Meeting report: Hidden links in autoimmunity.

A NIAID-sponsored workshop was held in September 2024, where challenges to understanding common mechanisms in autoimmune disease were discussed as opportunities to advance research.

Towards large-scale analyses of settlement patterns in urbanizing landscapes-findings of first studies for India, Egypt, and China.

Improved ability to assess and categorize the spatial characteristics of settlement patterns is required for a deeper understanding of how urbanization is driving land use and land cover transformation and its effects. Two approaches to the globally available settlement maps of the World Settlement Footprint 3D support a detailed assessment of spatial characteristics of settlement patterns in rural to urban landscapes and across scales: graph-based spatial network analysis and elements of fractal theory. Based on first comprehensive tests for the Punjab (India), the Nile Delta (Egypt) and the North China Plain, the results of our study suggest that the presented methods allow a quantitative and qualitative characterization and comparison of settlement patterns between different regions of the world.

Combining app-based behavioral therapy with electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation: a study protocol for a single-arm mixed-methods pilot trial.

Background: Cigarette smoking remains a leading cause of preventable illness and death, underscoring the need for effective evidence-based smoking cessation interventions. Nuumi, a novel smoking cessation program integrating a digital behavioral therapy and an electronic cigarette, may provide a solution.

Objective: To investigate the initial efficacy, acceptability and psychological outcomes of an evidence-based smoking cessation intervention comprised of a mobile phone app and an electronic cigarette among adults who smoke and who are motivated to quit.

Psychiatrists' perceptions of conditions and consequences associated with the implementation of open notes: qualitative investigation.

Objective: In a growing list of countries, patients are granted access to their clinical notes ("open notes") as part of their online record access. Especially in the field of mental health, open notes remain controversial with some clinicians perceiving open notes as a tool for improving therapeutic outcomes by increasing patient involvement, while others fear that patients might experience psychological distress and perceived stigmatization, particularly when reading clinicians' notes. More research is needed to optimize the benefits and mitigate the risks.

The foundations of mind-body medicine: Love, good relationships, and happiness modulate stress and promote health.

Although stress is an everyday fact of life, it can lead to poor health outcomes, particularly when intense or prolonged. However, humans have unique cognitive abilities and thus may be able to combat stress by engaging critical psychological defence mechanisms. In this review, we discuss the field of mind-body medicine, which focuses on improving our understanding of the mechanisms underlying this response and developing interventions that might be used to limit the effects of chronic stress.

High-resolution gridded population datasets for Latin America and the Caribbean using official statistics.

"Leaving no one behind" is the fundamental objective of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Latin America and the Caribbean is marked by social inequalities, whilst its total population is projected to increase to almost 760 million by 2050. In this context, contemporary and spatially detailed datasets that accurately capture the distribution of residential population are critical to appropriately inform and support environmental, health, and developmental applications at subnational levels.

Understanding health behavior change by motivation and reward mechanisms: a review of the literature.

The global rise of lifestyle-related chronic diseases has engendered growing interest among various stakeholders including policymakers, scientists, healthcare professionals, and patients, regarding the effective management of health behavior change and the development of interventions that facilitate lifestyle modification. Consequently, a plethora of health behavior change theories has been developed with the intention of elucidating the mechanisms underlying health behavior change and identifying key domains that enhance the likelihood of successful outcomes. Until now, only few studies have taken into account neurobiological correlates underlying health behavior change processes.

Mindfulness-Based and Mindfulness-Informed Interventions at the Workplace: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression Analysis of RCTs.

Objectives: Positive effects of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on occupational health have been demonstrated by several systematic review studies during the last two decades. So far, existing reviews excluded mindfulness-informed interventions (MIIs) that build on informal approaches or mixed techniques aiming at improving mindfulness indirectly. To address this research gap, the present comprehensive meta-analysis synthesizes the results of RCTs of MBIs and MIIs conducted in various workplace settings.

Long-term exposure and health risk assessment from air pollution: impact of regional scale mobility.

Background: The negative effect of air pollution on human health is widely reported in recent literature. It typically involves urbanized areas where the population is concentrated and where most primary air pollutants are produced. A comprehensive health risk assessment is therefore of strategic importance for health authorities.

Social cartography and satellite-derived building coverage for post-census population estimates in difficult-to-access regions of Colombia.

Effective government services rely on accurate population numbers to allocate resources. In Colombia and globally, census enumeration is challenging in remote regions and where armed conflict is occurring. During census preparations, the Colombian National Administrative Department of Statistics conducted social cartography workshops, where community representatives estimated numbers of dwellings and people throughout their regions.

Mobility Coupled with Motivation Promotes Survival: The Evolution of Cognition as an Adaptive Strategy.

Morphine plays a critical regulatory role in both simple and complex plant species. Dopamine is a critical chemical intermediate in the morphine biosynthetic pathway and may have served as a primordial agonist in developing catecholamine signaling pathways. While dopamine remains the preeminent catecholamine in invertebrate neural systems, epinephrine is the major product of catecholamine synthetic pathways in vertebrate species.

Effects of a Mindfulness Intervention Comprising an App, Web-Based Workshops, and a Workbook on Perceived Stress Among Nurses and Nursing Trainees: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Previous research has found digitally supported mindfulness interventions to be effective when used for stress management among workers in high-stress occupations. Findings on digitally supported mindfulness interventions among nurses working in acute inpatient care settings are heterogeneous, lack long-term follow-up, and do not assess adherence and acceptability.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and efficacy of a digitally supported mindfulness intervention designed to improve health- and work-related outcomes among nurses and nursing trainees working in acute inpatient care settings.

The BERN Framework of Mind-Body Medicine: Integrating Self-Care, Health Promotion, Resilience, and Applied Neuroscience.

: Mind-body medicine (MBM) focuses on improving our understanding of how the interactions between the brain, mind, body, and behavior can be used to promote health. In this narrative review, we present the basic principles of MBM, including the introduction of a rational framework for the implementation of MBM-based interventions. We also discuss the contributions of MBM to motivation and reward systems in the brain including those that may specifically involve the mitochondria.

The ABC Model of Happiness-Neurobiological Aspects of Motivation and Positive Mood, and Their Dynamic Changes through Practice, the Course of Life.

Background: Happiness is a feeling, an immediate experience, not a cognitive construct. It is based on activity in the brain's neurobiological reward and motivation systems, which have been retained in evolution. This conceptual review provides an overview of the basic neurobiological principles behind happiness phenomena and proposes a framework for further classification.

The U-Curve of Happiness Revisited: Correlations and Differences in Life Satisfaction Over the Span of Life-An Empirical Evaluation Based on Data From 1,597 Individuals Aged 12-94 in Germany.

Background: Subjective wellbeing (SWB) is a research topic of growing interest for different disciplines. Based on a cross-sectional survey with 1,597 participants aged 12-94, this study investigated life satisfaction and momentary happiness, two important dimensions of SWB. We examined their relationship, shape, and correlates across individuals of different ages and interpreted the results in the light of a neurobiological model of motivation systems.

Impact of a Machine Learning-Based Decision Support System for Urinary Tract Infections: Prospective Observational Study in 36 Primary Care Practices.

Background: There is increasing attention on machine learning (ML)-based clinical decision support systems (CDSS), but their added value and pitfalls are very rarely evaluated in clinical practice. We implemented a CDSS to aid general practitioners (GPs) in treating patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs), which are a significant health burden worldwide.

Objective: This study aims to prospectively assess the impact of this CDSS on treatment success and change in antibiotic prescription behavior of the physician.

Functional Mechanisms of Health Behavior Change Techniques: A Conceptual Review.

Background: Health behavior change is among the top recommendations for improving health of patients with lifestyle-related chronic diseases. An array of behavior change techniques (BCTs) have been developed to support behavior change initiation and maintenance. These BCTs often show limited success when they are not informed by theory, leading to a mismatch between the intention of the BCT and patients' needs or expectations.

Effects of a Yoga-Based Stress Intervention Program on the Blood Pressure of Young Police Officers: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Despite improvements in health education and treatment, arterial hypertension remains a major health problem of increasing epidemiological importance. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to determine the impact of regular yoga breathing exercises on blood pressure, work-related stress, and the prevalence of arterial hypertension in young police academy trainees with no existing comorbidities. A single-center, prospective, randomized controlled trial.

Happiness in General Practice: Results of a Qualitative Study Among Physicians and Practice Assistants.

Background: Well-being of health care professionals is becoming more and more important. Research often focuses on deficits and health impairments. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate what contributes to the sense of happiness among family physicians and practice assistants.

Biomedical Perspectives of Acute and Chronic Neurological and Neuropsychiatric Sequelae of COVID-19.

The incidence of infections from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiologic agent for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has dramatically escalated following the initial outbreak in China, in late 2019, resulting in a global pandemic with millions of deaths. Although the majority of infected patients survive, and the rapid advent and deployment of vaccines have afforded increased immunity against SARS-CoV-2, long-term sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection have become increasingly recognized. These include, but are not limited to, chronic pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disorders, and proinflammatory-associated neurological dysfunction that may lead to psychological and neurocognitive impairment.