Sensory neurobiology: Muscles power pheromone sensation.

While we understand how the five main sensory organs enable and facilitate stimulus detection, little is known about how the vomeronasal organ enables pheromone sensation. A new study finds specialized muscles poised to coordinate stimulus delivery, dynamics, and arousal.

Endogenous Derivatives of Linoleic Acid and their Stable Analogs Are Potential Pain Mediators.

Psoriasis is characterized by intense pruritus, with a subset of individuals with psoriasis experiencing thermal hypersensitivity. However, the pathophysiology of thermal hypersensitivity in psoriasis and other skin conditions remains enigmatic. Linoleic acid is an omega-6 fatty acid that is concentrated in the skin, and oxidation of linoleic acid into metabolites with multiple hydroxyl and epoxide functional groups has been shown to play a role in skin barrier function.

Electronic Screening for Adolescent Risk Behaviors in the Emergency Department: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Introduction: In this study we aimed to assess the impact of an electronic health assessment with individualized feedback for risk behaviors in adolescents seeking care in a pediatric emergency department (ED).

Methods: We conducted a randomized control trial using a tablet-based screening program with a study population of adolescents in a busy pediatric ED. The intervention group received the screening program with individualized feedback.

Distance Education in Nutrition and Dietetics Education over the Past 30 Years: A Narrative Review.

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic necessitated the use of distance education, which sparked a technological transformation that was long overdue in higher education. The purpose of this narrative review is two-fold: to summarize the state of knowledge regarding distance education in nutrition and dietetics education over the past 30 years to inform recommendations for future education/research and implications for practice and to determine the influence that distance education has had on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of both nutrition and dietetics educators and their students. A narrative review of 822 publications yielded 25 that met the search criteria.

Evaluation of Patient Access to Spanish-Language-Concordant Care on a Postpartum Unit.

Objective: To evaluate patient access to Spanish-language-concordant care on a postpartum unit and to identify facilitators and barriers to the use of interpretation services.

Design: Mixed-methods research study, comprising a cross-sectional chart review from September to December 2019 and semistructured interviews from June to December 2020.

Setting/local Problem: A tertiary academic medical center in the southeastern United States where individuals with limited English proficiency are at risk for poor health outcomes when they are unable to communicate with clinicians in their preferred language.

A Comparison of Demographic and Psychosocial Characteristics Between Transgender Youth Enrolling Versus Not Enrolling in a Multisite Study.

To characterize demographics, psychosocial functioning, and gender-related experiences in transgender youth enrolling versus declining participation in a multisite research study. Clinical data were abstracted from patient charts at two study sites. Continuous variables were compared using -tests, and categorical variables were compared using tests based on study enrollment status.

Impact of a Firearm Safety Device Distribution Intervention on Storage Practices After an Emergent Mental Health Visit.

Objective: To determine if providing firearm storage devices with training during clinical care improves safe storage practices in household members of children who present to a pediatric hospital with an emergent mental health complaint.

Methods: Prospective, pre-post study. Enrollment occurred in the emergency department or the inpatient psychiatric unit.

Flexible scaling and persistence of social vocal communication.

Innate vocal sounds such as laughing, screaming or crying convey one's feelings to others. In many species, including humans, scaling the amplitude and duration of vocalizations is essential for effective social communication. In mice, female scent triggers male mice to emit innate courtship ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs).

Group therapy for mood disorders: A meta-analysis.

The addition of group psychotherapy as a specialty by the APA in 2018 creates a need for rigorous empirical reviews of group treatments for specific disorders. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that tested the effect of group psychotherapy for mood disorders, including depression and bipolar disorder, at posttreatment and follow-up time-points, as well as rates of recovery and attrition. Major databases were searched for RCTs of group treatment for depression and bipolar disorder published from 1990 to 2018, which identified 42 studies across both disorders.

Identifying oxidized lipid mediators as prognostic biomarkers of chronic posttraumatic headache.

Chronic posttraumatic headache (PTH) is among the most common and disabling sequelae of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Current PTH treatments are often only partially effective and have problematic side effects. We previously showed in a small randomized trial of patients with chronic nontraumatic headaches that manipulation of dietary fatty acids decreased headache frequency, severity, and pain medication use.

Plasma oxylipins and unesterified precursor fatty acids are altered by DHA supplementation in pregnancy: Can they help predict risk of preterm birth?

Oxidized lipids derived from omega-6 (n-6) and omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids, collectively known as oxylipins, are bioactive signaling molecules that play diverse roles in human health and disease. Supplementation with n-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) during pregnancy has been reported to decrease the risk of preterm birth in singleton pregnancies, which may be due to effects of DHA supplementation on oxylipins or their precursor n-6 and n-3 fatty acids. There is only limited understanding of the levels and trajectory of changes in plasma oxylipins during pregnancy, effects of DHA supplementation on oxylipins and unesterified fatty acids, and whether and how oxylipins and their unesterified precursor fatty acids influence preterm birth.

Effect of Concurrent Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Agonist Treatment on Dose and Side Effects of Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy in Adolescent Transgender Patients.

This retrospective chart review aims to address gaps in the literature regarding the efficacy and interaction of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa) and gender-affirming hormone therapies in medical transition regimens in transgender adolescents. We abstracted and reviewed data from 83 patients at our pediatric gender clinic, and found that patients who initiated treatment with GnRHa before gender-affirming hormones (estrogen, testosterone) required lower doses of those hormones than those who did not use GnRHa. The results of this preliminary research provide a foundation for future long-term prospective studies aimed to better understand these relationships.

Central Amygdala Prepronociceptin-Expressing Neurons Mediate Palatable Food Consumption and Reward.

Food palatability is one of many factors that drives food consumption, and the hedonic drive to feed is a key contributor to obesity and binge eating. In this study, we identified a population of prepronociceptin-expressing cells in the central amygdala (Pnoc) that are activated by palatable food consumption. Ablation or chemogenetic inhibition of these cells reduces palatable food consumption.

An item reduction analysis of the Group Questionnaire.

There is a constant tension between having measures short enough for daily practice and long enough to provide useful information. Although shorter measures are more convenient for clients, fewer items necessarily mean less information, a loss of psychometrics, and possible floor and ceiling effects. This study examined the effects of shortening the Group Questionnaire (GQ) on its clinical utility and psychometric integrity.

Small Group Process and Outcome Research Highlights: A 25-Year Perspective.

We summarize major research findings from the past 25 years within the larger evolution of group psychotherapy. Small group process findings are highlighted from a group-as-a-whole, interpersonal relation, subgroup, individual member characteristics, and leader perspective. Special emphasis is given to cohesion and the significant correlation between cohesion and outcome.

Nociceptin receptor antagonist SB 612111 decreases high fat diet binge eating.

Binge eating is a dysregulated form of feeding behavior that occurs in multiple eating disorders including binge-eating disorder, the most common eating disorder. Feeding is a complex behavioral program supported through the function of multiple brain regions and influenced by a diverse array of receptor signaling pathways. Previous studies have shown the overexpression of the opioid neuropeptide nociceptin (orphanin FQ, N/OFQ) can induce hyperphagia, but the role of endogenous nociceptin receptor (NOP) in naturally occurring palatability-induced hyperphagia is unknown.

A Trypanosomatid Iron Transporter that Regulates Mitochondrial Function Is Required for Leishmania amazonensis Virulence.

Iron, an essential co-factor of respiratory chain proteins, is critical for mitochondrial function and maintenance of its redox balance. We previously reported a role for iron uptake in differentiation of Leishmania amazonensis into virulent amastigotes, by a mechanism that involves reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and is independent of the classical pH and temperature cues. Iron import into mitochondria was proposed to be essential for this process, but evidence supporting this hypothesis was lacking because the Leishmania mitochondrial iron transporter was unknown.

Understanding the economic impacts of disruptions in water service.

Over the past decade, there has been much attention focused on community readiness for catastrophic emergency events, such as major natural disasters or terrorist attacks. However, though the economic costs associated with experiencing such an event are high, the probability of such events occurring is quite low. At the same time, less catastrophic events that temporarily disrupt essential services to local areas, such as water and electricity, are quite common.

Distinct host species correlate with Anaplasma phagocytophilum ankA gene clusters.

Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a gram-negative, tick-transmitted, obligate intracellular bacterium that elicits acute febrile diseases in humans and domestic animals. In contrast to the United States, human granulocytic anaplasmosis seems to be a rare disease in Europe despite the initial recognition of A. phagocytophilum as the causative agent of tick-borne fever in European sheep and cattle.

The impact of clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse: the role of gender, development, and posttraumatic stress.

The literature on clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse suggests that there are two modal populations of survivors: boys and adult women. We review what is known about trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder following sexual abuse and explore the different treatment needs for these two survivor groups. For children, clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse can catastrophically alter the trajectory of psychosocial, sexual, and spiritual development.

A theoretical foundation for understanding clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse.

Incorporating elements from broadband theories of psychological adaptation to extreme adversity, including Summit's (1983) Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome, Finkelhor and Browne's (1986) Traumagenic Dynamics Model of sexual abuse, and Pyszczynski and colleagues' (1997) Terror Management Theory, this paper proposes a unified theoretical model of clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse for future research. The model conceptualizes clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse as the convergence of interactive processes between the clergy-perpetrator, the parishioner-survivor, and the religious community.

Ethnic disparities in youth access to tobacco: California statewide results, 1999-2003.

The authors examined the role of youth ethnicity in youth access to tobacco with large, random samples of stores and large samples of ethnically diverse youths for the first time. From 1999 through 2003, White, Black, Latino, and Asian youths made 3,361 cigarette purchase attempts (approximately 700 per year) statewide. Analyses revealed that Black youths had significantly higher access than other youths and that access rates for Black and Asian (but not Latino or White) youths exceeded the Synar-mandated < or = 20%.