Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A PILOT STUDY OF GROUP MINDFULNESS‐BASED COGNITIVE THERAPY (MBCT) FOR COMBAT VETERANS WITH POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)

“Mindfulness‐based” interventions show promise for stress reduction in general medical conditions, and initial evidence suggests that they are accepted in trauma‐exposed individuals. Mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy (MBCT) shows substantial efficacy for prevention of depression relapse, but it has been less studied in anxiety disorders. This study investigated the feasibility, acceptability, and clinical outcomes of an MBCT group intervention adapted for combat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
INSULA AND ANTERIOR CINGULATE GABA LEVELS IN POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS USING MAGNETIC RESONANCE SPECTROSCOPY

Increased reactivity of the insular cortex and decreased activity of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) are seen in functional imaging studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and may partly explain the persistent fear and anxiety proneness that characterize the disorder. A possible neurochemical correlate is altered function of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA). We report results from what we believe is the first study applying proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H‐MRS) to measure brain GABA in PTSD.
An Alternative Method for Screening EGFR Mutation Using RFLP in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

Introduction: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations are strong determinants of tumor response to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). Currently available methods of EGFR mutation detection rely on direct sequencing. Here, we describe the use of an alternative way to screen EGFR mutations. Methods: A total of 109 frozen tumor specimens from NSCLC patients were obtained. For mutational analysis of EGFR exons 18, 19, and 21, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was performed on the cDNA using original primers designed for restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Results: EGFR mutations were detected in 37 patients (34%) by both RFLP and direct sequencing except one case in which it was detected only by RFLP. EGFR mutations were more frequently observed to be significant by multivariate analysis in patients with adenocarcinoma (OR = 5.56), no-smoking history (OR = 4.34), and 65-year-old or younger (OR = 2.64), but not in women (OR = 1.14). Among 37 patients, 18 were treated with gefitinib and 9 responded to the treatment. One patient without any mutation responded. Conclusion: RFLP is a useful method for screening EGFR mutations and can also be applied to predicting the sensitivity of NSCLC patients to EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
GENDER‐SPECIFIC ASSOCIATION OF VARIANTS IN THE AKR1C1 GENE WITH DIMENSIONAL ANXIETY IN PATIENTS WITH PANIC DISORDER: ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE FOR THE IMPORTANCE OF NEUROSTEROIDS IN ANXIETY?

Neurosteroids are synthesized both in brain and peripheral steroidogenic tissue from cholesterol or steroidal precursors. Neurosteroids have been shown to be implicated in neural proliferation, differentiation, and activity. Preclinical and clinical studies also suggest a modulatory role of neurosteroids in anxiety‐related phenotypes. However, little is known about the contribution of genetic variants in genes relevant for the neurosteroidogenesis to anxiety disorders.
FEAR CONDITIONING AND EXTINCTION IN ANXIOUS AND NONANXIOUS YOUTH AND ADULTS: EXAMINING A NOVEL DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE FEAR‐CONDITIONING TASK

Fear conditioning and extinction have been implicated in the pathogenesis of anxiety disorders. However, due to ethical and methodological limitations, few studies have examined these learning processes across development, particularly among anxious individuals. The present study examined differences in fear conditioning and extinction in anxious and nonanxious youth and adults using a novel task designed to be more tolerable for children than existing paradigms.
Social participation in working-age adults with aphasia: an updated systematic review*

Abstract Background: A previous systematic review found limited data regarding social participation in working-age people with aphasia (PWA). A review of recent studies may reveal more information on challenges in reestablishing social roles. Method: The aim was to provide an updated systematic review on social participation in PWA under 65 years of age. Studies from 2005 to 2017 were searched from Scopus, Pubmed, and Psychinfo. Search terms were derived from the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and the Aphasia- Framework for Outcomes Measures (A-FROM). Aspects of domestic life, interpersonal relations and interactions, education and employment, and community, civic, and social life were investigated. Results: From 2864 initial hits, 11 studies were identified, all of which were on the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Level III of evidence. The studies indicated that participation in domestic life is reduced and PWA showed reduced social networks, loss of friendships and changes in the quality of marital relations. Few PWA returned to work or spent time on education. Limitations in community, civic, and social life were noted and there were contradictory findings on the impact of contextual factors on social participation. There was an increase in research into contextual factors impacting on social participation in PWA and in the use of conceptual frameworks in the last decade. Conclusions: While the ICF conceptual framework is increasingly used, no studies used the A-FROM. There is greater use of standardized assessments and larger sample sizes.
P1: New non‐invasive model, based on serum bile acid levels and patient's parameters for liver fibrosis assessment in patients with chronic hepatitis C

BACKGROUND: Serum bile acids (SBAs) are commonly elevated in cholestatic liver diseases, but it is unclear if SBA levels are also elevated in non-cholestatic chronic liver diseases and whether levels correlate with disease severity. METHODS: We analyzed SBA levels of 135 consecutive patients with chronic hepatitis C infection and correlated these levels with the degree of liver fibrosis determined by liver biopsy. In addition, we assessed the accuracy of SBA levels as predictor of liver fibrosis by comparison to patients’ FibroTest scores. RESULTS: Two-thirds (90/135 patients, 67%) of patients had non-severe liver fibrosis (Metavir F0-F2) and the others (45/135, 33%) had severe fibrosis or cirrhosis (Metavir F3-F4). Over 80% of patients had genotype 1 HCV. The SBA levels were significantly higher in patients with severe fibrosis compared to non-severe fibrosis (11.46 10.01 versus 6.37 4.69, p < 0.0001). Furthermore, a ROC curve based on a model that included serum bile acids, age, BMI, serum AST, glucose and cholesterol levels suggested that this combination reliably predicts the degree of liver fibrosis, and is not inferior to the FibroTest score (p = 0.87). We found no significant correlation (p = 0.57) between HCV viral load and the SBA levels among the 30 patients in which SBA levels were obtained at the same time with the viral load. CONCLUSIONS: Measurement of SBA levels may have a clinical role as a non-invasive tool to assess the severity of HCV-induced liver disease. Combined with other laboratory parameters, SBA levels predicts fibrosis severity with high degree of accuracy. P2 An efficient and low cost method for detection, quantification and genotyping of hepatitis C virus K Davalieva, S Kiprijanovska and D Plaseska-Karanfilska Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Effectiveness of a culturally attuned Internet‐based depression prevention program for Chinese adolescents: A randomized controlled trial

Depression prevention among adolescents is crucial for reducing the global disease burden. Internet‐based depression prevention approaches are found to be effective but they were mostly evaluated in a Western context. Grasping the Opportunity is a Chinese Internet intervention, which was translated and modified from CATCH‐IT developed in the West. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Grasp the Opportunity in reducing depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents.
Marijuana and other cannabinoids as a treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder: A literature review

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common in the general population, yet there are limitations to the effectiveness, tolerability, and acceptability of available first‐line interventions. We review the extant knowledge on the effects of marijuana and other cannabinoids on PTSD. Potential therapeutic effects of these agents may largely derive from actions on the endocannabinoid system and we review major animal and human findings in this area. Preclinical and clinical studies generally support the biological plausibility for cannabinoids’ potential therapeutic effects, but underscore heterogeneity in outcomes depending on dose, chemotype, and individual variation. Treatment outcome studies of whole plant marijuana and related cannabinoids on PTSD are limited and not methodologically rigorous, precluding conclusions about their potential therapeutic effects. Reported benefits for nightmares and sleep (particularly with synthetic cannabinoid nabilone) substantiate larger controlled trials to determine effectiveness and tolerability. Of concern, marijuana use has been linked to adverse psychiatric outcomes, including conditions commonly comorbid with PTSD such as depression, anxiety, psychosis, and substance misuse. Available evidence is stronger for marijuana's harmful effects on the development of psychosis and substance misuse than for the development of depression and anxiety. Marijuana use is also associated with worse treatment outcomes in naturalistic studies, and with maladaptive coping styles that may maintain PTSD symptoms. Known risks of marijuana thus currently outweigh unknown benefits for PTSD. Although controlled research on marijuana and other cannabinoids’ effects on PTSD remains limited, rapid shifts in the legal landscape may now enable such studies, potentially opening new avenues in PTSD treatment research.
The effect of posters and displays on the use of alcohol gel

Introduction: Hand cleansing with alcohol gel is important in reducing health care associated infection (HCAI). HCAI affects 8% of acute hospital admissions in the UK costing the NHS an estimated ®1 billion per annum1. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of posters and placement of alcohol dispensers on use of alcohol dispensers by staff and visitors passing through hospital foyers. Method: We noted the use of alcohol gel for hand cleansing in pedestrians entering through the hospital foyers. Three scenarios were noted: ■ Display 1. Poster and gel dispenser in the centre of the foyer. ■ Display 2. Poster and gel dispenser on the wall of the foyer. ■ Display 3. No poster with a gel dispenser on the wall of the foyer. Results: For display 1 uptake of alcohol gel was 38.4%, for display 2 it was 8.6% and for display 3 it was 2.7%. There was a significant increase in uptake of alcohol hand cleansing when a display was used (p > 0.001). Regarding gender, males were better users of alcohol hand gel overall. Employment group: the highest use was amongst female visitors with display 1 (51.6%). Displays had least influence on male doctors (44% with display 1, 10% with display 3). Conclusion: We recommend the use of prominently placed posters and gel dispensers in hospital foyers.
There is an app for that! The current state of mobile applications (apps) for DSM‐5 obsessive‐compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety and mood disorders

Mental health apps are viewed as a promising modality to extend the reach of mental health care beyond the clinic. They do so by providing a means of assessment, tracking, and treatment through a smartphone. Given that nearly 2/3 of the American population owns a smartphone, mental health apps offer the possibility of overcoming treatment barriers such as geographic location or financial barriers. Unfortunately, the excitement surrounding mental health apps may be premature as the current supporting literature regarding their efficacy is limited. The app marketplace is littered with apps claiming to treat or assess symptoms, but even those created by reputable organizations or those incorporating components of evidence‐based treatments have not yet been validated in terms of their efficacy. This review aims to provide a comprehensive review of the current state of the mental health app literature by examining published reports of apps designed for DSM‐5 anxiety and mood disorders, OCD, and PTSD. The breadth of apps reviewed includes those oriented around assessment, symptom tracking, and treatment as well as “multipurpose” apps, which incorporate several of these components. This review will also present some of the most popular mental health apps which may have clinical utility and could be prescribed to clients. While we discuss many potential benefits of mental health apps, we focus on a number of issues that the current state of the app literature presents. Overall there is a significant disconnect between app developers, the scientific community and health care, leaving the utility of existing apps questionable.
Use of MicroRNA Expression Levels to Predict Outcomes in Resected Stage I Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Background: Despite undergoing curative resection, nearly a third of patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) die of recurrent disease. There are no reliable clinical or molecular predictors of relapse in patients with resected stage I NSCLC. Identifying patients at risk for relapse after surgical resection is one of the important challenges today. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate hundreds of genes central to maintaining a cancer phenotype. Methods: In an exploratory study, we determined whether expression of six miRNAs (let-7a, miR-7, miR-21, miR-155, miR-210, and miR-221) previously reported to correlate with invasiveness or outcome in various human malignancies were associated with tumor recurrence in patients with resected stage I NSCLC. We measured expression of these miRNAs in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue from both tumor and matched normal lung in a set of 46 patients with surgically resected T1 or T2 stage I NSCLC. Results: Averaged triplicate data showed that tumors which recurred had 0.14-fold lower miR-221 expression than those which did not recur (p = 0.0036). In addition, increased miR-221in tumor tissue when compared with adjacent normal appearing lung in the same patient also correlated with nonrecurrence (p = 0.0011). Parallel measurement of expression of selected downstream target genes regulated by miR-221, specifically, CDKN1B, CDKN1C, paralemmin-2, and CXCL12, showed a near significant (p = 0.0522) down-regulation of CDKN1C in tumors of patients with no recurrent disease, consistent with increased miR-221 activity in the same group. Conclusion: If confirmed in prospective studies, miRNA expression in resected NSCLC could potentially identify those at high risk of relapse after surgery.
Rapid and dramatic radiographic and clinical response to an ALK inhibitor (crizotinib, PF02341066) in an ALK translocation-positive patient with non-small cell lung cancer.

A 32-year-old Chinese female never smoker presented with persistent cough in June 2009, and imaging studies revealed a right hilar mass. An endobronchial biopsy of the tumor revealed a moderately differentiated mucinous adenocarcinoma that was cytokeratin 7 (CK7) positive, CK20 negative, transcription tissue factor-1 (TTF-1) positive, and mucicarmine positive. Initial molecular analysis revealed the tumor to be both epidermal growth factor receptor and KRAS wild type. Her staging workup revealed metastasis to the liver and brain. She underwent stereotactic radiosurgery of her brain metastases that was followed by six cycles of cisplatin/pemetrexed/bevacizumab combination chemotherapy followed by bevacizumab maintenance therapy, with a partial response to treatment. In November 2009, she decided to undertake a treatment holiday for 3 months. By February 2010, however, her disease had progressed, and she commenced single-agent erlotinib treatment but had documented disease progression after 6 weeks. She was referred by her treating oncologist for possible enrollment into the phase I crizotinib trial because her clinical profile—young age, adenocarcinoma histology, never-smoking status, and most importantly her tumor is wild type for epidermal growth factor receptor and KRAS—fits the profile of an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive patient with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Circulating DNA is a Useful Prognostic Factor in Patients with Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Background: Circulating DNA is observed at higher concentrations in patients with lung cancer than in controls. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of circulating DNA is a promising noninvasive tool. Our aim was to prospectively study the association between the catalytic subunit of telomerase (human telomerase reverse transcriptase [hTERT]) in plasma and clinical variables and survival in a large-scale non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) study. Methods: Four hundred forty-six patients with stages IIIB and IV NSCLC with a median follow-up of 9.7 months (range, 0.5–45) were analyzed. Blood samples were collected before therapy start (cisplatin/docetaxel). Quantification of baseline circulating DNA was determined as the amount of free hTERT in plasma, by using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results: Patients with hTERT ≤49.8 ng/ml (median value) had a median time to progression (TTP) of 6.3 months compared with 4.9 for hTERT more than 49.8 ng/ml (p = 0.001). Overall survival (OS) was significantly higher (10.9 versus 9.3 months) at lower hTERT levels (p = 0.012). When calculations were done using hTERT as continuous variable, we did not observe independent significant differences. Thus, there is an apparent discrepancy in p values when hTERT is considered as a continuous versus dichotomized variable. There was a tendency to differentiate median hTERT levels with respect to response rates (complete response + partial response: 33.1 versus stable disease + progressive disease: 50.7 ng/ml, p = 0.12), but other clinical variables such as age, gender, performance status, stage, histology, and number of metastatic locations were not associated with hTERT. In multivariate analysis, hTERT was an independent prognostic variable for both TTP (hazard ratio: 1.44, p < 0.001) and OS (hazard ratio: 1.33, p = 0.007). Conclusions: In advanced NSCLC, high pretreatment circulating hTERT level is an independent poor prognostic marker for TTP and OS. Circulating DNA is a noninvasive marker, which may help to improve the prognostic profile of these patients.
A Brief History of Surgical Therapies for Parkinson Disease: How Science and Serendipity Contributed to Advances in the Surgical Treatment of Parkinson Disease

Medical therapy has provided the major breakthroughs over the past 4 decades for patients with Parkinson disease and is the usual therapeutic approach. However, in advanced stages of Parkinson disease, patients often experience motor fluctuations and dyskinesias, which cannot be controlled or may worsen with medical therapy. With improved understanding of the neurophysiology of the basal ganglia and thalamus, more accurate brain imaging, the development of suitable animal models, more refined surgical techniques with decreased surgical morbidity and mortality, advances in electrophysiologic interrogation, and the development of deep brain stimulation, there has been renewed interest in surgical approaches to Parkinson disease. The present review provides a brief sampling of the history and evolution of surgical approaches to Parkinson disease, and the role that both science and serendipity played in achieving these surgical advances.
Evolution of Developmental Control Mechanisms β-catenin plays a central role in setting up the head organizer in hydra

article i nfo In an adult hydra the head organizer, located in the hypostome, is constantly active in maintaining the structure of the animal in the context of its steady state tissue dynamics. Several Wnt genes, TCF, and elevated levels of β-catenin are expressed in the hypostome as well as during the formation of a new organizer region in developing buds suggesting they play a role in the organizer. Transgenic hydra were generated in which a modified hydra β-catenin gene driven by an actin promoter is continuously expressed at a high level throughout the animal. These animals formed heads and secondary axes in multiple locations along the body column. Transplantation experiments indicate they have a high and stable level of head organizer activity throughout the body columns. However, none of the Wnt genes are expressed in the body columns of these transgenic animals. Further, in alsterpaullone-treated animals, which results in a transient rise in head organizer activity throughout the body column, the time of expression of the Wnt genes is much shorter than the time of the elevated level of head inducing activity. These results for the first time provide direct functional evidence that β-catenin plays a crucial role in the maintenance and activity of the head organizer and suggest that Wnt ligands may be required only for the initiation but not in maintenance of the organizer in Hydra.
Phase II Study of Pemetrexed and Cisplatin, with Chest Radiotherapy Followed by Docetaxel in Patients with Stage III Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Background:Pemetrexed has emerged as one of the most active agents for the treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We conducted a phase II study to assess the efficacy and feasibility of integrating pemetrexed in a concurrent therapy plan for patients with stage III NSCLC. Methods:Patients with stage III NSCLC with performance status 0 to 1, adequate organ function including pulmonary function, and V20 less than 40% were eligible. Patients were treated with cisplatin 75 mg/m2 (first five patients 60 mg/m2) and pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 every 21 days for three cycles with chest radiotherapy to 66 Gy. Patients then received three cycles of docetaxel 75 mg/m2 every 21 days. Tumors were analyzed for Excision Repair Cross Complementation Group 1 and thymidylate synthase. Results:Patient characteristics (N = 28) were median age, 60; males, 68%; stage IIIB, 64%; and squamous cell, 43%. Twenty-four patients (86%) completed all three cycles of cisplatin/pemetrexed. Of the 24 patients eligible for docetaxel, 21 (87%) received it. Grade 3/4 toxicities were neutropenia (39%), febrile neutropenia (14%), esophagitis (14%), and pneumonitis (4%). Median survival was 34 months, and 1-year survival was 66%. Survival was not significantly different in squamous and other histology patients. Tumor analysis in 16 patients showed that moderate/strong expression of thymidylate synthase was significantly associated with progression-free survival and overall survival. Conclusion:Integrating pemetrexed in a concurrent therapy regimen for patients with stage III NSCLC is feasible and was associated with a median survival of 34 months.