bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of parental and healthcare professional concern on the diagnosis of pediatric sepsis: a diagnostic accuracy study
Authors: Sever Zoe , Schlapbach Luregn J. , Gilholm Patricia , Jessup Melanie , Phillips Natalie , George Shane , Gibbons Kristen , Harley Amanda
Published: April 2023

Objective

The Surviving Sepsis Campaign recommends systematic screening for sepsis. Although many sepsis screening tools include parent or healthcare professional concern, there remains a lack of evidence to support this practice. We aimed to test the diagnostic accuracy of parent and healthcare professional concern in relation to illness severity, to diagnose sepsis in children.

Design

This prospective multicenter study measured the level of concern for illness severity as perceived by the parent, treating nurse and doctor using a cross-sectional survey. The primary outcome was sepsis, defined as a pSOFA score >0. The unadjusted area under receiver-operating characteristic curves (AUC) and adjusted Odds Ratios (aOR) were calculated.

Setting

Two specialised pediatric Emergency Departments in Queensland

Patients

Children aged 30 days to 18 years old that were evaluated for sepsis

Intervention

None

Main Results

492 children were included in the study, of which 118 (23.9%) had sepsis. Parent concern was not associated with sepsis (AUC 0.53, 95% CI: 0.46–0.61, aOR: 1.18; 0.89–1.58) but was for PICU admission (OR: 1.88, 95% CI: 1.17–3.19) and bacterial infection (aOR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.14–1.92). Healthcare professional concern was associated with sepsis in both unadjusted and adjusted models (nurses: AUC 0.57, 95% CI-0.50, 0.63, aOR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.02–1.63; doctors: AUC 0.63, 95% CI: 0.55, 0.70, aOR: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.14–2.19).

Conclusions

While our study does not support the broad use of parent or healthcare professional concern in isolation as a pediatric sepsis screening tool, measures of concern may be valuable as an adjunct in combination with other clinical data to support sepsis recognition.

Clinical Trial Registration

ACTRN12620001340921.
Comparison of cardiac function between single left ventricle and tricuspid atresia: assessment using echocardiography combined with computational fluid dynamics
Authors: Chen Li-Jun , Wu Lan-Ping , Zhao Lei-Sheng , Zhang Zhi-Fang , Liu Jin-Long , Hong Wen-Jing , Zhong Shu-Wen , Bao Sheng-Fang , Yang Jing , Zhang Yu-Qi
Published: April 2023

Patients with single left ventricle (SLV) and tricuspid atresia (TA) have impaired systolic and diastolic function. However, there are few comparative studies among patients with SLV, TA and children without heart disease. The current study includes 15 children in each group. The parameters measured by two-dimensional echocardiography, three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (3DSTE), and vortexes calculated by computational fluid dynamics were compared among these three groups. Twist is best correlated with ejection fraction measured by 3DSTE. Twist, torsion, apical rotation, average radial strain, peak velocity of systolic wave in left lateral wall by tissue Doppler imaging (sL), and myocardial performance index are better in the TA group than those in the SLV group. sL by tissue Doppler imaging in the TA group are even higher than those in the Control group. In patients with SLV, blood flow spreads out in a fan-shaped manner and forms two small vortices. In the TA group, the main vortex is similar to the one in a normal LV chamber, but smaller. The vortex rings during diastolic phase are incomplete in the SLV and TA groups. In summary, patients with SLV or TA have impaired systolic and diastolic function. Patients with SLV had poorer cardiac function than those with TA due to less compensation and more disordered streamline. Twist may be good indicator for LV function.
Case report: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children associated with COVID-19, macrophage activation syndrome, and incomplete Kawasaki disease
Authors: Martínez-García Jesús Javier , López-Acosta Jesús Ramon , Arce-Cabrera Daniela , León-Sicairos Nidia , Hernández-Parra Ana Cristina , Cuen-Diaz Hector Melesio , Zatarain-Lopez Ricardo , Canizalez-Roman Adrian
Published: April 2023

Background

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), is a severe complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), characterized by persistent fever, systemic inflammatory response, and organ failure. MIS-C with a history of COVID-19 may share clinical features with other well-defined syndromes such as macrophage activation syndrome, Kawasaki disease, hemophagocytic syndrome and toxic shock syndrome.

Case 1

An 11-year-old male with a history of hypothyroidism and precocious puberty with positive antibody test for COVID-19 was admitted for fever, poor general condition, severe respiratory distress, refractory shock, and multiple organ failure. His laboratory examination showed elevated inflammatory parameters, and bone marrow aspirate showed hemophagocytosis.

Case 2

A 13-year-old male with a history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and cognitive delay presented clinical manifestations of Kawasaki disease, fever, conjunctival congestion, exanthema, and hyperemia in oral mucosa, tongue, and genitals, with refractory shock and multiple organ failure. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and antibodies for COVID-19 were negative, inflammation parameters were elevated, and bone marrow aspirate showed hemophagocytosis. Patients required intensive care with invasive mechanical ventilation, vasopressor support, intravenous gamma globulin, systemic corticosteroids, low molecular weight heparin, antibiotics, and monoclonal antibodies and, patient 2 required renal replacement therapy.

Conclusions

Multisystemic inflammatory syndrome in children can have atypical manifestations, and identifying them early is very important for the timely treatment and prognosis of patients.
Folic Acid-Decorated pH-Responsive Nanoniosomes With Enhanced Endocytosis for Breast Cancer Therapy: In Vitro Studies
Authors: Rezaei Tahereh , Rezaei Mehdi , Karimifard Sara , Mahmoudi Beram Farzaneh , Dakkali Mohammad Sedigh , Heydari Maryam , Afshari-Behbahanizadeh Soheil , Mostafavi Ebrahim , Bokov Dmitry Olegovich , Ansari Mohammad Javed , Farasati Far Bahareh , Akbarzadeh Iman , Chaiyasut Chaiyavat
Published: April 2023

Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer in women and the second leading cause of cancer death in women after lung cancer. The purpose of this study is a targeted delivery toward in vitro (on MCF7 and 4T1 breast cancer cell lines) through niosomes-based nanocarriers. To this end, different bioactive molecules, including hyaluronic acid (HA), folic acid (FA), and polyethylene glycol (PEG), were used and compared for surface modification of niosomes to enhance endocytosis. FA-functionalized niosomes (Nio/5-FU/FA) were able to increase cell cytotoxicity and reduce cell migration and invasion compared to PEG-functionalized niosomes (Nio/5-FU/PEG), and HA-functionalized niosomes (Nio/5-FU/HA) groups in MCF-7 and 4T1 cell lines. Although the Nio/5-FU/PEG and Nio/5-FU/HA demonstrated MCF7 cell uptake, the Nio/5-FU/FA exhibited the most preponderant endocytosis in pH 5.4. Remarkably, in this study 5-FU loaded niosomes (nonionic surfactant-based vesicles) were decorated with various bioactive molecules (FA, PEG, or HA) to compare their ability for breast cancer therapy. The fabricated nanoformulations were readily taken up by breast cancer cells (in vitro) and demonstrated sustained drug release characteristics, inducing cell apoptosis. Overall, the comprehensive comparison between different bioactive molecules-decorated nanoniosomes exhibited promising results in finding the best nano formulated candidates for targeted delivery of drugs for breast cancer therapy.
Ageratina adenophora (Spreng.) King & H. Rob. Standardized leaf extract as an antidiabetic agent for type 2 diabetes: An in vitro and in vivo evaluation
Authors: Chanu Khaidem Devika , Sharma Nanaocha , Kshetrimayum Vimi , Chaudhary Sushil Kumar , Ghosh Suparna , Haldar Pallab Kanti , Mukherjee Pulok K.
Published: April 2023

Type 2 diabetes has become one of the major health concerns of the 21st century, marked by hyperglycemia or glycosuria, and is associated with the development of several secondary health complications. Due to the fact that chemically synthesized drugs lead to several inevitable side effects, new antidiabetic medications from plants have gained substantial attention. Thus, the current study aims to evaluate the antidiabetic capacity of the Ageratina adenophora hydroalcoholic (AAHY) extract in streptozotocin–nicotinamide (STZ–NA)-induced diabetic Wistar albino rats. The rats were segregated randomly into five groups with six rats each. Group I was normal control, and the other four groups were STZ–NA-induced. Group II was designated diabetic control, and group III, IV, and V received metformin (150 mg/kg b.w.) and AAHY extract (200 and 400 mg/kg b.w.) for 28 days. Fasting blood glucose, serum biochemicals, liver and kidney antioxidant parameters, and pancreatic histopathology were observed after the experimental design. The study concludes that the AAHY extract has a significant blood glucose lowering capacity on normoglycemic (87.01 ± 0.54 to 57.21 ± 0.31), diabetic (324 ± 2.94 to 93 ± 2.04), and oral glucose-loaded (117.75 ± 3.35 to 92.75 ± 2.09) Wistar albino rats. The in vitro studies show that the AAHY extract has α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities which can restore the altered blood glucose level, glycated hemoglobin, body weight, and serum enzymes such as serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, serum alkaline phosphatase, total protein, urea, and creatinine levels close to the normal range in the treated STZ–NA-induced diabetic rats. The evaluation of these serum biochemicals is crucial for monitoring the diabetic condition. The AAHY extract has significantly enhanced tissue antioxidant parameters, such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione, and lipid peroxidation, close to normal levels. The presence of high-quantity chlorogenic (6.47% w/w) and caffeic (3.28% w/w) acids as some of the major phytoconstituents may contribute to the improvement of insulin resistance and oxidative stress. The study provides scientific support for the utilization of A. adenophora to treat type 2 diabetes in the STZ–NA-induced diabetic rat model. Although the preventive role of the AAHY extract in treating Wistar albino rat models against type 2 diabetes mellitus is undeniable, further elaborative research is required for efficacy and safety assessment in human beings.
Mechanism of supply chain coordination based on price discount with privacy protection in one-supplier-one-buyer system
Authors: Xie Cui-Hua , Zhan Jing-Chun , Zeng Le-Tian , Han Shao-Yong
Published: April 2023

It is of great economic significance to optimize the total cost and improve the performance of the supply chain. In this paper, we assume that the market demand is random, and the seller and the buyer share information and make decisions together. We analyze the optimal joint order quantity under probabilistic demand and design the quantity discount model and profit distribution mechanism. Under a certain quantity discount mechanism and profit distribution strategy, both the seller and the buyer can reduce costs. The quantity discount model and profit distribution mechanism designed require supply chain members to share information. In order to protect the privacy of members and improve the willingness of supply chain members to share information, we designed a privacy protection joint ordering policy protocol and privacy protection quantity discount policy based on Secure multiparty computation technology. Then, the joint ordering strategy, the privacy-preserving joint ordering strategy, and quantity discount protocol are numerically simulated. The numerical simulation results show that the privacy-preserving quantity discount coordination mechanism designed by us can reduce the cost of supply chain members to varying degrees and effectively protect the shared information of supply chain members. This work is helpful to the research of cost optimization of the system in complex supply chain systems.
A modern analytic method to solve singular and non-singular linear and non-linear differential equations
Authors: El-Ajou Ahmad , Al-ghananeem Haneen , Saadeh Rania , Qazza Ahmad , Oqielat Moa’ath N.
Published: April 2023

This article circumvents the Laplace transform to provide an analytical solution in a power series form for singular, non-singular, linear, and non-linear ordinary differential equations. It introduces a new analytical approach, the Laplace residual power series, which provides a powerful tool for obtaining accurate analytical and numerical solutions to these equations. It demonstrates the new approach’s effectiveness, accuracy, and applicability in several ordinary differential equations problem. The proposed technique shows the possibility of finding exact solutions when a pattern to the series solution obtained exists; otherwise, only rough estimates can be given. To ensure the accuracy of the generated results, we use three types of errors: actual, relative, and residual error. We compare our results with exact solutions to the problems discussed. We conclude that the current method is simple, easy, and effective in solving non-linear differential equations, considering that the obtained approximate series solutions are in closed form for the actual results. Finally, we would like to point out that both symbolic and numerical quantities are calculated using Mathematica software.
Oxidative balance score reflects vascular endothelial function of Chinese community dwellers
Authors: Liu Jianhua , He Lingxiao , Wang Aozhe , Lv Yuanyuan , He Hui , Wang Chenghao , Xiong Kaiyu , Zhao Li
Published: April 2023

Background: The oxidative balance score (OBS) is a composite estimate of the overall pro- and antioxidant risk status in an individual. The aim of this study is to explore the association between the OBS and vascular endothelial function in Chinese community dwellers.

Methods: In total, 339 community dwelling adults (aged 20–75 years) were recruited in this study. The overall OBS was calculated on the basis of 16 pro- and antioxidant factors related to diet (measured by fasting blood samples) and lifestyle (evaluated by questionnaires). The dietary OBS and lifestyle OBS were calculated on the basis of the corresponding components. Serum iso-prostaglandin F2α (FIP) was measured to evaluate the oxidative stress degree, and brachial artery blood flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was measured for vascular endothelial function. The FIP and FMD levels were dichotomized as “low” or “high” using the corresponding median values (low FIP, n = 159; high FIP, n = 180; low FMD, n = 192; and high FMD, n = 147). The components of the OBS were compared between the stratified FIP and FMD groups. Logistic regression was used to analyze the OBS associations with FIP and FMD.

Results: The higher overall OBS and dietary OBS were associated with lower FIP (p < 0.001), whereas the higher overall OBS (p < 0.01) and dietary OBS (p < 0.05) were associated with higher FMD. The lifestyle OBS was not associated with FIP and FMD (p > 0.05). Except for the body mass index (BMI) and low physical activity, all other OBS components were significantly different between the low FIP and high FIP groups (p < 0.05). Four diet-related antioxidants (α-carotene, zeaxanthin, α-tocopherol, and γ-tocopherol) showed significant differences between the high and low FMD groups (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The decreasing OBS level was associated with low endothelial function and high oxidative stress. The dietary OBS, rather than the lifestyle OBS, was more closely associated with endothelial function.
Overlapped tobacco shred image segmentation and area computation using an improved Mask RCNN network and COT algorithm
Authors: Wang Li , Jia Kunming , Fu Yongmin , Xu Xiaoguang , Fan Lei , Wang Qiao , Zhu Wenkui , Niu Qunfeng
Published: April 2023

Introduction

The classification of the four tobacco shred varieties, tobacco silk, cut stem, expanded tobacco silk, and reconstituted tobacco shred, and the subsequent determination of tobacco shred components, are the primary tasks involved in calculating the tobacco shred blending ratio. The identification accuracy and subsequent component area calculation error directly affect the composition determination and quality of the tobacco shred. However, tiny tobacco shreds have complex physical and morphological characteristics; in particular, there is substantial similarity between the expanded tobacco silk and tobacco silk varieties, and this complicates their classification. There must be a certain amount of overlap and stacking in the distribution of tobacco shreds on the actual tobacco quality inspection line. There are 24 types of overlap alone, not to mention the stacking phenomenon. Self-winding does not make it easier to distinguish such varieties from the overlapped types, posing significant difficulties for machine vision-based tobacco shred classification and component area calculation tasks.

Methods

This study focuses on two significant challenges associated with identifying various types of overlapping tobacco shreds and acquiring overlapping regions to calculate overlapping areas. It develops a new segmentation model for tobacco shred images based on an improved Mask region-based convolutional neural network (RCNN). Mask RCNN is used as the segmentation network’s mainframe. Convolutional network and feature pyramid network (FPN) in the backbone are replaced with Densenet121 and U-FPN, respectively. The size and aspect ratios of anchors parameters in region proposal network (RPN) are optimized. An algorithm for the area calculation of the overlapped tobacco shred region (COT) is also proposed, which is applied to overlapped tobacco shred mask images to obtain overlapped regions and calculate the overlapped area.

Results

The experimental results showed that the final segmentation accuracy and recall rates are 89.1% and 73.2%, respectively. The average area detection rate of 24 overlapped tobacco shred samples increases from 81.2% to 90%, achieving high segmentation accuracy and overlapped area calculation accuracy.

Discussion

This study provides a new implementation method for the type identification and component area calculation of overlapped tobacco shreds and a new approach for other similar overlapped image segmentation tasks.
Genome-wide identification of the soybean cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase gene family and its diverse roles in response to multiple abiotic stress
Authors: Du Yanli , Zhang Zhaoning , Gu Yanhua , Li Weijia , Wang Weiyu , Yuan Xiankai , Zhang Yuxian , Yuan Ming , Du Jidao , Zhao Qiang
Published: April 2023

Cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase (CKX) irreversibly degrades cytokinin, regulates growth and development, and helps plants to respond to environmental stress. Although the CKX gene has been well characterized in various plants, its role in soybean remains elusive. Therefore, in this study, the evolutionary relationship, chromosomal location, gene structure, motifs, cis-regulatory elements, collinearity, and gene expression patterns of GmCKXs were analyzed using RNA-seq, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), and bioinformatics. We identified 18 GmCKX genes from the soybean genome and grouped them into five clades, each comprising members with similar gene structures and motifs. Cis-acting elements involved in hormones, resistance, and physiological metabolism were detected in the promoter regions of GmCKXs. Synteny analysis indicated that segmental duplication events contributed to the expansion of the soybean CKX family. The expression profiling of the GmCKXs genes using qRT-PCR showed tissue-specific expression patterns. The RNA-seq analysis also indicated that GmCKXs play an important role in response to salt and drought stresses at the seedling stage. The responses of the genes to salt, drought, synthetic cytokinin 6-benzyl aminopurine (6-BA), and the auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) at the germination stage were further evaluated by qRT-PCR. Specifically, the GmCKX14 gene was downregulated in the roots and the radicles at the germination stage. The hormones 6-BA and IAA repressed the expression levels of GmCKX1, GmCKX6, and GmCKX9 genes but upregulated the expression levels of GmCKX10 and GmCKX18 genes. The three abiotic stresses also decreased the zeatin content in soybean radicle but enhanced the activity of the CKX enzymes. Conversely, the 6-BA and IAA treatments enhanced the CKX enzymes’ activity but reduced the zeatin content in the radicles. This study, therefore, provides a reference for the functional analysis of GmCKXs in soybean in response to abiotic stresses.
Exposure to loneliness cues reduces prosocial behavior: Evidence from N400 and P300
Authors: Yin Meiling , Lee Eun-Ju
Published: April 2023

Loneliness is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality. However, the effect of loneliness on subsequent prosocial behavior is not well known. Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying loneliness is necessary to address this research gap. We investigate the mechanism using a modified public goods game (PGG) wherein participants can choose to act for a collective or selfish interest after being exposed to loneliness cues. Both behavioral (Study 1) and event-related potential (ERP) (Study 2) measures were used to explore this relationship. In Study 1 (N = 131), we found that participants exhibited decreased prosocial actions under the loneliness priming condition as opposed to the control condition. In Study 2 (N = 17), frontal N400 and posterior P300 components were identified under the loneliness priming condition as opposed to the control condition. Increased (decreased) frontal N400 and posterior P300 lead to selfish (prosocial) choices. These results indicate that humans instinctively perceive loneliness as inconsistency with their desired social-relational life, which in turn stimulates coping strategies for self-preservation. This study contributes to our understanding of the neurobiological basis of loneliness associated with prosocial behavior.
The relation between college students’ neuroticism and loneliness: The chain mediating roles of self-efficacy, social avoidance and distress
Authors: Li Shuna , Kong Kaizhen , Zhang Kaijie , Niu Hua
Published: April 2023

Background

Recently, identifying the psychological mechanism of college students’ loneliness has attracted wide attention because the maladjustment caused by college students’ loneliness is increasingly common. This study explored the relationship and potential mechanism between college students’ neuroticism and loneliness in a large sample.

Methods

A total of 4,600 college students completed the Big Five Personality Scale, Loneliness Scale, Self-efficacy Scale and Social Avoidance and Distress Scale.

Results

By examining the chain mediating roles of self-efficacy, social avoidance and distress (SAD) in the relation between neuroticism and loneliness, the present study found that college students’ neuroticism was positively associated with loneliness via self-efficacy and SAD, respectively, and sequentially.

Conclusions

The results suggest a significant positive association between neuroticism and loneliness, which is influenced by the mediating effects of both self-efficacy and social avoidance and distress (SAD), as well as the chained mediating effects of self-efficacy and SAD.
The relationship of diverse leisure activities with flourishing
Authors: Mock Steven E. , Smale Bryan
Published: April 2023

The relationship between leisure and wellbeing is of great interest in the field of leisure studies. Keyes (2002) developed a typology of flourishing vs. languishing that encompasses subjective, psychological, and social wellbeing and is linked with physical health and functioning. However, little research has been done to show how participation in various forms of leisure might be associated with this flourishing typology. Drawing on data from community data with over 5,000 adult participants, we assessed how leisure is associated with a flourishing typology. For the present analyses, we focus on scales that assessed social leisure (e.g., socializing with friends), cultural leisure (e.g., festival attendance), home-based leisure (e.g., reading books for pleasure), physically active leisure (e.g., moderate or vigorous), and media-based leisure (e.g., time spent playing computer games or watching TV). A flourishing typology was constructed from single-item ratings on life satisfaction (subjective wellbeing), psychological well-being (self-perceptions that one’s life activities are worthwhile), and social wellbeing (sense of belonging). Flourishing was linked to greater participation in cultural, social, home-based, and physically active leisure. Greater time spent playing computer games and watching TV was associated with languishing. Thus, certain forms of leisure reflect flourishing and others are linked with languishing. The nature of these associations remains to be explored, in particular, whether leisure contributes to flourishing or if flourishing facilitates certain forms of leisure participation.
Relative heritage language and majority language use before school start explains variance in 2nd grade majority language but not reading skills
Authors: Højen Anders , Bleses Dorthe
Published: April 2023

The present study examined whether parents’ and bilingual children’s own relative use of the heritage language vs. the majority language in the homes of bilingual children in Denmark before school start explains variance in 2nd grade majority language skills and reading skills. The study included two groups of children: the Mixed bilinguals group (defined by having a native Danish and a nonnative parent, N = 376) and the Heritage bilinguals group (defined by having parents who were both speakers of a Heritage language, N = 276). Four-stage hierarchical regression analyses showed that, after accounting for type of bilingualism, socioeconomic status (SES) and home literacy environment quality, relative use of the heritage vs. the majority language explained variance in 2nd grade Danish language comprehension scores, but did not explain variance in two reading scores, namely decoding and reading comprehension. In addition, a home literacy factor denoting book exposure (number of books, frequency of reading, library visits, and age of beginning shared book reading) was a significant predictor of both 2nd grade language and reading outcomes, whereas SES became a nonsignificant predictor when adding home literacy and language use predictors. We interpret the results to mean that parents’ and the child’s own relative use of the heritage language vs. the majority language before school start does not influence bilingual children’s early reading skills, whereas a supportive early home literacy environment is a positive predictor of reading skills independently of SES and parental majority language use and skill.
The role of writing motives in the interplay between implicit theories, achievement goals, self-efficacy, and writing performance
Authors: De Smedt Fien , Landrieu Yana , De Wever Bram , Van Keer Hilde
Published: April 2023

It is well established that students’ motivation for writing is a key predictor of their writing performance. The aim of the current study is to study and map the relations underlying different motivational constructs (i.e., implicit theories, achievement goals, self-efficacy, and writing motives) and to investigate how these contribute to students’ writing performance. For that, 390 Flemish students in stage three of the academic track of secondary education (16–18  years old) completed questionnaires measuring their implicit theories of writing, achievement goals, self-efficacy for writing, and writing motives. Furthermore, they completed an argumentative writing test. Path analysis revealed statistically significant direct paths from (1) entity beliefs of writing to performance avoidance goals (β = 0.23), (2) mastery goals to self-efficacy for writing (βargumentation = 0.14, βregulation = 0.25, βconventions = 0.18), performance-approach goals to self-efficacy for writing (βargumentation = 0.38, βregulation = 0.21, βconventions = 0.25), and performance-avoidance goals to self-efficacy for writing (βargumentation = −0.30, βregulation = −0.24, βconventions = −0.28), (3) self-efficacy for regulation to both autonomous (β = 0.20) and controlled motivation (β = −0.15), (4) mastery goals to autonomous motivation (β = 0.58), (5) performance approach and avoidance goals to controlled motivation (β = 0.18; β = 0.35), and (6) autonomous motivation to writing performance (β = 0.11). This study moves the field of writing motivation research forward by studying the contribution of implicit theories, achievement goals, and self-efficacy to students’ writing performance, via writing motives.
Eliciting real cravings with virtual food: Using immersive technologies to explore the effects of food stimuli in virtual reality
Authors: Harris Nikita Mae , Lindeman Robert W. , Bah Clara Shui Fern , Gerhard Daniel , Hoermann Simon
Published: April 2023

In this paper, we explore the current technical possibilities of eating in virtual reality (VR) and show how this could be used to influence eating behaviors. Cue-based exposure therapy is a well-known method used to treat eating disorders. There are several benefits to using VR in combination with cue-based therapy. However, before VR-based cue-exposure can be used for therapeutic purposes, the ability of the VR environment to elicit craving responses in participants must be assessed. This was the objective of the first part of the study, where we assessed whether our VR environment elicited food craving responses in participants. Results showed that our VR environment elicited food craving responses: Salivation Magnitude, Food Craving State and Urge to Eat was significantly different from the neutral baseline. In addition, results showed that food cravings measured through the salivation magnitude in response to the virtual condition were not significantly different from the real condition, thus showing that VR had a comparable effect on producing food cravings. The second part of the study was conducted to determine whether the addition of olfactory and interaction cues in VR increased the development of food cravings. The results of this part showed that adding synthetic olfactory cues, paired with visual cues, to our system, provided a significant further increase in food cravings. Our results demonstrate that the use of food cues in VR can increase the development of food cravings and that it is possible to provide a simple yet convincing eating experience in VR. Inevitably, food interaction in VR is still underexplored territory and further research is needed to improve utility and application in disciplines related to food and eating.
Selecting the appropriate hurdles and endpoints for pentilludin, a novel antiaddiction pharmacotherapeutic targeting the receptor type protein tyrosine phosphatase D
Authors: Uhl George R.
Published: April 2023

Substance use disorders provide challenges for development of effective medications. Use of abused substances is likely initiated, sustained and “quit” by complex brain and pharmacological mechanisms that have both genetic and environmental determinants. Medical utilities of prescribed stimulants and opioids provide complex challenges for prevention: how can we minimize their contribution to substance use disorders while retaining medical benefits for pain, restless leg syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, narcolepsy and other indications. Data required to support assessments of reduced abuse liability and resulting regulatory scheduling differs from information required to support licensing of novel prophylactic or therapeutic anti-addiction medications, adding further complexity and challenges. I describe some of these challenges in the context of our current efforts to develop pentilludin as a novel anti-addiction therapeutic for a target that is strongly supported by human and mouse genetic and pharmacologic studies, the receptor type protein tyrosine phosphatase D (PTPRD).
The predictive role of impulsivity and perceived social support in psychiatric symptoms of women with methamphetamine use disorder
Authors: Wang Shuzhe , Li Jing , Li Yibo , Xia Yuwei , Gong Yu , Mao Fuqiang
Published: April 2023

Background

Currently, few studies have examined the mental states of Women methamphetamine patients, and the influence of impulsivity and perceived social support on substance misuse-induced mental disorders is unclear. We want to examine the mental state of women with methamphetamine use disorder and compare it to the Chinese norm value of healthy women. Investigate the connection between impulsivity, perceived social support and mental state of women with methamphetamine use disorder.

Method

Two hundred thirty women subjects with a history of methamphetamine usage were recruited. The Chinese version of the SCL-90-R, (SCL-90) was used to evaluate psychological health problems, while the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and Barratt Impulsiveness Seale-11 (BIS-11) were utilized to evaluate perceived social support and impulsivity, respectively. The t-test, Pearson correlation analysis, multivariable linear regression, stepwise regression models, moderating effect analysis were used to analyze the statistics.

Results

There was a noticeable difference between the Chinese norm and all participants’ SCL-90 ratings, especially for Somatization (t = 24.34, p < 0.001), Anxiety (t = 22.23, p < 0.001), Phobic anxiety (t = 26.47, p < 0.001), and Psychoticism (t = 24.27, p < 0.001). In addition, perceived social support levels and impulsivity levels are independently predictive of SCL-90 scores. Lastly, the impact of Impulsivity on SCL-90 can be modulated by perceived social support.

Conclusion

According to this study, women with methamphetamine use disorder have worse mental health conditions compared to healthy subjects. Furthermore, certain psychological symptoms associated with methamphetamine use in women can be aggravated by impulsivity, while perceived social support acts as a protective factor for methamphetamine-related psychiatric symptoms. Specifically, perceived social support weakens the impact of impulsivity on psychiatric symptoms in women with methamphetamine use disorder.
Methadone maintenance treatment alters couplings of default mode and salience networks in individuals with heroin use disorder: A longitudinal self-controlled resting-state fMRI study
Authors: Chen Jiajie , Li Yongbin , Wang Shu , Li Wei , Liu Yan , Jin Long , Li Zhe , Zhu Jia , Wang Fan , Liu Wei , Xue Jiuhua , Shi Hong , Wang Wei , Jin Chenwang , Li Qiang
Published: April 2023

Background

Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is a common treatment for heroin use disorder (HUD). Although individuals with HUD have been reported to show impaired coupling among the salience network (SN), executive control network (ECN), and default mode network (DMN), the effects of MMT on the coupling among three large-scale networks in individuals with HUD remains unclear.

Methods

Thirty-seven individuals with HUD undergoing MMT and 57 healthy controls were recruited. The longitudinal one-year follow-up study aimed to evaluate the effects of methadone on anxiety, depression, withdrawal symptoms and craving and number of relapse, and brain function (SN, DMN and bilateral ECN) in relation to heroin dependence. The changes in psychological characteristics and the coupling among large-scale networks after 1 year of MMT were analyzed. The associations between the changes in coupling among large-scale networks and psychological characteristics and the methadone dose were also examined.

Results

After 1 year of MMT, individuals with HUD showed a reduction in the withdrawal symptom score. The number of relapses was negatively correlated with the methadone dose over 1 year. The functional connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG; both key nodes of the DMN) was increased, and the connectivities between the mPFC and the anterior insular and middle frontal gyrus (key nodes of the SN) were also increased. The mPFC-left MTG connectivity was negatively correlated with the withdrawal symptom score.

Conclusion

Long-term MMT enhanced the connectivity within the DMN which might be related to reduced withdrawal symptoms, and that between the DMN and SN which might be related to increase in salience values of heroin cues in individuals with HUD. Long-term MMT may be a double-edged sword in treatment for HUD.
Prospective acceptability of digital phenotyping among pregnant and parenting people with opioid use disorder: A multisite qualitative study
Authors: Charron Elizabeth , White Ashley , Carlston Kristi , Abdullah Walitta , Baylis Jacob D. , Pierce Stephanie , Businelle Michael S. , Gordon Adam J. , Krans Elizabeth E. , Smid Marcela C. , Cochran Gerald
Published: April 2023

Background

While medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) effectively treat OUD during pregnancy and the postpartum period, poor treatment retention is common. Digital phenotyping, or passive sensing data captured from personal mobile devices, namely smartphones, provides an opportunity to understand behaviors, psychological states, and social influences contributing to perinatal MOUD non-retention. Given this novel area of investigation, we conducted a qualitative study to determine the acceptability of digital phenotyping among pregnant and parenting people with opioid use disorder (PPP-OUD).

Methods

This study was guided by the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability (TFA). Within a clinical trial testing a behavioral health intervention for PPP-OUD, we used purposeful criterion sampling to recruit 11 participants who delivered a child in the past 12  months and received OUD treatment during pregnancy or the postpartum period. Data were collected through phone interviews using a structured interview guide based on four TFA constructs (affective attitude, burden, ethicality, self-efficacy). We used framework analysis to code, chart, and identify key patterns within the data.

Results

Participants generally expressed positive attitudes about digital phenotyping and high self-efficacy and low anticipated burden to participate in studies that collect smartphone-based passive sensing data. Nonetheless, concerns were noted related to data privacy/security and sharing location information. Differences in participant assessments of burden were related to length of time required and level of remuneration to participate in a study. Interviewees voiced broad support for participating in a digital phenotyping study with known/trusted individuals but expressed concerns about third-party data sharing and government monitoring.

Conclusion

Digital phenotyping methods were acceptable to PPP-OUD. Enhancements in acceptability include allowing participants to maintain control over which data are shared, limiting frequency of research contacts, aligning compensation with participant burden, and outlining data privacy/security protections on study materials.
Exploring the role of ketone bodies in the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders
Authors: Omori Naomi Elyse , Malys Mantas Kazimieras , Woo Geoffrey , Mansor Latt
Published: April 2023

In recent times, advances in the field of metabolomics have shed greater light on the role of metabolic disturbances in neuropsychiatric conditions. The following review explores the role of ketone bodies and ketosis in both the diagnosis and treatment of three major psychiatric disorders: major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia. Distinction is made between the potential therapeutic effects of the ketogenic diet and exogenous ketone preparations, as exogenous ketones in particular offer a standardized, reproducible manner for inducing ketosis. Compelling associations between symptoms of mental distress and dysregulation in central nervous system ketone metabolism have been demonstrated in preclinical studies with putative neuroprotective effects of ketone bodies being elucidated, including effects on inflammasomes and the promotion of neurogenesis in the central nervous system. Despite emerging pre-clinical data, clinical research on ketone body effectiveness as a treatment option for psychiatric disorders remains lacking. This gap in understanding warrants further investigating, especially considering that safe and acceptable ways of inducing ketosis are readily available.
Enhancing the conversational agent with an emotional support system for mental health digital therapeutics
Authors: Wang Qing , Peng Shuyuan , Zha Zhiyuan , Han Xue , Deng Chao , Hu Lun , Hu Pengwei
Published: April 2023

As psychological diseases become more prevalent and are identified as the leading cause of acquired disability, it is essential to assist people in improving their mental health. Digital therapeutics (DTx) has been widely studied to treat psychological diseases with the advantage of cost savings. Among the techniques of DTx, a conversational agent can interact with patients through natural language dialog and has become the most promising one. However, conversational agents' ability to accurately show emotional support (ES) limits their role in DTx solutions, especially in mental health support. One of the main reasons is that the prediction of emotional support systems does not extract effective information from historical dialog data and only depends on the data derived from one single-turn interaction with users. To address this issue, we propose a novel emotional support conversation agent called the STEF agent that generates more supportive responses based on a thorough view of past emotions. The proposed STEF agent consists of the emotional fusion mechanism and strategy tendency encoder. The emotional fusion mechanism focuses on capturing the subtle emotional changes throughout a conversation. The strategy tendency encoder aims at foreseeing strategy evolution through multi-source interactions and extracting latent strategy semantic embedding. Experimental results on the benchmark dataset ESConv demonstrate the effectiveness of the STEF agent compared with competitive baselines.
The interaction of the oxytocin receptor gene and child abuse subtypes on social cognition in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder type I
Authors: Ríos Ulises , Morán Javier , Hermosilla Jimena , González René , Muñoz Paulina , Arancibia Marcelo , Herrera Luisa , Jiménez Juan Pablo , Moya Pablo R.
Published: April 2023

Background

Most studies on cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder have neglected the role of early stress, despite the high frequency of childhood maltreatment in this clinical group. The aim of this study was to establish a connection between a history of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in childhood and social cognition (SC) in patients with bipolar disorder type I (BD-I) in euthymia, and to test a possible moderating effect of the single nucleotide polymorphism rs53576 in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR).

Methods

One hundred and one participants were included in this study. History of child abuse was evaluated using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form. Cognitive functioning was appraised using The Awareness of Social Inference Test (social cognition). The interaction effect between the independent variables OXTR rs53576 (AA/AG and GG) and the absence or presence of any one type of child maltreatment or a combination of types was analyzed using a generalized linear model regression.

Results

BD-I patients who had been victims of physical and emotional abuse in childhood and were carriers of the GG genotype at OXTR rs53576 displayed greater SC alterations, specifically in emotion recognition.

Discussion

This gene–environment interaction finding suggests a differential susceptibility model of a genetic variants that can be plausibly associated with SC functioning and might help to identify at-risk clinical subgroups within a diagnostic category. Future research aimed at testing the interlevel impact of early stress constitutes an ethical-clinical duty given the high rates of childhood maltreatment reported in BD-I patients.
Systematic review of the association between adverse life events and the onset and relapse of postpartum psychosis
Authors: Reilly Thomas J. , Roberts Emma , Sagnay De La Bastida Vanessa Charlotte , McGuire Philip , Dazzan Paola , Cullen Alexis E.
Published: April 2023

Postpartum psychosis is defined as a psychotic episode occurring within 4 to 6  weeks of childbirth. While there is robust evidence that adverse life events are associated with the onset and relapse of psychosis outside the postpartum period, the extent to which these contribute to postpartum psychosis is less clear. This systematic review examined whether adverse life events are associated with an increased likelihood of developing postpartum psychosis or subsequent relapse in women diagnosed with postpartum psychosis. The following databases were searched from inception to June 2021: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycInfo. Study level data were extracted including setting, number of participants, type of adverse event, and differences between groups. A modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessments Scale was used to assess risk of bias. In total, 1933 records were identified, of which 17 met the inclusion criteria, comprising nine case–control studies and eight cohort studies. Most studies (16/17) examined the association between adverse life events and the onset of postpartum psychosis, with only in which the outcome was relapse of psychosis. Overall, there were 63 different measures of adversity examined (most of which were examined in a single study only) and 87 associations between these measures and postpartum psychosis tested across the studies. In terms of statistically significant associations with onset/relapse of postpartum psychosis, 15 (17%) were positive (i.e., the adverse event increased the risk of onset/relapse), 4 (5%) were negative, and 68 (78%) were not statistically significant. Our review highlights the diversity of risk factors examined in this field, with few attempts at replication, hence limiting the ability to conclude that any single risk factor is robustly associated with the onset of postpartum psychosis. Further large-scale studies, that attempt to replicate earlier studies, are urgently needed to determine whether adverse life events play a role in the onset and exacerbation of postpartum psychosis.

Systematic review registration

[https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=260592], identifier [CRD42021260592].