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Some new boron complexes have been synthesized by the reaction of triisopropohxyborane with the mixed azines, prepared by the condensation of salicylaldehyde and hydrazine with aldehydes/ketones in a 1:1:1 mole ratio to give a new series of (OPri)2B(NO) type of complexes. Their structures were confirmed on the basis of elemental analyses, ultraviolet, infrared, 1H-NMR and 11B-NMR spectral studies. The ligands and their boron complexes were also screened for their antifungal activity. Several of these complexes were found to be quite active in this respect. .

Background: Childhood maltreatment (CM) has long-term consequences for the regulation of stress biology which are particularly pronounced when mental and physical health sequelae have manifested. C-reactive protein (CRP) has been shown to be elevated in the non-pregnant state in association with CM as well as in the setting of CM-associated mental and physical health sequelae. In pregnancy, however, the association between CM and CRP is less clear. We sought to examine this association and consider the moderating role of four common health sequelae of CM (maternal depressive symptoms, overweight/obesity, smoking, and hypertensive disorders during pregnancy)., Methods: A prospective, longitudinal study of 744 healthy pregnant participants was conducted, with analyses focusing on a sample of 643 participants. CM was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and categorized by whether no vs. one or more moderate to severe CM experiences were reported. Blood serum concentrations of CRP, maternal depression severity (continuous scores of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, CES-D) and smoking during pregnancy were assessed in early (16.52 ± 2.50 weeks gestation) and late (33.65 ± 1.18 weeks gestation) pregnancy. Pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) was obtained at the first study visit and hypertensive disorders diagnosed during pregnancy were obtained from the medical record. Linear mixed effects models were employed to assess main effects of CM as well as interactive effects of CM and four common CM-associated sequelae as well as a sum score of these sequelae on repeatedly measured CRP concentration. In secondary analyses, we conducted latent class analyses to classify participants based on their specific experiences of childhood abuse and/or neglect and to assess the association of these CM subgroups with CM sequelae and CRP. All analyses were adjusted for potential confounders (maternal race and ethnicity and education/income)., Results: CRP concentration decreased from early to late pregnancy (B = -0.06, SE = 0.01, p < 0.001). While there was no main effect of CM on CRP (p = 0.49), the interaction of CM and depressive symptoms was associated with CRP concentration (B = 0.08, SE = 0.04, p < 0.05), indicating higher CRP across pregnancy with increasing levels of depressive symptoms during pregnancy in participants with CM experience. This interaction was mainly driven by participants with co-occurring physical and emotional maltreatment. For none of the other CM-associated sequelae a statistically significant interaction with CM on CRP concentration was observed., Conclusions: These results add to the growing empirical evidence suggesting higher inflammation during pregnancy in participants exposed to CM who experience depressive symptoms and highlight the detrimental effects of multiple co-occurring experiences of maltreatment. Given the negative consequences of chronic inflammatory state for the mother and the developing fetus, monitoring and treating psychiatric sequelae during pregnancy among participants exposed to CM is potentially an important opportunity to dampen long-term detrimental effects of CM, serving at least two generations., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background : App-based contemplative interventions, such as mindfulness-based interventions, have gained popularity for the promotion of mental health; however, the understanding of underlying intervention-specific mechanisms remains limited, especially related to novel inter-relational dyadic practices. Methods : We tested (n = 253) seven putative mechanisms underlying two brief (daily 12-min) online mental interventions: attention-focused mindfulness and socio-emotional partner-based, both supported by weekly online coaching. Weekly self-reports of rumination, worry, psychological flexibility, affective control, social support, acceptance, and mindfulness were obtained over 10 weeks of intervention, and depression, anxiety, and resilience were assessed as pre- and post-intervention outcomes. Results : Significant week-to-week reductions in rumination and increases in psychological flexibility were observed in both interventions. Only attention-based practice led to temporal reductions in worry, and only socio-emotional dyadic practice led to temporal increases in affective control. Mediation analyses with slopes of weekly variables as mediators detected no significant indirect effects. However, exploratory moderation analyses revealed that intervention-related reductions in depressive symptomatology and anxiety vulnerability and increases in resilience were predicted by weekly increases in acceptance and affective control in the socio-emotional dyadic group, and by weekly reductions in rumination and worry in the mindfulness group. Limitations of the study include reliance on brief self-report measures, relatively small sample size, and absence of long-term follow-up assessments indicating the need for future well-powered longitudinal studies comparing intervention modalities. Conclusions : We present preliminary evidence for practice-specific active ingredients of contemplative interventions, which can be leveraged to enhance their efficiency for mental health., Competing Interests: TS was honorary co-founder and scientific and curriculum advisor for Humanize from 2021 to summer 2023. Humanize is a start-up that is inspired by TS&rsquo;s mental intervention research as well as her ReConnect Masterclasses and courses focusing on dyadic interventions, including the Affect Dyad, and is releasing modified and extended versions of these dyad intervention programs on a commercial digital platform and app. These additional offices of TS have all been formally approved by the Max Planck Society. At the present moment, TS no longer has any active role nor any shares in Humanize.

This study aims to develop predictive models for rice yield by applying multivariate techniques. It utilizes stepwise multiple regression, discriminant function analysis and logistic regression techniques to forecast crop yield in specific districts of Haryana. The time series data on rice crop have been divided into two and three classes based on crop yield. The yearly time series data of rice yield from 1980-81 to 2020-21 have been taken from various issues of Statistical Abstracts of Haryana. The study also utilized fortnightly meteorological data sourced from the Agrometeorology Department of CCS HAU, India. For comparing various predictive models' performance, evaluation of measures like Root Mean Square Error, Predicted Error Sum of Squares, Mean Absolute Deviation and Mean Absolute Percentage Error have been used. Results of the study indicated that discriminant function analysis emerged as the most effective to predict the rice yield accurately as compared to logistic regression. Importantly, the research highlighted that the optimum time for forecasting the rice yield is 1 month prior to the crops harvesting, offering valuable insight for agricultural planning and decision-making. This approach demonstrates the fusion of weather data and advanced statistical techniques, showcasing the potential for more precise and informed agricultural practices., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Effects of online contemplative practices, especially partner-based practices, on psychological well-being remain mixed, with sparse understanding of potential affective-cognitive mechanisms. The study aimed to assess the efficacy of two online contemplative interventions in improving depression, anxiety, emotion regulation (ER), and resilience, and to evaluate the mechanistic role of negative attention and interpretation biases., Methods: Employing a randomized controlled design (n = 285), we compared the efficacy of 10-week online mindfulness-based and partner-based socio-emotional dyadic interventions, both supported by weekly coaching sessions. Mental health aspects were assessed using validated self-report measures and negative biases using the mouse-contingent Scrambled Sentences Task., Results: Both interventions, compared to waitlist control, led to reductions in depression and ER difficulties, while trait anxiety decreased only after mindfulness training. Increases in multidimensional resilience were observed only after socio-emotional training and in stress recovery only after mindfulness-based training, both compared to waitlist control. Socio-emotional training led to significant reductions in negative interpretation bias and this mediated reductions in depression and trait anxiety. Neither training led to reductions in state anxiety or negative attention bias., Limitations: The subclinical nature and overrepresentation of females in the sample limits generalizability., Conclusions: Findings indicate that online mindfulness-based and socio-emotional partner-based interventions, supported by online coaching sessions, can reduce depression and ER difficulties. Though mindfulness practice reduced trait anxiety and enhanced stress recovery, socio-emotional training increased multidimensional resilience. Socio-emotional training reduced negative interpretation bias, which emerged as an intervention-specific mechanism. These findings highlight the potential benefits of online contemplative intervention approaches for psychological well-being., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest TS was a scientific and curriculum advisor in Humanize from 2021 to 2023. Humanize is a start-up that is inspired by TS's mental intervention research as well as her ReConnect Masterclasses focusing on dyadic interventions, including the Affect Dyad, and will be releasing modified and extended versions of these dyad intervention programs on a newly developed commercial digital platform and app. These additional offices of TS have all been formally approved by the Max Planck Society. All other authors declare no other conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Low-dose app-based contemplative interventions for mental health are increasingly popular, but heterogeneity in intervention responses indicates that a personalized approach is needed. We examined whether different longitudinal resilience-vulnerability trajectories, derived over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, predicted differences in diverse mental health outcomes after mindfulness and socio-emotional dyadic online interventions. The CovSocial project comprised a longitudinal assessment (phase 1) and an open-label efficacy trial (phase 2). A community sample of 253 participants received 12 min daily app-based socio-emotional dyadic or mindfulness-based interventions, with weekly online coaching for 10 weeks. Before and after the intervention, participants completed validated self-report questionnaires assessing mental health. Stress reactivity profiles were derived from seven repeated assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic (January 2020 to March/April 2021) and were categorized into resilient (more plasticity) or vulnerable (less plasticity) stress recovery profiles. After both interventions, only individuals with resilient stress reactivity profiles showed significant improvements in depression symptomatology, trait anxiety, emotion regulation, and stress recovery. Those with vulnerable profiles did not show significant improvements in any outcome. Limitations of this study include the relatively small sample size and potential biases associated with participant dropout. Brief app-based mental interventions may be more beneficial for those with greater levels of stress resiliency and plasticity in response to stressors. More vulnerable individuals might require more intense and personalized intervention formats.

Loneliness has become a pressing topic, especially among young adults and during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a randomized controlled trial with 253 healthy adults, we evaluated the differential efficacy of two 10-week app-delivered mental training programs: one based on classic mindfulness and one on an innovative partner-based socio-emotional practice (Affect Dyad). We show that the partner-based training resulted in greater reductions in loneliness than the mindfulness-based training. This effect was shown on three measures of loneliness: general loneliness assessed with the 20-item UCLA Loneliness Scale, state loneliness queried over an 8-day ecological momentary assessment in participants' daily lives, and loneliness ratings required before and after daily practice. Our study provides evidence for the higher efficacy of a mental training approach based on a 12 min practice conducted with a partner in reducing loneliness and provides a novel, scalable online approach to reduce the increasing problem of loneliness in society.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was accompanied by an increase in mental health challenges including depression, stress, loneliness, and anxiety. Common genetic variants can contribute to the risk for psychiatric disorders and may present a risk factor in times of crises. However, it is unclear to what extent polygenic risk played a role in the mental health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we investigate whether polygenic scores (PGSs) for mental health-related traits can distinguish between four resilience-vulnerability trajectories identified during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns in 2020/21. We used multinomial regression in a genotyped subsample (n = 1316) of the CovSocial project. The most resilient trajectory characterized by the lowest mental health burden and the highest recovery rates served as the reference group. Compared to this most resilient trajectory, a higher value on the PGS for the well-being spectrum decreased the odds for individuals to be in one of the more vulnerable trajectories (adjusted R-square = 0.3%). Conversely, a higher value on the PGS for neuroticism increased the odds for individuals to be in one of the more vulnerable trajectories (adjusted R-square = 0.2%). Latent change in mental health burden extracted from the resilience-vulnerability trajectories was not associated with any PGS. Although our findings support an influence of PGS on mental health during COVID-19, the small added explained variance suggests limited utility of such genetic markers for the identification of vulnerable individuals in the general population., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Emotion processing deficits of alexithymia are a transdiagnostic risk factor. While such deficits are malleable, the differential efficacy of brief scalable digital mental trainings remains understudied., Methods: This randomized controlled trial probed the efficacy of mindfulness-based (MB) and partner-based socio-emotional Affect Dyad (SE) practice, both supported by weekly coaching sessions, in reducing alexithymia in 285 adult participants. We investigated the predictive role of interoceptive awareness assessed a) before and after daily practice, b) in ecological momentary assessment (EMA) before and after the intervention, and c) weekly during the 10-week intervention., Results: Both interventions reduced emotion processing difficulties on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Similarly, both interventions improved interoceptive awareness immediately after daily practice and after the intervention period, yet SE outperformed MB training in EMA assessments. Further, only Dyad practice led to increases in body listening and self-regulatory aspects of the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) over time, with the latter explaining a decrease in alexithymia., Limitations: Given the subclinical study sample, findings are limited in their generalizability to clinical samples., Conclusions: Findings suggest that app-based socio-emotional and mindfulness-based practices, supported by online coaching sessions, are effective in reducing emotion processing deficits. Dyad training showed advantages on some measures of body awareness, which predicted observed changes in alexithymia. This highlights the potential of using app-based dyadic approaches in the development of emotion awareness and regulation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest TS was a scientific and curriculum advisor in Humanize from 2021 to 2023. Humanize is a start-up that is inspired by TS's mental intervention research as well as her ReConnect Masterclasses focusing on dyadic interventions, including the Affect Dyad, and will be releasing modified and extended versions of these dyad intervention programs on a newly developed commercial digital platform and app. These additional offices of TS have all been formally approved by the Max Planck Society. All other authors declare no other conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Contemplative practice has demonstrated benefits for mental health and well-being. Most previous studies, however, implemented in-person trainings containing a mix of different, mostly solitary, practices and focused on pre- to post-training outcomes. In this randomized trial, we explore the immediate differential efficacy of two daily app-delivered practices in shifting emotional (valence, arousal) and thinking patterns (thought content on future-past, self-other, positive-negative dimensions). For 10 weeks of daily training, 212 participants (18-65 years) performed either a novel 12-min partner-based socio-emotional practice (Affect Dyad) or a 12-min attention-focused solitary mindfulness-based practice. Using ordinal Bayesian multilevel modeling, we found that both practice types led to more positive affect and higher arousal. However, whereas mindfulness-based practice partly led to a decrease in active thoughts, particularly in future-, other-related and negative thoughts, the Dyad in contrast led to increases in other-related, and positive thoughts. This shift towards more social and positive thoughts may specifically support overcoming ruminative thinking patterns associated with self-related and negative thought content. Overall, these differential findings may help inform the adaptation of scalable app-based mental trainings in different segments of the population with the goal to improve mental health and well-being., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Successful adaptation to the environment requires attentional prioritization of emotional information relevant to the current situational demands. Accordingly, the presence of an attention bias (AB) for both positive and negative information may allow preferential processing of stimuli in line with the current situational goals. However, AB for negative information sometimes becomes maladaptive, being antithetical to the current adaptive needs and goals of an individual, such as in the case of affective disorders such as depression. Although difficulties in flexible shifting between emotional stimuli in depression have increasingly become a topic of discussion in the field, an integrative approach towards biased versus flexible emotional attentional processes remains absent. In the present paper, we advance a novel and integrative view of conceptualizing potentially aberrant affective attention patterns in depression as a function of the current contextual features. We propose that flexible emotional attention takes place as a result of attention prioritization towards goal-relevant emotional stimuli depending upon the current context of the individual. Specifically, the roles of context, distal and proximal goals, and approach and avoidance motivation processes are considered in a unified manner. The empirical, clinical, and interventional implications of this integrative framework provide a roadmap for future psychological and neurobiological experimental and translational research., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Contemplative trainings have been found to effectively improve social skills such as empathy and compassion. However, there is a lack of research on the efficacy of app-delivered mindfulness-based and dyadic practices in boosting socioaffective capacity., Objective: The first aim of this study was to compare a novel app-delivered, partner-based socioemotional intervention (Affect Dyad) with mindfulness-based training to foster empathy and compassion for the self or others. The second aim of this study was to investigate the underlying mechanisms of these effects., Methods: This randomized controlled trial included socioemotional and mindfulness-based interventions and a waitlist control group, which received socioemotional training after the postintervention assessment. We used linear mixed-effects models to test intervention effects on self-report measures and an ecologically valid computer task of empathy, compassion for the self and others, and theory of mind. Moderated mediation models were used to investigate whether changes in acceptance, empathic distress, empathic listening, interoceptive awareness, and mindfulness served as underlying psychological processes of intervention effects., Results: In 218 participants (mean age 44.12, SD 11.71 years; 160/218, 73.4% female), we found all interventions to have positive effects on composite scores for compassion toward the self (β socioemotional =.44, P<.001; β waitlist socioemotional =.30, P=.002; β mindfulness-based =.35, P<.001) and others (β socioemotional =.24, P=.003; β waitlist socioemotional =.35, P<.001; β mindfulness-based =.29, P<.001). Compassion measured with the computer task did not change significantly but showed a trend toward increase only in socioemotional dyadic practice (β socioemotional =.08, P=.08; β waitlist socioemotional =.11, P=.06). Similarly, on the empathic concern subscale of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, a nonsignificant trend toward increase was found in the socioemotional intervention group (β socioemotional =.17; P=.08). Empathy significantly increased in both socioemotional groups (β socioemotional =.16, P=.03; β waitlist socioemotional =.35, P<.001) and the mindfulness-based group (β mindfulness-based =.15; P=.04). The measures of theory of mind did not change over time. In the mindfulness-based group, the increase in self-compassion was mediated by a decrease in empathic distress (indirect effect ab mindfulness-based =0.07, 95% CI 0.02-0.14). In the socioemotional group, an increase in self-compassion could be predicted by an increase in acceptance (β socioemotional =6.63, 95% CI 0.52-12.38)., Conclusions: Using a multimethod approach, this study shows that app-delivered socioemotional and mindfulness-based trainings are effective in fostering compassion for the self and others in self-report. Both low-dose trainings could boost behavioral empathy markers; however, the effects on behavioral and dispositional markers of compassion only trended after dyadic practice, yet these effects did not reach statistical significance. Training-related increases in self-compassion rely on differential psychological processes, that is, on improved empathic distress regulation through mindfulness-based training and the activation of a human care- and acceptance-based system through socioemotional dyadic training., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04889508; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04889508., (©Sarita Silveira, Malvika Godara, Tania Singer. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 26.07.2023.)

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a significant mental health burden on the global population. Studies during the pandemic have shown that risk factors such as intolerance of uncertainty and maladaptive emotion regulation are associated with increased psychopathology. Meanwhile, protective factors such as cognitive control and cognitive flexibility have been shown to protect mental health during the pandemic. However, the potential pathways through which these risk and protective factors function to impact mental health during the pandemic remain unclear. In the present multi-wave study, 304 individuals (18 years or older, 191 Males), residing in the USA during data collection, completed weekly online assessments of validated questionnaires across a period of five weeks (27th March 2020-1st May 2020). Mediation analyses revealed that longitudinal changes in emotion regulation difficulties mediated the effect of increases in intolerance of uncertainty on increases in stress, depression, and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, individual differences in cognitive control and flexibility moderated the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and emotion regulation difficulties. While intolerance of uncertainty and emotion regulation difficulties emerged as risk factors for mental health, cognitive control and flexibility seems to protect against the negative effects of the pandemic and promote stress resilience. Interventions aimed at enhancing cognitive control and flexibility might promote the protection of mental health in similar global crises in the future., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Abundant studies have examined mental health in the early periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, empirical work examining the mental health impact of the pandemic's subsequent phases remains limited. In the present study, we investigated how mental vulnerability and resilience evolved over the various phases of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 in Germany. Data were collected (n = 3522) across seven measurement occasions using validated and self-generated measures of vulnerability and resilience. We found evidence for an immediate increase in vulnerability during the first lockdown in Germany, a trend towards recovery when lockdown measures were eased, and an increase in vulnerability with each passing month of the second lockdown. Four different latent trajectories of resilience-vulnerability emerged, with the majority of participants displaying a rather resilient trajectory, but nearly 30% of the sample fell into the more vulnerable groups. Females, younger individuals, those with a history of psychiatric disorders, lower income groups, and those with high trait vulnerability and low trait social belonging were more likely to exhibit trajectories associated with poorer mental well-being. Our findings indicate that resilience-vulnerability responses in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic may have been more complex than previously thought, identifying risk groups that could benefit from greater support.

Herein, a highly regioselective domino skeletal-expansion process that transforms 2-aminothiazolidinone into six-membered S,N-heterocycle is developed with the aid of TMS-azide in hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) at ambient temperature. Functioning of the C2 tertiary amine as latent reactive group on thiazolidinone moiety was the key to this development, which allowed relay substitution with azide and imparted subsequent ring-expansion under metal/acid free-conditions. The reaction also underscored an intermolecular nitrogen-atom transfer process from TMS-azide leading to final products, where any intermediary azidothiazolidinone was absent. The strategy was extendable to analogous synthesis of Se,N-heterocycles, and furthermore, late-stage drug-modification and follow-up transformations were also performed. Density functional theory calculations and control experiments provided important mechanistic insights and highlighted potential roles of HFIP in the transformation.

Reversible protein-protein interaction in cells is an integral and central aspect of intracellular signaling mechanisms. This allows distinct signaling cascades to become active upon stimulation with external signal resulting in cellular and physiological responses. Several distinct methods are currently available and utilized routinely to monitor protein-protein interactions including co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP). An inherent limitation associated with co-IP assay however is the inability to efficiently capture transient and short-lived interactions in cells. Chemical cross-linking of such transient interactions in cellular context using cell permeable reagents followed by co-IP overcomes this limitation, and allows a simplified approach without requiring any sophisticated instrumentation. In this chapter, we present a step-by-step protocol for monitoring protein-protein interaction by combining chemical cross-linking and co-immunoprecipitation using GPCR-β-arrestin complex as a case example. This protocol is based on previously validated method that can potentially be adapted to capture and visualize transient protein-protein interactions in general., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

During the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, empirical efforts in the psychological sciences have been unequivocally focused on understanding the psychosocial impact on resilience and vulnerability. While current empirical work is guided by different existing theoretical models of resilience and vulnerability, the emerging datasets have also pointed to a necessity for an update of these models. Due to the unique features and developments specific to the current pandemic such as the occurrence of repeated collective stressors of varying durations, in the current position paper, we introduce the Wither or Thrive model of Resilience (With:Resilience). It integrates key aspects of prevailing psychological resilience frameworks within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and extends them by (1) moving away from single scale approaches towards a higher-order latent expression of resilience and vulnerability incorporating also non-clinical mental health markers, (2) proposing different trajectories of resilience-vulnerability emerging across repeated stressors over long periods of time, and (3) by incorporating multiple influencing factors including aspects of the socio-economic concept of social cohesion as well as separate mediating processing mechanisms. We propose that With:Resilience will enable a more nuanced approach and appropriate analytical investigation of the vast incoming data on mental health and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we suggest some concrete methodological approaches. This framework will assist in the development of actionable public health guidelines for society in the present and future pandemic contexts as well as aid policy making and the interventional sciences aimed at protecting the most vulnerable amongst us., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s) 2022.)

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has led to a mental health crisis on a global scale. Epidemiological studies have reported a drastic increase in mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, increased loneliness and feelings of disconnectedness from others, while resilience levels have been negatively affected, indicating an urgent need for intervention. The current study is embedded within the larger CovSocial project which sought to evaluate longitudinal changes in vulnerability, resilience and social cohesion during the pandemic. The current second phase will investigate the efficacy of brief online mental training interventions in reducing mental health problems, and enhancing psychological resilience and social capacities. It further provides a unique opportunity for the prediction of intervention effects by individual biopsychosocial characteristics and preceding longitudinal change patterns during the pandemic in 2020/21., Methods: We will examine the differential effects of a socio-emotional (including 'Affect Dyad') and a mindfulness-based (including 'Breathing Meditation') intervention, delivered through a web- and cellphone application. Participants will undergo 10 weeks of intervention, and will be compared to a retest control group. The effectiveness of the interventions will be evaluated in a community sample (N = 300), which is recruited from the original longitudinal CovSocial sample. The pre- to post-intervention changes, potential underlying mechanisms, and prediction thereof, will be assessed on a wide range of outcomes: levels of stress, loneliness, depression and anxiety, resilience, prosocial behavior, empathy, compassion, and the impact on neuroendocrine, immunological and epigenetic markers. The multi-method nature of the study will incorporate self-report questionnaires, behavioral tasks, ecological momentary assessment (EMA) approaches, and biological, hormonal and epigenetic markers assessed in saliva., Discussion: Results will reveal the differential effectiveness of two brief online interventions in improving mental health outcomes, as well as enhancing social capacities and resilience. The present study will serve as a first step for future application of scalable, low-cost interventions at a broader level to reduce stress and loneliness, improve mental health and build resilience and social capacities in the face of global stressors., Trial Registration: This trial has been registered on May 17, 2020 with the ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04889508 registration number (clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04889508)., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background & Objectives: Deficits in the ability to process contextual changes have been proposed to be crucial for emotion dysregulation. A recent study found evidence for the role of contextual changes in exacerbating attention switching towards valence-specific goals using a novel attention flexibility paradigm. Despite the task indicating good reliability, the role of rule-based learning has not been clarified in this paradigm. Therefore, we examined whether the novel attention flexibility task is an index of context-based attention switching or does it reflect impact of rule-based learning on attention., Method: We employed a neutral version of the attention flexibility task. A sample of dysphoric and non-dysphoric participants were introduced to neutral contexts which required them to shift between neutral categories of pictures depending upon the cueing shape., Results: There was an existence of a switch cost for shifting between different rules owing to the features of the rules. Further, non-dysphorics were faster at set-shifting between different rules as compared to dysphoric individuals. However, unlike in the affective version of the attention flexibility task, we found no significant differences between dysphoric and non-dysphoric individuals in attention switching patterns owing to switching between different rules., Limitations: Although the current study aimed to replicate the design of the previous study, a depressed patient sample must be employed to further clarify the different aspects of the attention flexibility paradigm., Conclusion: Our findings were able to clarify the non-existent role of rule-based learning in the attention flexibility paradigm., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background and Objectives: Instrumentality plays a key role in guiding attention, such that stimuli associated with achieving current goals of an individual prioritize attention. However, in depression, attention is prioritized to negative stimuli even when they are not relevant to current goals. In the current study, we tested whether attention is prioritized to stimuli that are associated with avoidance of imminent negative consequences over negative affective stimuli., Methods: Using an eye-tracking based attention engagement-disengagement task, we presented pairs of negative faces, and neutral faces associated with avoidance of punishment (white noise and lost money) to a group of dysphoric and non-dysphoric individuals., Results: First, we replicated previous evidence on difficulties to disengage attention from negative stimuli, when prompted to direct eye-gaze towards simple neutral stimuli, in dysphoric compared to non-dysphoric individuals. Further, we found that both dysphoric and non-dysphoric individuals were faster to disengage their attention from negative pictures when prompted to direct eye-gaze towards punishment avoidance-related neutral stimuli, versus towards simple neutral stimuli., Limitations: Although we seek to clarify the attention processes underlying depression, the current study employed a sub-clinical sample in order to serve as proof-of-concept study., Conclusions: Our results indicate that stimuli instrumental to the goal of avoiding negative consequences receive preference in the attention system over simple negative affective stimuli. Our findings suggest that manipulating the instrumentality of avoidance motivation can effectively modulate the attention bias for negative information in dysphoria, and also possibly in depression, akin to the modulation patterns in non-dysphoric individuals., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The ability to flexibly shift between changing goals is crucial to develop an adaptive response to life stressors. Accordingly, lower affective attention flexibility, i.e. the ability to shift attention flexibly between goals, is associated with low reappraisal ability, high levels of rumination, and lower levels of resilience. However, attempts to manipulate affective attention flexibility with current attention training procedures have seen limited success. In the current study, we tested a novel attention flexibility training paradigm using eye-tracking, wherein dysphoric participants had to switch between different context-dependent goals. Attention towards goal-relevant emotional stimuli was reinforced using music and harsh sound. We found that participants in the training condition became significantly faster in switching attention from negative to positive goal-related stimuli pre-to post-training on an attention flexibility task, compared to the control condition. On a transfer task where participants had to give a presentation to an audience, we found that participants in the training condition displayed a more flexible pattern of attending to emotional faces during their presentation, depending upon which goal was activated. Comparatively, participants in the control condition remained rigidly attentive towards negative faces despite the goal activated. Our findings provide preliminary evidence for the role of context-based attention flexibility in dysphoria, and support scope for future clinical applications., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Research has shown that temporary task goals capture more attention than negative, threatening cues, even in anxious individuals. In the current study, we investigated whether temporary task goals would also capture more attention than alcohol-related cues. In Experiment 1, 59 hazardous drinkers performed both a modified dot-probe and a flanker task in which temporary goal- and alcohol-relevant stimuli were presented together. Results of the dot-probe task confirmed an attentional bias towards goal-relevant stimuli in the presence of alcohol cues. This effect was absent in a modified flanker task, although there was a general slowing when the targets appeared on top of goal-relevant stimuli, suggesting that goal-related backgrounds captured more attention than alcohol backgrounds. In Experiment 2, we replicated the dot-probe procedure in 29 hazardous drinkers who had been exposed to a prime dose of alcohol prior to performing the task. Our findings indicate that temporary goal stimuli are more salient than alcohol cues, which might lead the way to novel clinical applications.

Attentional bias for negative information, i.e. difficulties in disengagement from negative stimuli, is considered to be one of the core mechanisms involved in the onset and maintenance of depression. However, current attention training procedures aimed at reducing this bias have shown limited success. In addition to the reliability and validity concerns generated by the use of dot-probe paradigm in these procedures, an important factor is the limited consideration of motivational influences in the use of attention training. Therefore, in the current study we examined whether goal stimuli, reinforced with music reward, can modulate attention for negative information in dysphoric individuals. Using a novel attention task which measures gaze disengagement from negative faces, we found that dysphoric individuals displayed greater difficulties in disengaging eye-gaze from negative and directing it towards standard neutral stimuli, as compared to non-dysphorics. However, when using reward-reinforced goal stimuli, dysphoric individuals were as quick as non-dysphorics in disengaging attention from negative stimuli in order to engage with goal-related stimuli. These results provide preliminary evidence for the modulating role of music-reinforced goals in the attention system of depressed individuals, and highlight how music-reinforced goals can be incorporated in current attention training procedures to improve outcomes., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) has wide applications in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) due to its large piezoelectric coefficients. However, there exist serious issues during PZT wet etching even with multiple etching steps, such as residues on etching fronts and large undercut. In this paper, a one-step residue-free wet etching process of ceramic PZT is developed with fluoroboric acid. In this work, the design of experiments (DOE) method is employed to minimize undercut and residues without sacrificing etching rate. The acid concentration, temperature, and agitation are the process parameters considered in the DOE. Through DOE analysis of the experimental data, an optimal recipe is identified as the volume ratio of HBF 4 :H 2 O=1:10 at 23 °C. This new PZT etching recipe leads to a high etching rate (1.54 μm/min) with no observable residues and a small undercut (0.78:1) as well as a high selectivity over the photoresist (900:1). This etching recipe can be used for making various piezoelectric transducers.

Aim: Despite several attempts made during the last decade, the exact pathogenesis of exceedingly high thrombotic events and bad obstetric outcome in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) remains elusive. Anti-annexin A5 (aANX IgG) is thought to have a role in pathophysiology of APS. We studied role of aANX IgG in the pathogenesis of hypercoagulable state in APS patients., Methods: We estimated levels of aANX IgG in 112 patients with APS (86 primary and 26 secondary). We also estimated aANX IgG levels in 40 age- and sex-matched healthy controls, 10 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) each, without any history of thrombosis or pregnancy morbidity, 10 patients of non-APS thrombosis and 10 patients of pregnancy loss without APS., Results: Only three healthy controls, two SLE (P = 0.239), one RA patient (P = 0.794), three non-APS thrombosis patients (P = 0.086) and two patients with pregnancy loss without APS (P = 0.258) had marginally elevated values, whereas 53 primary APS (P < 0.001) and 16 secondary APS (P < 0.001) were positive. We also compared aANX IgG levels in different groups. Mean ± standard errors of the mean of healthy controls was 3.77 ± 0.49, in SLE patients it was 4.88 ± 1.17 (P = 1.000), in RA patients it was 4.67 ± 0.97 (P = 1.000), in non-APS thrombosis it was 7.93 ± 0.88 (P = 0.488) and in pregnancy loss without APS it was 6.80 ± 0.93 (P = 0.789). However, it was significantly elevated in primary APS (12.87 ± 1.07, P < 0.001), secondary APS (11.98 ± 1.41, P = 0.001) and total APS patients (12.68 ± 0.88, P < 0.001)., Conclusion: From the above observations it appears that aANX IgG plays a significant role in producing a hypercoagulable state in primary and secondary APS., (© 2013 The Authors International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases © 2013 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.)

Infective endocarditis affecting the tricupid valve due to rupture of non-coronary sinus of Valsalva is distinctly rare. We are reporting such a rare case, presenting with recurrent ill sustained ventricular tachycardia.