Does high perceived stress over the past month alter cortisol reactivity to the Trier Social Stress Test?

Background: Theories highlight the important role of chronic stress in remodeling HPA-axis responsivity under stress. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is one of the most widely used measures of enduring stress perceptions, and no previous studies have evaluated whether greater perceptions of stress on the PSS are associated with cortisol hypo- or hyperactivity responses to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST).

Objective: To examine if high perceived stress over the past month, as measured by the PSS, alters cortisol and subjective acute stress reactivity to the TSST in healthy young adults.

ENIGMA-Meditation: Worldwide consortium for neuroscientific investigations of meditation practices.

Meditation is a family of ancient and contemporary contemplative mind-body practices that can modulate psychological processes, awareness, and mental states. Over the last 40 years, clinical science has manualised meditation practices and designed various meditation interventions (MIs), that have shown therapeutic efficacy for disorders including depression, pain, addiction, and anxiety. Over the past decade, neuroimaging has examined the neuroscientific basis of meditation practices, effects, states, and outcomes for clinical and non-clinical populations.

The influence of triiodothyronine on the immune response and extracellular matrix remodeling during zebrafish heart regeneration.

Damage to the human heart is an irreparable process that results in a permanent impairment in cardiac function. There are, however, a number of vertebrate species including zebrafish (Danio rerio) that can regenerate their hearts following significant injury. In contrast to these regenerative species, mammals are known to have high levels of thyroid hormones, which has been proposed to play a role in this difference in regenerative capacity.

Residual Pulmonary Vascular Obstruction Following Mechanical Thrombectomy for Submassive Pulmonary Embolism: A Single-Center Analysis.

Background: Residual pulmonary vascular obstruction (RPVO) following pulmonary embolism (PE) is associated with residual dyspnea, recurrent venous thromboembolism, and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Historically, acute PE treated with anticoagulation alone results in high rates of significant RPVO. Contemporary treatment of submassive PE often involves catheter-based interventions, including mechanical thrombectomy (MT), although their relation to RPVO is not characterized.

Solubilization of Hydrophobic Astaxanthin in Water by Physical Association with Phytoglycogen Nanoparticles.

Astaxanthin (AXT) is a xanthophyll carotenoid with reported health benefits. Realizing its potential as a bioactive is challenging because of its extremely poor solubility in water. We describe a method to improve the effective solubility of AXT in water through its physical association with phytoglycogen (PG), which is produced in sweet corn as compact, highly branched nanoparticles.

Families with multiple individuals with acute leukemia in their pedigrees.

Forty-one families with multiple cases of de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML), B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (B-ALL), or both are presented. The families were randomly collected from physicians, genetic counselors, and other sources. Medical records were collected and reviewed for all families.

College students' daily mind wandering is related to lower social well-being.

This study sought to examine how daily mind wandering is related to loneliness, felt connection to others, and school belonging among college students. Three samples ( = 209,  = 173, and  = 266) from two US campuses were recruited. Data were collected ecological momentary assessment over the course of two academic quarters in one sample and an academic semester in two samples.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Reduces Proinflammatory Gene Regulation But Not Systemic Inflammation Among Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: Aging is associated with increased proinflammatory gene expression and systemic inflammation, and psychosocial stress may accelerate these changes. Mindfulness interventions show promise for reducing psychosocial stress and extending healthspan. Inflammatory pathways may play a role.

Results From a Randomized Phase II Trial of Sunitinib and Gemcitabine or Sunitinib in Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma with Sarcomatoid Features: ECOG-ACRIN E1808.

Introduction: Sarcomatoid renal cancer (sRCC) patients have poor outcomes. EA1808 evaluated sunitinib and gemcitabine (SG) and sunitinib alone (S) in sRCC in a randomized cooperative group phase II trial (NCT01164228).

Patients And Methods: Pts were aggregated 1:1 to SG (45 pts) or S (40 pts) using a 2-stage design.

Human Trafficking Education: A Pilot Study of Integration into Medical School Curriculum.

Objectives: Few medical schools incorporate formal education on human trafficking (HT) and sex trafficking (ST) into their curriculum. Our objective was to develop, implement, and evaluate education on HT and ST in the first-year medical student curriculum.

Methods: The curriculum included a standardized patient (SP) experience and lecture.

Brain Reward Circuits Promote Stress Resilience and Health: Implications for Reward-Based Interventions.

From the COVID-19 global pandemic to racial injustice and the continued impact of climate change on communities across the globe, the last couple of years have demonstrated the need for a greater understanding of how to protect people from the negative consequences of stress. Here, I outline a perspective on how the brain's reward system might be an important, but often understudied, protective mechanism for stress resilience and stress-related health outcomes. I describe work suggesting that reward system engagement inhibits the stress response and is associated with improved health outcomes including reduced depressive symptomatology and slowed cancer progression.

Deep Generative Modeling of Infrared Images Provides Signature of Cracking in Cross-Linked Polyethylene Pipe.

Hyperspectral infrared (IR) images contain a large amount of highly spatially resolved information about the chemical composition of a sample. However, the analysis of hyperspectral IR imaging data for complex heterogeneous systems can be challenging because of the spectroscopic and spatial complexity of the data. We implement a deep generative modeling approach using a β-variational autoencoder to learn disentangled representations of the generative factors of variance in a data set of cross-linked polyethylene (PEX-a) pipe.

Nightly sleep duration predicts grade point average in the first year of college.

Academic achievement in the first year of college is critical for setting students on a pathway toward long-term academic and life success, yet little is known about the factors that shape early college academic achievement. Given the important role sleep plays in learning and memory, here we extend this work to evaluate whether nightly sleep duration predicts change in end-of-semester grade point average (GPA). First-year college students from three independent universities provided sleep actigraphy for a month early in their winter/spring academic term across five studies.

Neural correlates of mindful disengagement from worry.

Uncontrollable worry is a hallmark of generalized anxiety disorder and a transdiagnostic feature of psychopathology. Mindfulness-based strategies show promise for treating worry, but it is unknown which specific strategies are most beneficial, and how these skills might operate on a neurobiological level. We recruited 40 participants with clinically significant worry to undergo functional magnetic resonance imaging while engaging in real-time, idiographic worry and instructed disengagement using two mindfulness strategies (focused attention, acceptance) and one comparison strategy (suppression).

Binding Affinity of Concanavalin A to Native and Acid-Hydrolyzed Phytoglycogen Nanoparticles.

Phytoglycogen (PG) is a polysaccharide produced in the kernels of sweet corn as soft, highly branched, compact nanoparticles. Its tree-like or dendritic architecture, combined with a high-safety profile, makes PG nanoparticles attractive for use in biological applications, many of which rely on the association or binding of small biomolecules. We have developed a methodology to functionalize surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor surfaces with PG nanoparticles, and we demonstrate the utility of the PG-functionalized SPR sensor by measuring the binding affinity of the tetrameric concanavalin A (ConA) protein to both native PG nanoparticles and smaller, softer acid-hydrolyzed PG nanoparticles.

Changes to fine structure, size and mechanical modulus of phytoglycogen nanoparticles subjected to high-shear extrusion.

This study aims to enhance the understanding of the structure of maize phytoglycogen nanoparticles, and the effect of shear scission on their architecture, radius, stiffness, and deformability. Compared to amylopectin, phytoglycogen had a lower A:B chain ratio, a lower number of chains per B chain, and a much higher number of A chains. Phytoglycogen (M = 28.

Lack of Belonging Predicts Depressive Symptomatology in College Students.

Feeling a sense of belonging is a central human motivation that has consequences for mental health and well-being, yet surprisingly little research has examined how belonging shapes mental health among young adults. In three data sets from two universities (exploratory study: = 157; Confirmatory Study 1: = 121; Confirmatory Study 2: = 188 in winter term, = 172 in spring term), we found that lower levels of daily-assessed feelings of belonging early and across the academic term predicted higher depressive symptoms at the end of the term. Furthermore, these relationships held when models controlled for baseline depressive symptoms, sense of social fit, and other social factors (loneliness and frequency of social interactions).

Deep Learning and Infrared Spectroscopy: Representation Learning with a β-Variational Autoencoder.

Infrared (IR) spectra contain detailed and extensive information about the chemical composition and bonding environment in a sample. However, this information is difficult to extract from complex heterogeneous systems because of overlapping absorptions due to different generative factors. We implement a deep learning approach to study the complex spectroscopic changes that occur in cross-linked polyethylene (PEX-a) pipe by training a β-variational autoencoder (β-VAE) on a database of PEX-a pipe spectra.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction increases stimulated IL-6 production among lonely older adults: A randomized controlled trial.

Loneliness is a potent psychosocial stressor that predicts poor health and mortality among older adults, possibly in part by accelerating age-related declines in immunocompetence. Mindfulness interventions have shown promise for reducing loneliness and improving markers of physical health. In a sample of lonely older adults, this two-arm parallel trial tested whether mindfulness training enhances stimulated interleukin-6 (IL-6) production, a measure of innate immune responsivity.

Smartphone mindfulness meditation training reduces Pro-inflammatory gene expression in stressed adults: A randomized controlled trial.

Mindfulness meditation training has been shown to be an effective stress reduction strategy, but less is known about its immunoregulatory impact. In a randomized controlled trial of stressed customer service workers, the present study tested whether a 30-day smartphone-based mindfulness meditation training program (compared to a problem-solving control program) would affect pro-inflammatory gene expression. Both interventions led to reductions in stress levels, but there was no difference in stress reduction between conditions.

Transition in the Glassy Dynamics of Melts of Acid-Hydrolyzed Phytoglycogen Nanoparticles.

The deformability, responsiveness, and tunability of soft nanoparticles (NPs) offer unique opportunities to learn about their complex properties and the interactions between particles. In the present study, we provide new insights into the physical properties of phytoglycogen (PG) NPs, which are soft, compact particles with a dendritic architecture that are produced in the kernels of sweet corn. In particular, we study PG NPs modified using acid hydrolysis, which not only reduces their diameter but also alters their stiffness, internal structure, and the interactions between particles in aqueous dispersions.