Lockdown through a Chinese lens: A qualitative study.

COVID-19-related lockdowns resulted in strict visiting restrictions in care homes, placing a vulnerable population at further risk of functional and cognitive decline, and psychological difficulties due to isolation. Experiences of vulnerable minority groups of older persons who reside in care homes are not well researched. In New Zealand, the Chinese community is a fast-growing ethnic group that faces challenges such as language barriers, differing cultural beliefs and COVID-19-related discrimination.

An explorative qualitative study of barriers to the use of health and mental health services among migrant female sex workers in Germany and needs for action.

Background: Migrant female sex workers (MFSWs) can be exposed to various health risks due to their occupation, including mental and physical health, substance use, and experience of violence. However, they face substantial barriers to accessing healthcare services. The inadequate access to medical care for migrant female sex workers poses a challenge to the German healthcare system.

Factors influencing childbirth fear among Asian women: a scoping review.

Fear of childbirth (FOC) or tokophobia adversely affects women during pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum. Childbirth fear may differ across regions and cultures. We aimed to identify factors influencing the fear of childbirth among the Asian population.

Coping strategies and correlations with depressive symptoms among female nurses working in Japanese general hospitals.

Introduction: Preventing depression among nurses is a critical issue from the perspective of occupational welfare, but associations between depressive symptoms in nurses and stress-coping strategies remain unclear.

Methods: In the present study, an epidemiological study was conducted based on a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Data obtained from 2,534 female nurses working at three general hospitals in Tokyo, Japan, were analyzed.

Neuromodulatory effect of transcranial direct current stimulation on cue reactivity and craving in young adults with internet gaming disorder: an event-related potential study.

Objective: This study assessed the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on cue reactivity and craving for game-related cues using event-related potentials (ERPs) in internet gaming disorder (IGD) patients.

Methods: At baseline, a series of game-related and neutral pictures were shown to both IGD and healthy controls (HCs) while ERPs were recorded. Late positive potentials (LPP) were used to investigate cue reactivity.

Prevalence, risk and resilience factors of mental health conditions among female sex workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Female sex workers are a vulnerable hard-to-reach group. Research in this field is scarce due to several issues, such as methodological difficulties or societal stigmatization. Most of the available literature focuses on sexually transmittable diseases.

Cognitive interventions for healthy older adults: A systematic meta-review.

Objectives: With increasing global life expectancy, cognitive interventions hold promise in mitigating cognitive decline and fostering healthy aging. Despite the demand for evidence-based interventions, there have been few attempts to summarize existing evidence. This study aims to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of unimodal and multimodal cognitive interventions for cognitively healthy older adults.

The impact of temporal distribution on fear extinction learning.

Fear extinction is the foundation of exposure therapy for anxiety and phobias. However, the stability of extinction memory diminishes over time, coinciding with fear recovery. To augment long-term extinction retention, the temporal distribution of extinction learning sessions is critical.

A short screen for lifetime sexual victimization experiences: Expanding research on the Sexual Abuse History Questionnaire (SAHQ) across cultures, genders, and sexual identities.

The Sexual Abuse History Questionnaire (SAHQ), a widely used screening tool for childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and adolescent/adult sexual assault (AASA) experiences, has limited examination of its psychometric properties in diverse populations. Our study assessed the SAHQ's psychometric properties (i.e.

Effects of Low-Intensity Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Neuropsychological Development of Pediatric Subjects With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Longitudinal Retrospective Approach.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous neurobiological condition characterized by behavioral problems and delayed neurodevelopment. Although transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been proposed as an alternative treatment for patients with ASD because of its promising benefits in reducing repetitive behaviors and enhancing executive functions, the use of high-intensity pulses (Hi-TMS) appears to be related to the side effects of the therapy. Low-intensity TMS (Li-TMS) has been partially investigated, but it may have clinical effects on ASD and simultaneously increase treatment safety.

Intrinsic Gene Expression Correlates of the Biophysically Modeled Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging Signal.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful tool to identify the structural and functional correlates of neurological illness but provides limited insight into molecular neurobiology. Using rat genetic models of autism spectrum disorder, we show that image texture-processed neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) diffusion MRI possesses an intrinsic relationship with gene expression that corresponds to the biophysically modeled cellular compartments of the NODDI diffusion signal. Specifically, we demonstrate that neurite density index and orientation dispersion index signals are correlated with intracellular and extracellular gene expression, respectively.

Emotion recognition deficits in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a comprehensive meta-analysis of accuracy and response time.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent challenges in social communication and restricted, repetitive behaviors. Emotion recognition deficits are a core feature of ASD, impairing social functioning and quality of life. This meta-analysis evaluates emotion recognition accuracy and response time in individuals with autism spectrum disorder compared to neurotypical individuals and those with other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Antipsychotic medication non-adherence and its determinants among out-patients with schizophrenia.

Introduction: While antipsychotics are key requirement in acute and long-term management of schizophrenia, medication adherence remains a major unmet need in its care. This paper assessed the prevalence of oral antipsychotic non-adherence among outpatients with schizophrenia and its associated clinico-demographic factors.

Method: Three hundred and ten adult outpatients (18-64 years of age) were cross-sectionally interviewed after being diagnosed of schizophrenia using ICD-10 criteria, and the diagnosis confirmed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI).

Maternal seafood intake, dietary contaminant exposure, and risk of juvenile idiopathic arthritis: exploring gene-environment interactions.

Objectives: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) originates from a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors. We investigated the association between seafood intake and dietary contaminant exposure during pregnancy and JIA risk, to identify sex differences and gene-environment interactions.

Methods: We used the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), a population-based prospective pregnancy cohort (1999-2008).

A Study on Quantification of the Effects of Heartfulness Meditation Intervention in Healthcare Professionals by Anchor-Based Method in Occupational Health Psychology.

Background: It's more important to measure the subjective perception of change after undergoing any behavioral or psychological intervention. Global rating of change method-anchor item-based is a method by which the change can be quantified and "minimum subjective perceived effect" (MSPE) can be calculated.

Aim: The current study was planned to quantify the effects of heartfulness meditation intervention in healthcare professionals by anchor-based method and compare the result with the pre-post-difference.

"I think we're on a cusp of some change:" coping and support for mental wellness among Black American women.

Introduction: Public discussions in the media (e.g., social media and reality shows) about Black women's mental health have become more common.

Development of a novel instrument to measure Japanese psychiatric nurses' technological competency as caring in nursing.

Background: To effectively advance person-centered care (PCC) practice, it is important to equip healthcare providers with person-centered values and beliefs while simultaneously transforming their work environment to align with PCC. Thus, instruments to measure caring practice status in nursing competency for psychiatric-specific behavioral limitations, ethico-moral behavior, technology use, and PCC need to be developed.

Objective: This study developed the Technological Competency as Caring in Psychiatric Nursing Instrument (TCCNPNI) to measure practice status and test its content and construct validity.

Performance modulations phase-locked to action depend on internal state.

Previous studies have shown that perceptual performance can be modulated at specific frequencies phase-locked to self-paced motor actions, but findings have been inconsistent. To investigate this effect at the population level, we tested 50 participants who performed a self-paced button press followed by a threshold-level detection task, using both fixed- and random-effects analyses. Contrary to expectations, the aggregated data showed no significant action-related modulation.

Theta transcranial alternating current stimulation over the prefrontal cortex enhances theta power and working memory performance.

Introduction: Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a promising tool for modulating brain oscillations. This study investigated whether 5 Hz tACS could modulate neural oscillations in the prefrontal cortex and how this modulation impacts performance in working memory (WM) tasks.

Method: In two sessions, 28 healthy participants received 5 Hz tACS or sham stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) while performing tasks with high and low WM loads.

Implementation of RedCap data systems in Kenyan psychiatric rehabilitation: a community case study.

Data collection systems are vital in implementation of interventions within patient care as they allow us to better understand and improve the care given. This is equally true in the field of psychiatric rehabilitation, which has been steadily growing in the medical world for the past 20 years. It has recently been a focus of psychiatric medicine in Kenya with the Kenya Mental Health Action Plan 2021-2025 calling for improvement of care in the field.

The aftermath of multiple trauma on a nation: unraveling Lebanon's unique mental health struggle.

Objective: This study examines the national prevalence of mental health disorders and their associated factors in Lebanon, specifically in the aftermath of the 2020 events, including the catastrophic events of Beirut blast and the concurrent financial meltdown amid the global pandemic.

Methods: Conducted between July and September 2022, the study interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,000 Lebanese via telephone, using the Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) system. Gender-specific bivariate and multivariate models were generated for probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety.

The impact of the interaction between BDNF rs7103411 gene polymorphism and social activities on mild cognitive impairment in community-dwelling elderly adults.

Objective: To investigate the correlation between BDNF gene polymorphism, BDNF levels, and susceptibility to mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Methods: In this study, we investigated 107 elderly adults individuals from a community in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, with an average age of 73.17 ± 7.

Neurotransmitters crosstalk and regulation in the reward circuit of subjects with behavioral addiction.

Behavioral addictive disorders (BADs) have become a significant societal challenge over time. The central feature of BADs is the loss of control over engaging in and continuing behaviors, even when facing negative consequences. The neurobiological underpinnings of BADs primarily involve impairments in the reward circuitry, encompassing the ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens in the ventral striatum, and prefrontal cortex.

Clinicopathological Features of Mixed Connective Tissue Disease-Related Myositis: A Case Series.

Introduction: Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) patients often have myositis, however, myopathological and clinical data for MCTD are limited. Recent reports have shown that the pathology of MCTD myositis resembles that of immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM), whereas earlier reports described perifascicular atrophy or inflammatory infiltrates predominantly in the perivascular region in MCTD myositis. We aim to describe the clinical and myopathological features of MCTD myositis.