD patients. Overall, the results showed significant correlations between the cognitive screening tool's total score and sleep latency, wake-after-sleep onset, and sleep efficiency. These findings indicate that cognitive symptoms are associated with poor sleep quality among patients with MDD.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited genetic disorders that is caused by a mutation in the gene that codes for hemoglobin subunit β. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effect of folic acid in the treatment of SCD patients. We retrieved 3730 articles from PubMed, PubMed Central, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect databases. We employed a search technique that involved framing keywords, such as folic acid, folate, and sickle cell illness, and the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) strategy in PubMed. We chose research articles that had been published during the last 10 years, as well as case reports, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, literature reviews, randomized controlled trials, and observational studies. Exclusion criteria included paid full-text articles, abstracts, non-English studies, and patients who do not have SCD. The 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) criteria were used in the design of our systematic review. It was found that the majority of SCD patients were receiving regular folic acid supplements and that their plasma folate levels were either increased or within normal range, with no discernible impact on other clinical outcomes such as hemoglobin levels, infections, or pain crises. SCD patients produce more red blood cells than healthy individuals, and nearly all SCD patients receive daily folic acid supplements. On the other hand, not enough information is available on folic acid's potential benefits in the management of SCD; thus, there is a need for more large clinical trials.

Cross-sectional studies have demonstrated associations between COVID news exposure, anxiety, and depression. However, longitudinal research examining the directionality of these associations is extremely limited. Further, most studies have focused on the general population and neglected sexual and gender minority individuals (SGM), a population disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. To address these limitations, the current study utilized data from a 30-day diary study of SGM assigned female at birth ( = 429). We examined concurrent and prospective associations between COVID news exposure, depressed and anxious affect, COVID distress, substance use, and motives for use. Further, we examined associations between cumulative COVID news exposure across the diary period and prospective changes in anxiety, depression, and COVID distress. When participants were exposed to more COVID news, they experienced more depressed and anxious affect, more COVID distress, less positive affect, and were more likely to use alcohol and cannabis to cope. Further, when participants were exposed to more COVID news, they experienced increases in depressed affect, decreases in positive affect, and increases in the likelihood of using cannabis to cope. Findings also provided evidence of bi-directional prospective associations between COVID news exposure and COVID distress and of a cumulative impact of COVID news exposure on anxiety, depression, and COVID distress. Findings suggest that individuals should balance the need to remain informed about the pandemic and their own mental health when considering how much COVID news to consume.

Nocturnal enuresis (NE) has been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit or hyperactivity disorder, and intellectual disability. This study aimed to assess parents' perception of NE in children in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia. We conducted a cross-sectional study from May to August 2023, including parents aged ≥18 years living in the area. We administered an online questionnaire to assess parents' knowledge and attitudes toward NE and its treatment. A total of 616 parents completed the questionnaire, 71.4% of which were women, 35% were aged between 25 and 35 years, 75% were married, 65% had a university degree, and 49% had three or more children. In total, 70% demonstrated a good overall knowledge about NE and its treatment, and nearly 60% had a positive attitude toward the condition. Univariate and multivariate ordinal logistic regression analyses revealed that female sex, a higher level of education, and having more than one child were associated with a higher score regarding attitude toward treatment. The level of education and the number of children were predictors of knowledge and a positive attitude toward NE in children.

Bisexual women experience disproportionately poorer health outcomes in comparison to lesbian and gay groups, and the general population, including inequities related to mental and physical health. Although bisexual-specific health inequities are increasingly well-documented, research examining putative causes of such inequities, as well as research that accounts for differences bisexual populations - particularly among racial minorities- remains limited. To address these gaps, this paper reports findings from the Women's Daily Experiences Study (WoDES), a multi-method study that explored the relationship between microaggressions and health outcomes among racially/ethnically diverse cisgender, bisexual women in Chicago. Data from 28-day daily e-diaries ( = 2,104 observations; 99 participants, 57% women of color) were analyzed using multilevel modeling to (1) measure the frequency of microaggressions among bisexual women; (2) examine the influence of sexual orientation, racial, and gender microaggressions on mental and physical health; and (3) investigate how race influences relationships between microaggressions and health. Participants reported an average of 8.1 microaggressions in the previous 28 days, and at least one microaggression was reported for more than 42% of days ( = 802). Microaggressions of any type were associated with increased same-day negative affect and somatic complaints. Latina bisexual women experienced worse health outcomes in comparison to Black bisexual women. This study demonstrated the detrimental impact of microaggressions on the health of bisexual women and highlights the critical need for strategies on broader structural changes that could improve the health and well-being of bisexual women.

Mobile sensing is a ubiquitous and useful tool to make inferences about individuals' mental health based on physiology and behavior patterns. Along with sensing features directly associated with mental health, it can be valuable to detect different features of social contexts to learn about social interaction patterns over time and across different environments. This can provide insight into diverse communities' academic, work and social lives, and their social networks. We posit that passively detecting social contexts can be particularly useful for social anxiety research, as it may ultimately help identify changes in social anxiety status and patterns of social avoidance and withdrawal. To this end, we recruited a sample of highly socially anxious undergraduate students (N=46) to examine whether we could detect the presence of experimentally manipulated virtual social contexts via wristband sensors. Using a multitask machine learning pipeline, we leveraged passively sensed biobehavioral streams to detect contexts relevant to social anxiety, including (1) whether people were in a social situation, (2) size of the social group, (3) degree of social evaluation, and (4) phase of social situation (anticipating, actively experiencing, or had just participated in an experience). Results demonstrated the feasibility of detecting most virtual social contexts, with stronger predictive accuracy when detecting whether individuals were in a social situation or not and the phase of the situation, and weaker predictive accuracy when detecting the level of social evaluation. They also indicated that sensing streams are differentially important to prediction based on the context being predicted. Our findings also provide useful information regarding design elements relevant to passive context detection, including optimal sensing duration, the utility of different sensing modalities, and the need for personalization. We discuss implications of these findings for future work on context detection (e.g., just-in-time adaptive intervention development).

Smartwatches are a type of wearable device that enable continuous monitoring of an individual's activities and critical health metrics. As the number of older adults age 65+ continues to grow in the U.S., so does their usage of smartwatches, making it necessary to understand the real-world uptake and use of these devices to monitor health. In this study, older adults with a relatively high level of education and digital skills were provided with a smartwatch equipped with a mobile application (ROAMM) that was worn for a median of 14 days. Usability surveys were distributed, and a qualitative analysis was performed about participants' experience using the smartwatch and ROAMM application. Constructs from the Technology Acceptance Model and Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research were incorporated into in-depth interviews, which were recorded and transcribed. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Interviews among 30 older adults revealed the following main themes: 1) familiarization with the device and adoption and acceptance, 2) factors encouraging usage, such as a doctor's endorsement or the appeal of tracking one's health, and 3) barriers to usage, such as insufficient education and training and the desire for additional functionality. Overall, participants found the smartwatch easy to use and were likely to continue using the device in a long-term study. Data generated from smartwatches have the potential to engage individuals about their health and could inspire them to participate more actively during clinical encounters.

Although significant progress has been made in the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, even today this population still faces stigma and discrimination that impacts their mental health. In the case of men who have sex with men, it has been demonstrated that the use of drugs in a sexual context (chemsex) is one of the coping mechanisms and means of escape to deal with these situations.

Understanding work dynamics is imperative for organizational efficiency in the healthcare industry. Therefore, achieving such a feat is akin to knowing the interplay between organizational cynicism, organizational support and turnover among nurses in the healthcare sector in Nigeria.

The prevalence of mental health issues has been gradually increasing among college students in recent years. Improvements in mental health can be achieved through changes in daily behavior and the use of psychological counseling. This study aims to investigate the relationship between health-promoting behaviors and negative emotions among college freshmen as they enter the university. It also examines the impact of various sub-dimensions of health-promoting behaviors and other factors on the negative emotions (stress, anxiety, and depression) experienced by college freshmen.

While several studies documented a positive correlation between childhood maltreatment severity and dissociation severity, it is currently unknown whether specific dissociative symptoms cluster together among individuals with childhood trauma histories ranging from none to severe. We aimed to explore symptom constellations across the whole spectrum of dissociative processing from patients with severe dissociative disorders to healthy controls and relate these to maltreatment severity and sociodemographic characteristics. We employed latent profile analysis to explore symptom profiles based on five subscales, measuring absorption, depersonalization, derealization, somatoform and identity alteration, based on the 20 items of the German short version of the Dissociative Experiences Scale-II (20) in a large aggregate sample ( = 3,128) overrepresenting patients with trauma-related disorders. We then related these profiles to maltreatment severity as measured by the five subscales of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire as well as sociodemographic characteristics. Based on the five FDS subscales, six clusters differentiated by symptom severity, but not symptom constellations, were identified. Somatoform dissociation varied in accordance with the remaining symptom clusters. The cluster with the highest overall symptom severity entailed nearly all subjects diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder and was characterized by extreme levels of childhood maltreatment. Both abuse and neglect were predictive of cluster membership throughout. The higher the severity of dissociative processing in a cluster, the more subjects reported high severity and multiplicity of childhood maltreatment. However, some subjects remain resilient to the development of dissociative processing although they experience extreme childhood maltreatment.

To evaluate the sleep pattern of children and adolescents with chronic conditions during hospitalization and correlate it with resilience, quality of life, clinical and sociodemographic data.

In November 1965, Michel Jouvet accepted me into his laboratory in Lyon as a medical student at a time when sleep research was an adventure. After 4 years of investigations in cats, I obtained my medical doctorate. Being a military physician, I was posted to Antarctica for wintering over and was initiated by Jean Rivolier into the psychology of small isolated human groups. I recorded 180 polysomnographic (PSG) nights in eight of my companions. This was my first contribution to research on human sleep under extreme environments and conditions. I then entered René Hénane's military thermophysiology laboratory, where I analyzed thermal exchanges during human sleep in the heat. Back to the cold, I spent 2 years in Canada and analyzed sleep during the Arctic winter under the direction of Manny W. Radomski, who headed the Defense and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine and judged my PhD dissertation along with my first two mentors. Throughout my career, I worked in collaboration with Manny Radomski under the auspices of the Franco-Canadian Accord for Defence Research. We studied sleep and exercise, sleep deprivation, and recovery with and without chemical help. He also gave me support during several investigations in Africa. There, I studied normal sleep under various tropical climates (warm and dry in Niger, warm and humid in Côte d'Ivoire and Congo, temperate mid-mountain in Angola). I determined that human African trypanosomiasis, the ravaging sleeping sickness or tsetse disease, is not a hypersomnia, but a disorder of circadian rhythms, notably in the sleep-wake cycle.

Recent research suggests that becoming a fluent reader may partially rely on a domain-general statistical learning (SL) mechanism that allows a person to automatically extract predictable patterns from the sensory input. The goal of the present study was to investigate a potential link between SL and the ability to make linguistic predictions. All previous studies investigated quite general levels of reading ability rather than the dynamic process of making linguistic predictions. We thus used a recently developed predictive reading task, which consisted of having participants read aloud words that were preceded by either semantically or syntactically predictive contexts. To measure the componential nature of SL, we used a visual and an auditory SL task (VSL, ASL) and the classic serial reaction time task (SRT). General reading ability was assessed with a reading speed/comprehension test. The study was conducted online on a sample of 120 participants to make it possible to explore interindividual differences. The results showed only weak and sometimes even negative correlations between the various SL measures. ASL correlated positively and predicted general reading ability but neither semantic nor syntactic prediction effects. Similarly, one of the SRT measures was significantly associated with reading level and reading speed but not with linguistic prediction effects. In sum, there is little evidence that domain-general SL is a good predictor of people's ability to make domain-specific linguistic predictions. In contrast, SL shows a weak but significant association with general reading ability.

Over the past few years, several studies have explored the relationship between resting-state baseline pupil size and cognitive abilities, including fluid intelligence, working memory capacity, and attentional control. However, the results have been inconsistent. Here we present the findings from two experiments designed to replicate and expand previous research, with the aim of clarifying previous mixed findings. In both experiments, we measured baseline pupil size while participants were not engaged in any tasks, and assessed fluid intelligence using a matrix task. In one experiment we also measured working memory capacity (letter-number-sequencing task) and attentional control (attentional-capture task). We controlled for several personal and demographic variables known to influence pupil size, such as age and nicotine consumption. Our analyses revealed no relationship between resting-state pupil size (average or variability) and any of the measured constructs, neither before nor after controlling for confounding variables. Taken together, our results suggest that any relationship between resting-state pupil size and cognitive abilities is likely to be weak or non-existent.

A number of studies have provided evidence of limited non-arbitrary associations between the phonological forms and meanings of affective words, a finding referred to as affective sound symbolism. Here, we explored whether the affective connotations of Spanish words might have more extensive statistical relationships with phonological/phonetic features, or . After eliminating words with poor affective rating agreement and morphophonological redundancies (e.g., negating prefixes), we found evidence of significant form typicality for emotional valence, emotionality, and arousal in a large sample of monosyllabic and polysyllabic words. These affective form-meaning mappings remained significant even when controlling for a range of lexico-semantic variables. We show that affective variables and their corresponding form typicality measures are able to significantly predict lexical decision performance using a megastudy dataset. Overall, our findings provide new evidence that affective form typicality is a statistical property of the Spanish lexicon.

Burnout is a longstanding issue among educators and has been associated with psychological and physical health problems such as depression, and insomnia.

Researchers have documented multiple stressors and mental health problems along the journey of refugees as they are displaced to seek refuge in nearby and remote host countries. This article examines published research on Syrian refugees to propose a framework to conceptualize Syrian refugees' pre- and post-stressors and their collective impact on their mental health. The proposed framework provides a comprehensive understanding of the interconnected pathways between pre-displacement stressors, post-displacement stressors, and mental health outcomes for Syrian refugees. Pre-displacement stressors are best captured by the concept of trauma centrality and emotional suppression. Post-displacement stressors, categorized under financial, political, and social themes, have a direct impact on the mental health of the refugees, but could also play a partial mediating role on the impact of pre-displacement stressors on mental health. The framework suggests a direct pathway between the experience of war-related traumatic events and mental health and introduces the country of residence as a potential moderator of the severity of mental health. The latter is primarily influenced by local policies and the host communities' acceptance of refugees. We believe that the proposed framework can guide the work of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners concerned with the mental health and well-being of Syrian refugees. Additionally, although based on the experience of Syrian refugees, it presents a holistic perspective that could be adapted in other refugee settings.

While menstruation is a physiologic process, it remains highly stigmatized. Despite the sheer number of menstruators, menstruation is a highly individualized experience, with wide variation in duration, symptoms, and management. This wide variability lends itself to large disparities in access to menstruation management products and subsequently the lived experience of menstruators.

Over several decades, motivated behavior has emerged as a crucial study area within neuroscience. Understanding the neural substrates and mechanisms driving behaviors related to reward, addiction, and other motivation forms is pivotal for novel therapeutic interventions. This review provides a bibliometric analysis of the literature, highlighting the main trends, influential authors, and the potential future direction of the field. Utilizing a dataset comprised by 3,150 publications from the Web of Science and Scopus databases ("motivated behavior as query), we delve into key metrics like publication trends, keyword prevalence, author collaborations, citation impacts, and employed an unsupervised natural language processing technique - Latent Dirichlet Allocation - for topic modeling. From early investigations focusing on basic neural mechanism and behaviors in animal models to more recent studies exploring the complex interplay of neurobiological, psychological, and social factors in humans, the field had undergone a remarkable transformation. The last century has seen a proliferation of research dedicated to uncovering the intricacies of motivation, significantly enriching our understanding of its myriad implications for human behavior and mental health. This bibliometric analysis aims to offer comprehensive insights into this dynamic research area, highlighting the field's key contributions and potential future directions, thereby serving as a valuable resource for researchers, and hopefully give a more thorough understanding of the research area.

While economics often interprets individual intertemporal choice preferences through the rationality assumption of utility maximization, the reality is that as emotional beings, individuals' preferences for intertemporal behavior are much more diverse and inconsistent. Prior research has predominantly focused on positive or negative emotions based on prospect theory, such as anxiety, anger, disgust, and depression. However, there has been relatively little research on how sadness affects individuals' preferences for immediate and future rewards.

Workplace stress can affect forensic experts' job satisfaction and performance, which holds financial and other implications for forensic service providers. Therefore, it is important to understand and manage workplace stress, but that is not simple or straightforward. This paper explores stress as a human factor that influences forensic expert decision-making. First, we identify and highlight three factors that mitigate decisions under stress conditions: nature of decision, individual differences, and context of decision. Second, we situate workplace stress in forensic science within the . We argue that stressors in forensic science workplaces can have a positive or a negative impact, depending on the type, level, and context of stress. Developing an understanding of the stressors, their sources, and their possible impact can help forensic service providers and researchers to implement context-specific interventions to manage stress at work and optimize expert performance.

Sustained delivery of evidence-based treatments (EBTs) is essential to addressing the public health impacts of youth mental health problems, but is complicated by the limited and fragmented funding available to youth mental health service agencies. Supports are needed that can guide service agencies in accessing sustainable funding for EBTs. We conducted a pilot evaluation of the Fiscal Mapping Process, an Excel-based strategic planning tool that helps service agency leaders identify and coordinate financing strategies for their EBT programs.

trauma-related disorders following a road accident have both a health and an economic impact.

In this article, we present the development and validation of a psychometric scale that measures the teacher's perception in the Chilean school system with respect to elements of school violence and coexistence management. The novelty lies in the incorporation of factors that address violence from teachers to students, from students to teachers and coexistence management. A total of 1072 teachers from the Northern, Central, Southern and Metropolitan macro-zones of Chile participated, with ages between 22 and 76 years (M=44.56; SD=10.52) and from 1 to 54 years of work (M=17.14; SD=10.38). 76.3% identify with the female gender and 23.7% with the male gender. Of the teachers, 78.4% worked mainly in the classroom and the rest performed managerial or administrative functions outside the classroom in the school. The school violence and coexistence management questionnaire for teachers (VI+GEC) was used. The validity of the scale was demonstrated by means of Confirmatory Factor Analysis, convergent validity analysis and discriminant validity. Reliability was demonstrated by means of McDonald's omega coefficient in all the factors of the scale. An analysis with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) found a mean, and statistically significant influence of the perception of coexistence management on the perception of school violence. The findings are discussed in terms of previous research on school violence and coexistence management.

Growing evidence attests to the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), but their effectiveness for healthcare workers remains uncertain.

Despite its high potential, patient feedback does not always result in learning. For feedback to be effective students must engage with it, which partly depends on their perceptions of feedback. To better understand student engagement with patient feedback in a clinical context, this study explored the following research questions: 1) What are medical students' general beliefs about patient feedback and what are their specific perceptions of feedback messages? 2) What is the difference between these general beliefs and feedback message perceptions before and after patient feedback training?

To track improvement in diplopia symptoms with strabismus-specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaire across a treatment consisting of prism correction followed by vision therapy/orthoptics when prism treatment alone has not succeeded.

alcohol and other psychoactive substances have adverse health effects, particularly on young people. This study determined the prevalence of alcohol and other psychoactive substance abuse and its association with depression among Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State, Nigeria, medical students.

Although exposure-based therapy has been found to be effective at alleviating symptoms of social anxiety disorder, it often does not lead to full remission, and relapse after treatment is common. Exposure therapy is based on theoretical principles of extinction of conditioned fear responses. However, there are inconsistencies in findings across experiments that have investigated the effect of social anxiety on threat conditioning and extinction processes. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine whether elevated levels of social anxiety are associated with abnormalities in threat conditioning and extinction processes. A second aim was to examine the sensitivity of various study designs and characteristics to detect social anxiety-related differences in threat conditioning and extinction. A systematic search was conducted, which identified twenty-three experiments for inclusion in the review. The findings did not demonstrate compelling evidence that high levels of social anxiety are associated with atypical threat conditioning or extinction. Further, when systematically examining the data, there was no convincing support that the use of a particular psychophysiological measure, subjective rating, or experimental parameter yields more consistent associations between social anxiety and conditioning processes during threat acquisition or extinction. Meta-analyses demonstrated that during threat extinction, the use of anxiety ratings as a dependent variable, socially relevant unconditioned stimuli, and a higher reinforcement schedule produced more detectable effects of social anxiety on compromised extinction processes compared to any other dependent variable (subjective or physiological) or experimental parameter. Overall, the results of this study suggest that social anxiety is not reliably related to deficits in conditioning and extinction processes in the context of laboratory-based Pavlovian conditioning paradigms.

This study investigates the relationship of living environment factors with satisfaction, work engagement, perceived productivity, and stress among teleworkers.

This study sought to understand how people living with HIV experience, perceive, and navigate stigma in their everyday life and in care settings in an urban French-speaking area in Switzerland. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 19 people living with HIV in Lausanne concerning their experience of HIV-related stigma in both everyday life and in healthcare settings. Content analysis was performed to identify main and sub-themes. "Living with HIV" posed little or no difficulty for participants. However, the burden of anticipated and internalized HIV-related stigma played a disproportionately large role in their lives. Participants considered the general population's low level of knowledge about HIV as problematic in this regard. While participants reported few examples of enacted stigma generally, healthcare environments were sometimes experienced as sites of prejudice and discrimination. However, some healthcare professionals were also sources of information and knowledge, contributing to participants' "journeys of self-acceptance." Even in an urban environment in a country with ready access to healthcare and education, HIV-related stigma remains a concern for people living with HIV.