Effects of Embodiment in Virtual Reality for Treatment of Chronic Pain: Pilot Open-Label Study.

Background: Chronic pain has long been a major health burden that has been addressed through numerous forms of pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment. One of the tenets of modern medicine is to minimize risk while providing efficacy. Further, because of its noninvasive nature, virtual reality (VR) provides an attractive platform for potentially developing novel therapeutic modalities.

Multi-site, multi-country randomized clinical trial of an acute traumatic brain injury caregiver transition assistance program in Latin America.

Background: Individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Latin America experience high levels of disability and extremely poor functional outcomes, and their informal caregivers play a key role in their rehabilitation and care.

Objective: To improve TBI rehabilitation through stronger informal caregiving, this study developed and evaluated an evidence-based and culturally appropriate Transition Assistance Program (TAP) for informal caregivers of individuals with TBI in Latin America, specifically targeting the time period before and after the transition from hospital to home.

Methods: A sample of 89 people with a new TBI and their primary informal caregiver (n = 178) was recruited from two hospitals in Mexico City, Mexico, and in Cali, Colombia.

State-Level Policy Environments, Discrimination, and Victimization among Sexual and Gender Minority People.

Legislation has been passed in some states to reduce discrimination and victimization toward sexual and gender minority people (SGM; people who are not solely heterosexual and/or whose gender identity is not equal to what is socially associated with sex assigned at birth). The purpose of these analyses is to test whether state-level policy environments are associated with past-year discrimination and victimization among SGM people. Cross-sectional data from The Population Research in Identity and Disparities for Equality (PRIDE) Study annual questionnaire (collected 2018−2019), a national study of the health of SGM adults in the USA, were used for these analyses.

Reliability of Performing Multiparametric Ultrasound in Adult Livers.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to test inter-observer and intra-observer reliability of measuring multiparametric ultrasound in adult livers.

Methods: We prospectively measured shear wave velocity (SWV, m/s), shear wave dispersion slope (SWD, m/s/kHz), attenuation coefficient (ATI, dB/cm/MHz), normalized local variance (NLV), and echo intensity ratio of liver to kidney (L/K ratio) in 21 adults who underwent liver magnetic resonance imaging-proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF). Intraclass correlation coefficient and 95% Bland-Altman limits of agreement (95% LOA) were used to analyze intra- and inter-observer reproducibility.

Non-invasive imaging biomarkers to assess nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A review.

This review summarizes the current state of non-invasive diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This begins with a brief discussion of blood-based analysis (serum biomarkers) then progresses through various imaging modalities (imaging biomarkers) including magnetic resonance (MR), computed tomography (CT), and ultrasound-based imaging methods. The review concludes with comment on the advantages, disadvantages, and prospects of commercially available modalities and the impact they may have on diagnosis and management of patients with NAFLD.

Embodiment in Virtual Reality for the Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain: A Case Series.

Purpose: We describe two case studies that use embodiment in virtual reality as a treatment for chronic low back pain. The purpose of this case series was to determine the feasibility of a novel virtual reality-based digital therapeutic for the treatment of chronic pain.

Patients And Methods: Two patients with chronic low back pain received seven sessions, two sessions per week, of a novel digital therapeutic that combines virtual embodiment with graded motor imagery to deliver functional rehabilitation exercises using an off-the-shelf virtual reality system.

Predictors of Alcohol Use in Safety-Net Primary Care: Classism, Religiosity, and Race.

Class-based discrimination may impact problematic drinking in low-income populations, which may be buffered by personal religiosity. However, little is known how race may impact this association. The purpose of this study was to examine racial differences in the effect of class-based discrimination on problematic drinking as moderated by comfort with God and determine if there were conditional direct effects of class-based discrimination on problematic drinking by race.

Predictors of longitudinal depression trajectories after traumatic brain injury in Latin America: A multi-site study.

Background: Latin America has exceptionally high rates of traumatic brain injury (TBI), but very little research has been conducted on longitudinal TBI outcomes in this global region.

Objective: This study examined whether cognitive dysfunction and social disadaptation in individuals with TBI in Latin America at hospital discharge predict longitudinal trajectories of depression at baseline, 2 months, and 4 months.

Methods: A sample of 109 people with a new TBI was recruited from three hospitals: Mexico City, Mexico, Cali, Colombia and Neiva, Colombia.

Moderating influence of enculturation on the relations between minority stressors and physical health via anxiety in Latinx immigrants.

Objectives: The Latinx population in the United States has grown rapidly, now standing at over 56 million people. Discrimination and acculturative stress have been found to affect the mental and physical health of Latinx immigrants, yet enculturation has been identified as an important cultural strength for this population. The purpose of this study was to examine the relations among minority stressors, anxiety, and physical health in a sample of Latinx immigrants living in the United States.

The minority strengths model: Development and initial path analytic validation in racially/ethnically diverse LGBTQ individuals.

Objective: The minority stress model and much research based upon it tend to adopt and reinforce a deficit-based approach. This study created and initially validated the minority strengths model, which by contrast outlines how personal and collective strengths in minority populations create resilience and positive mental and physical health.

Materials And Method: A sample of 317 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds completed a national online survey.

Body Appreciation in Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer Women: Examining a Model of Social Support, Resilience, and Self-Esteem.

There is increasing research on positive body image, but no studies to date have examined these constructs in lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women. However, LBQ women are at increased risk for mental health concerns and disordered eating, and there is evidence that body appreciation might be both adaptive and protective. This study examined factors that could uniquely relate to body appreciation in LBQ women.

In Situ Probing of Laser Annealing of Plasmonic Substrates with Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

In this work, we in situ monitor the laser annealing of template-fabricated silver substrates using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA) as a molecular probe. The annealing process, which exhibits a strong dependence on the laser power, yields a large (>50×) increase in the SERS of the immobilized 4-MBA. This increased SERS response is correlated with the changing substrate morphology using optical and scanning electron microscope images.

Using SERS To Understand the Binding of N-Heterocyclic Carbenes to Gold Surfaces.

Surface functionalization is an essential component of most applications of noble-metal surfaces. Thiols and amines are traditionally employed to attach molecules to noble-metal surfaces, but they have limitations. A growing body of research, however, suggests that N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) can be readily employed for surface functionalization with superior chemical stability compared with thiols.

Common health problems in safety-net primary care: Modeling the roles of trauma history and mental health.

Objective: This study described trauma exposure and investigated mediational effects of mental health on the relationships between trauma and pain, sleep, smoking, and general health.

Method: Participants were 210 low-income primary care patients. The study used a crosssectional, self-report survey design.

Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among Sexual Minority Women: A Latent Class Analysis.

This study explored patterns of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and perpetration in 150 sexual minority women (SMW): 25.3% had been sexually victimized, 34% physically victimized, 76% psychologically victimized, and 29.3% suffered an IPV-related injury.

Utilizing Molecular Hyperpolarizability for Trace Analysis: A Surface-Enhanced Hyper-Raman Scattering Study of Uranyl Ion.

Surface-enhanced hyper-Raman scattering (SEHRS), the nonlinear analog of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), provides unique spectral signatures arising from the molecular hyperpolarizability. In this work, we explore the differences between SERS and SEHRS spectra obtained from surface-bound uranyl ion. Exploiting the distinctive SEHRS bands for trace detection of the uranyl ion, we obtain excellent sensitivity (limit of detection = 90 ppb) despite the extreme weakness of the hyper-Raman effect.

SERS Sensors: Recent Developments and a Generalized Classification Scheme Based on the Signal Origin.

Owing to its extreme sensitivity and easy execution, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) now finds application for a wide variety of problems requiring sensitive and targeted analyte detection. This widespread application has prompted a proliferation of different SERS-based sensors, suggesting the need for a framework to classify existing methods and guide the development of new techniques. After a brief discussion of the general SERS modalities, we classify SERS-based sensors according the origin of the signal.

N-Heterocyclic Carbenes as a Robust Platform for Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) underpins a wide range of commercial and fundamental applications. SERS often relies on ligands, usually thiols, bound to a noble metal surface. The difficulty of straightforward thiol synthesis combined with their instability on surfaces highlights the need for alternative ligand design.

Understanding the association between discrimination and depression among sexual minority people of color: Evidence for diminishing returns of socioeconomic advantage.

Objective: To examine the differential association of heterosexism and racism on depression as moderated by socioeconomic status (SES) among sexual minority people of color.

Method: A cross-sectional sample of sexual minority people of color (n = 170) was surveyed on their experiences of heterosexism, racism, depression, and SES in a national online study based in the United States.

Results: Bivariately, SES was inversely associated with depression, racism, and heterosexism.

Using personality traits to construct linear growth models of mental health in family members of individuals with severe brain injury.

Objective: No studies have examined the impact of personality traits on mental health among caregivers of individuals with severe brain injury. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to construct linear growth models to examine whether the personality traits of family members of individuals with severe brain injury could predict the trajectories of their own mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL), anxiety, and depression beginning in a neurointensive care unit through 1 year after injury.

Method: Danish family members of individuals with severe brain injury (n = 52) completed the Short Form-36 assessing mental HRQoL (vitality, social functioning, role limitations-emotional, mental health), anxiety, and depression across 5 time points during the 1st year after injury.

Personality Traits in College Students and Caregiving for a Relative with a Chronic Health Condition.

The purpose of this study was to investigate among college students the relationship between personality traits and willingness to care for a relative with a chronic health condition. 329 undergraduate students completed an online questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple regressions found that after controlling for demographics personality traits explained 10% of the variance in willingness to provide emotional care, 7% in instrumental care, and 7% in nursing care.

Nanoporous Silver Film Fabricated by Oxygen Plasma: A Facile Approach for SERS Substrates.

Nanoporous metal films are promising substrates for surfaced-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) measurement, owing to their homogeneity, large surface area, and abundant hot-spots. Herein, a facile procedure was developed to fabricate nanoporous Ag film on various substrate surfaces. Thermally deposited Ag film was first treated with O2 plasma, resulting in porous Ag/AgxO film (AgxO-NF) with nanoscale feature.