Increasing capacity for ethnically-based community leaders to engage in policy change: assessing the impact of a train-the-trainer approach.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing disparities in healthcare access and outcomes, particularly among underserved communities. As one site participating in the NIH-funded Community Engagement Alliance Against COVID-19, our focus was to address COVID-19 disparities by training immigrant and refugee communities to advocate for their needs by increasing capacity to campaign for policy-level changes.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a train-the-trainer policy advocacy program for ethnically-based community leaders within San Diego County using a mixed-methods evaluation.

Psychometric testing of Chinese version of screening tools (PASS) and GAD among perinatal population: hospital based evidence 2023.

Background: Anxiety disorders are increasing worldwide, untreated anxiety is linked to maternal and child health outcomes. The purpose of this study is to test psychometric properties of the Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS) among Chinese women.

Methods: The PASS was translated into Chinese following Beaton's intercultural debugging guide.

The relationship between VAI, LAP, and depression and the mediation role of sleep duration-evidence from NHANES 2005-2020.

Background: The relationship between obesity and mental health has attracted attention. However, large sample studies on the relationship between visceral fat obesity and depression are lacking. This study aimed to explore the relationship between visceral fat obesity and depression by using visceral adiposity index (VAI) and lipid accumulation product (LAP).

Using network analysis to identify central symptoms of depression and anxiety in different profiles of infertility patients.

Background: Depression and anxiety were not only common but also with serious consequence in infertility patients. The current study endeavors to define distinct depression and anxiety profiles of infertility patients and identify central symptoms within different profiles to facilitate targeted interventions.

Method: The research employed K-means Clustering to delineate the depression and anxiety profiles, followed by a repetition of the analysis using Latent Class Analysis (LCA).

Alteration in network centrality of psychopathology symptoms in public bus driver between the COVID-19 control policies unbundling.

Background: Bus drivers face complex work challenges and high infection risks, particularly heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly affects their mental health. This study used network analysis to conduct a longitudinal follow-up of the psychological symptom network of bus drivers, utilizing the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R).

Design: A repeated-measures self-controlled observational design was used to survey 1,600 intercity bus drivers in a city in southern Anhui, China, in September 2022 and January 2023, respectively, and participant data were analyzed using regularized partial correlation network analysis.

Individual and integrated indexes of inflammation predicting the risks of mental disorders - statistical analysis and artificial neural network.

Objective: The prevalence of mental illness in Taiwan increased. Identifying and mitigating risk factors for mental illness is essential. Inflammation may be a risk factor for mental illness; however, the predictive power of inflammation test values is unclear.

Mediation by elevated prolactin in the relationship between childhood trauma and first-episode drug-naïve schizophrenia.

Background: The elevated prolactin levels in first-episode drug-naïve (FEDN) schizophrenia patients may correlate with long-term stress caused by childhood trauma. This study aimed to assess the relationship between elevated prolactin levels and childhood trauma in FEDN schizophrenia patients, while also considering sex differences.

Methods: Utilizing a cross-sectional design, the study involved 88 FEDN schizophrenia patients and 76 healthy controls (HCs).

Effects of community-based rehabilitation on caregivers of people with schizophrenia in Ethiopia in the RISE trial.

Background: Schizophrenia is a severe mental health condition with high impact on those affected and their families. Community-based rehabilitation (CBR) is a recommended treatment component for schizophrenia in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), as it seeks to address complex social, health and economic needs. There is little evidence on the effects of CBR on caregivers of people with schizophrenia.

Economic Implications of Off-Road Cycle Lanes to Increase Physical Activity and Reduce Sex and Gender Differences in the Risk of Dementia.

Background: Dementia represents one of the greatest global health challenges. There are known risk factors that might prevent or delay nearly 50% of the different types of dementia. There are substantial differences in risk factors and progression of dementia between women and men, including engagement in regular physical activity.

Genetic liability for anxiety and treatment response to the monoamine stabilizer OSU6162 in alcohol dependence: a retrospective secondary analysis.

Background: OSU6162, a monoamine stabilizer, has demonstrated efficacy in reducing alcohol and anxiety-related behaviors in preclinical settings. In a previous randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving patients with alcohol dependence (AD), OSU6162 significantly reduced craving for alcohol but did not alter drinking behaviors. This retrospective secondary analysis explores whether genetic predispositions related to AD and associated traits might influence the response to OSU6162 treatment in original trial participants.

Whose sleep matters? Untangling the relationships between maternal sleep, child sleep, and maternal depressive symptoms in the first two years of life.

Infants frequently experience sleep problems in early childhood. Poor infant sleep can impact not only infants' cognitive development but also maternal sleep and maternal mental health. Studies have reported associations between infant sleep and maternal sleep and between infant sleep and maternal depression.

Impact of deep learning denoising on kinetic modelling for low-dose dynamic PET: application to single- and dual-tracer imaging protocols.

Purpose: Long-axial field-of-view PET scanners capture multi-organ tracer distribution with high sensitivity, enabling lower dose dynamic protocols and dual-tracer imaging for comprehensive disease characterization. However, reducing dose may compromise data quality and time-activity curve (TAC) fitting, leading to higher bias in kinetic parameters. Parametric imaging poses further challenges due to noise amplification in voxel-based modelling.

Real world evidence for altered communication patterns in individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may compensate for their social difficulties by resorting to more sequential forms of communication. Here, we study communication preferences in individuals with ASD and neurotypical controls by monitoring smartphone-based communication for verbal, written, and mixed app categories over a period of four months. We find ASD participants to prefer written over verbal communication, underscoring the importance of considering these preferences to facilitate social integration.

A Head-On Comparison of EQ-VT- and Crosswalk-Based EQ-5D-5L Value Sets.

Background: No systematic country-level comparison has been undertaken between crosswalk- and EQ-VT-derived EQ-5D-5L value sets. Crosswalk values can differ from EQ-VT-based EQ-5D-5L value sets owing to valuation protocols, changes in societal preferences over time, and a change in the label of the highest level on mobility in moving from EQ-5D-3L to EQ-5D-5L. This study aimed to compare the five-level (5L) crosswalk and EQ-VT value sets to explore differences between them at the country level.

Low responsiveness of machine learning models to critical or deteriorating health conditions.

Background: Machine learning (ML) based mortality prediction models can be immensely useful in intensive care units. Such a model should generate warnings to alert physicians when a patient's condition rapidly deteriorates, or their vitals are in highly abnormal ranges. Before clinical deployment, it is important to comprehensively assess a model's ability to recognize critical patient conditions.

Body, Self, and Time: Bud Craig's Global Emotional Moments Theory.

The topic of my chapter will be Bud Craig's theory of "global emotional moments" (henceforth the GEMs theory) and the relationship of GEMs to the experience of time. I connect three ideas prominent in Craig's writings: interoception, emotion, and time. Craig held that each GEM has as its neural substrate a large-scale network with the anterior insula cortex (AIC) serving as its central processing hub.

Transient destabilization of whole brain dynamics induced by N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT).

The transition towards the brain state induced by psychedelic drugs is frequently neglected in favor of a static description of their acute effects. We use a time-dependent whole-brain model to reproduce large-scale brain dynamics measured with fMRI from 15 volunteers under 20 mg intravenous N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a short-acting psychedelic. To capture its transient effects, we parametrize the proximity to a global bifurcation using a pharmacokinetic equation.

S-ketamine exposure in early postnatal period induces social deficit mediated by excessive microglial synaptic pruning.

The impact of general anesthetics on neurodevelopment is highly controversial in terms of clinical and preclinical studies. Evidence mounted in recent years indicated development of social cognitions was more susceptible to general anesthesia in early life. However, the behavioral characterization during adolescence and underlying mechanisms remains unclear.

Neuroimaging changes in major depression with brief computer-assisted cognitive behavioral therapy compared to waitlist.

The goals of the current study were to determine the efficacy in major depressive disorder (MDD) of a shortened, computer-augmented cognitive behavioral therapy (CCBT) protocol and to determine brain plasticity effects following CCBT. Seventy-two MDD participants were randomized to CCBT or waitlist control groups and compared to 40 healthy controls (HCs). Functional MRI data were collected for all participants and repeated for patients following CCBT (five therapist-administered manualized CBT sessions plus computer training exercises).

Higher prenatal dietary glycemic index in the third trimester of pregnancy is associated with infant negative affect at 6 months.

The dietary glycemic index (GI) reflects post-prandial plasma glucose generation rate, with higher-GI foods rapidly increasing blood sugar. Prenatal consumption of high-GI foods is associated with offspring risk for obesity and metabolic disorders. The impact of prenatal dietary GI exposure on infant neurodevelopment remains unclear.

Using trauma-informed approaches: research with climate disaster affected communities.

Climate disasters like floods and bushfires have increased in frequency and intensity in Australia. For many, these disasters are associated with trauma. In order to further our understanding of the impacts of these disasters on individuals and communities, we need to conduct research, but the research design and implementation need to be sensitive to that trauma and support the safety of both participants and researchers.

Alpha-frequency stimulation strengthens coupling between temporal fluctuations in alpha oscillation power and default mode network connectivity.

Alpha (8-12 Hz) oscillations and default mode network (DMN) activity dominate the brain's intrinsic activity in the temporal and spatial domains, respectively. They are thought to play crucial roles in the spatiotemporal organization of the complex brain system. Relatedly, both have been implicated, often concurrently, in diverse neuropsychiatric disorders, with accruing electroencephalogram/magnetoencephalogram (EEG/MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data linking these two neural activities both at rest and during key cognitive operations.