Search

Pre-match ritualized behavior have long been a topic of study in applied sport psychology. However, most of the above studies focus on pre-established rituals that make it difficult to explore the clear causal relationship of the ritualized behavior, particularly its underlying mechanisms. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of athletes' ritualized behavior on self-control under competition pressure. One hundred and forty-six college athletes were recruited. This study used a two-factor between design 2 (competition pressure: low vs. high) × 3 (behavior type: ritualized behavior vs. random behavior vs. control group). Based on the Shooter-type Go/No-go task, the dependent variable was the average number of loops and the error rates of 10-meter air pistol task in virtual reality. We found that ritualized behavior had a moderate impact on the average number of loops [F(1, 140) = 5.13, p =.007, ηp2 = 0.068] and error rates [F(2, 140) = 11.29, p <.001, ηp2 = 0.139], and it was more beneficial for error rate under competition pressure [F(2, 140) = 3.18, p =.045, ηp2 = 0.043], while the symbolic meaning of ritualized behavior promotes self-control by improving self-efficacy and autonomous motivation via a top-down processing system. The psychological feature of ritualized behavior may serve as an important explanatory mechanism for its enhancing effect on self-control under competition pressure. This study supports and integrates the Precaution Theory and Self-determination Theory. In the future, researchers can design unique ritualized behaviors based on embodied cognition to help athletes in different sports groups. Lay Summary: In the arena, the audience cannot only see the athletes' wonderful sports movements, but also, all kinds of ritualized behaviors. Through engaging in ritualized behavior as a "pregame booster", athletes can improve self-control on shooting performance. Compared with the low-pressure situation, ritualized behavior was more beneficial for self-control under high competition pressure situations. Athletes can improve self-control on sports performance through enacting ritualized behavior. Moreover, under high competition pressure situations produces the greatest benefit. Sport psychology practitioners should try to understand psychological feature (symbolic meaning) as the most important component of athletes' participation in ritualized behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence of geographic variation in child maltreatment report rates among Latine families is growing. This study investigates whether structural community characteristics, namely rurality and Latine ethnic density, associate with variation in Latine child maltreatment rates across 925 US counties. Using ten years of cross-sectional data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), ACS and USDA, OLS regression models examined rurality and Latine density's association with child maltreatment report and substantiation rates. Rurality associated with increased maltreatment rates; however, Latine ethnic density buffered this across most maltreatment subtypes. Results highlight a complex interaction between ethnicity, rurality, and maltreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Effective pain management is closely related to nurses' knowledge, attitudes and empathy regarding pain. Nursing educators and managers should understand the relationship between nurses' pain management knowledge, attitudes and empathy level, and take targeted measures accordingly. Currently, there is limited study exploring the relationship between pain empathy and pain knowledge and attitudes among nurses in North China. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of nurses' pain management knowledge and attitudes and pain empathy, to analyze the factors influencing pain empathy, and to explore the relationship between these two variables. Design: This study was a quantitative, descriptive-correlation design. Setting and participants: The study population was registered nurses in North China, the sample included 177 registered nurses in North China. Methods: Data were collected with the "General data questionnaire", "Knowledge and attitudes survey regarding pain" (KASRP) and the "Empathy for pain scale" (EPS) via Wechat mini program "Questionnaire Star". Results: The 177 registered nurses completed the survey. The averege correct rate for KASRP was (51.94 ± 9.44)%, and none of the respondents achieved a percentage score of >80%. The mean score for pain empathy was (2.78 ± 0.78), the empathy reactions dimension was (2.99 ± 0.77), and the body and mind discomfort dimension was (2.71 ± 0.80). The results of multiple stepwise linear regression showed that whether they had received empathy training, whether they had greater trauma or severe pain and whether they had negative emotions were independent influencing factors for EPS scores. Pearson correlation analysis showed that KASRP scores were positively correlated with EPS scores (r = 0.242, P < 0.05). Conclusions: The pain knowledge and attitudes of nurses in North China are far from optimal. Nurses have a relatively low accuracy rate in areas such as medication knowledge, assessment of patient pain based on case studies, and handling PRN prescriptions. Nursing educators and administrators need to design some pain management courses in a targeted manner. Nurses' empathy for pain was at a moderate level. Pain empathy was positively correlated with pain knowledge and attitudes, suggesting that empathy for pain can be developed postnatally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spanking and parental verbal aggression are potentially toxic stressors that can negatively affect children's academic achievement by disrupting mental skills like executive function. Yet little empirical evidence has been provided for this mediating pathway. This study used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort of 2010–2011 (n = 11,421) to examine the associations between early childhood exposure to spanking and parental verbal aggression and subsequent academic achievement. We also investigated the mechanism for these associations by exploring the mediating role of executive function within those associations. Findings revealed that spanking and parental verbal aggression in kindergarten and first grade were negatively associated with reading and math scores in fifth grade, controlling for demographics and initial academic performance. Executive function (i.e., inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility and working memory) accounted for more than half (50%–57%) and more than one fourth (24%–31%) of the total effects of spanking and verbal aggression on academic achievement, respectively. Findings provide important evidence for early intervention programs aiming to promote children's academic achievement and executive function by interfering or preventing harsh discipline. Highlights: We examined the pathway from spanking and verbal aggression in early childhood to academic achievement in later school years through executive function.Path analysis results show executive function was a significant mediator in the negative associations between academic achievement in fifth grade and early exposure to spanking and aggression.Besides avoiding harsh parenting, intervention programs to support child academic achievement could also target promoting executive function development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing attention has been directed toward children who are placed in out-of-home care by child welfare authorities for less than 30 days, deemed "short-stayers". This exploratory study uses multiple national child welfare and population data sources to identify macro level factors associated with short-stays. Two-level logistic regression modeling was conducted to explore how state-level factors were associated with risk of short-stays. Factors associated with lower odds of short-stays included living in a state with a centralized child welfare reporting structure and with greater food insecurity. Factors associated with greater odds included living in a state with a higher percentage of the state's population enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and states with more police per capita. Multiple state level factors were associated short-stay risk, which suggests broader systemic factors contribute to these brief removals. Findings suggest greater surveillance by police and social services increases risk of short-stays, which likely have implications for child welfare policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose : To summarize the predictive value of MRI for H3 K27M-mutant in midline gliomas using meta-analysis. Methods: Systematic electronic searches of the PubMed, Embase, ISI Web of Science, and Cochrane Library up to Jun 31, 2021, were conducted by two experienced neuroradiologists with the keywords of "MRI," "Glioma," and "H3 K27M." The hierarchical summary receiver-operating characteristic (HSROC) model was used to calculate the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (LR +), negative likelihood ratio (LR −), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR). Coupled forest plots were used to evaluate the heterogeneity of the included studies. Results: Of seven original studies with a total of 593 patients, 240 glioma patients were included, with 45.5–70.6% H3 K27M-mutant gliomas. Using MRI, a pooled sensitivity of 0.78 (95% CI, 0.66–0.87), specificity of 0.85 (95% CI, 0.76–0.91), LR + of 5.07 (95% CI, 3.19–8.08), LR − of 0.26 (95% CI, 0.16–0.42), and DOR of 19.80 (95% CI, 9.28–42.28) were achieved for H3 K27M-mutant prediction. Significant heterogeneity was observed among the studies in terms of sensitivity (Q = 16.83, df = 7, p = 0.02; I2 = 58.40 [95% CI, 25.83–90.97]), LR − (Q = 16.61, df = 7, p = 0.02; I2 = 57.87 [95% CI, 24.81–90.93]), and DOR (Q = 14.05, df = 7, p = 0.05; I2 = 50.18 [95% CI, 10.06–90.31]). Conclusions: This meta-analysis demonstrated a clinical value of MRI to predict H3 K27M-mutant in midline gliomas with a pooled sensitivity of 0.78 and specificity of 0.85. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. As a common disease around the world, esophageal cancer (EC) primarily includes two subclasses: esophageal adenocarcinoma and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Mortality has been rising over the years; hence, exploring the mechanism of EC development has become critical. Among the alpha protein kinases, alpha protein kinase 2 (ALPK2) presumably has a connection with EC, but it has never been revealed before. Methods. In this study, IHC analysis was used for ALPK2 expression quantification in ES tissues. TE-1 and Eca-109, which are both human EC cell lines, were used for in vitro analysis of cell proliferation, migration, apoptosis, and colony formation. Results. ALPK2 was found to have an abundant expression within EC tissues (P < 0.001), as well as in the two selected human EC cell lines (P < 0.05). The data showed that ALPK2 depletion suppressed EC cell proliferation, migration, and colony formation, meanwhile stimulating apoptosis (P < 0.001). The in vivo experiments also displayed inhibitory effects caused by ALPK2 depletion on EC tumorigenesis (P < 0.001). It was further validated that ALPK2 depletion made the phosphorylation of Akt and mTOR, as well as CDK6 and PIK3CA levels downregulated (P < 0.001). Mechanistically, we identified integrin alpha 11 (ITGA11) as a downstream gene of ALPK2 regulating EC. More importantly, we found that ITGA11 elevation promoted cell proliferation and migration and rescued the suppression effects caused by ALPK2 depletion (P < 0.001). Conclusions. ALPK2 promotes esophageal cancer via integrin its downstream gene alpha 11; ALPK2 can potentially act as a target for the treatment of EC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attentional control is a crucial cognitive ability for sports performance. The current research aimed to investigate whether a brief (20-min) pre-competition mindfulness meditation (MM) intervention enhances athletes' attentional control during competitions and alters the activity of brain regions related to attentional control. We created a virtual reality shooting competition to compare the eye-gaze indicators and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) parameters of 78 university athletes after 20 min of MM or 20 min of mind wandering (MW). Participants' average fixation durations (AFDs) on task-relevant information (targets) were significantly longer in the MM group. In contrast, both average fixation counts (AFCs) and AFDs on task-irrelevant information (the ranking screen) were significantly lower in the MM group than in the MW group. Additionally, the MM group exhibited significantly stronger activation of the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) as well as higher levels of oxygenated haemoglobin [HbO] and greater functional connectivity (FC) of the right dlPFC, which was considered evidence of recruitment for attentional control. Moreover, the MM group achieved significantly better shooting performance than the MW group. Overall, the findings suggest that one session 20-min MM practice pre-competition facilitates focus during competition and improves athletic performance. We recommend the application of brief mindfulness practice in sports, especially in closed-skill sports that require high attention participation (e.g., shooting, archery, darts, golf, gymnastics, skating etc.). • Using virtual reality shooting task to simulate competition situation. • A pre-competition brief (20min) mindfulness improves the attention control of college athletes. • Mindfulness group showed more task-relevant eye-gaze behaviours than mind-wandering group. • The subjects' right dlPFC had higher [HbO], stronger activation and functional connectivity post-mindfulness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Lung ultrasound detection of B-lines has become a simple, semiquantitative, noninvasive tool for evaluating pulmonary congestion in heart failure (HF) patients. This study compared the correlation of B-lines with E/eʹ, NT-proBNP, and ejection fraction (EF) in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). Methods Eighty-two consecutive patients who were diagnosed with acute decompensated HF were divided into two groups: preserved ejection fraction heart failure (HFpEF, EF≥50%, n=32) and reduced ejection fraction heart failure (HFrEF, EF<50%, n=50). Spearman's correlation was used to evaluate associations of B-lines with E/eʹ, NT-proBNP, and EF in the two groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to compare B-lines with the E/eʹ ratio. Results Results revealed no significant differences were observed in the B-lines between the HFpEF and HFrEF groups. However, compared with the control group, B-lines were significantly increased in the HFpEF and HFrEF groups ( P<.05). The B-lines were positively correlated with E/eʹ (r=0.742, r=0.52) and NT-proBNP (r=0.678, r=0.417) but were negatively correlated with EF (r=−0.365, r=−0.337), and the correlation coefficients were higher in the HFpEF group than in the HFrEF group. In ROC analyses, considering E/eʹ ≥14 as a reference, B-lines yielded a C-statistic value of 0.94 (sensitivity 92%, specificity 83%) in the HFpEF group and 0.84 (sensitivity 86%, specificity 78%) in the HFrEF group. Conclusions B-lines were significantly correlated with the more established parameters of ADHF. The correlation between B-lines and E/eʹ was better, especially in the HFpEF group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To compare three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) speckle tracking echocardiography ( STE) techniques in the assessment of left ventricular function and myocardial infarct size ( MIS). Methods Thirty-two patients diagnosed with ST elevation myocardial infarction and 18 healthy control patients underwent 2D echocardiography, 3D echocardiography, and single photon emission computed tomography ( SPECT). 3D left ventricular global area strain ( GAS), 2D and 3D global longitudinal strain ( GLS), global radial strain ( GRS) as well as global circumferential strain ( GCS) were analyzed to correlate with myocardial infarct size detected by SPECT. 2D and 3D left ventricular ejection fraction ( LVEF) as well as 2D and 3D wall motion score index ( WMSI) also were measured using conventional echocardiography. Results The 2D- GLS values were significantly higher than that of 3D- GLS, while 2D- GCS and GRS were significantly lower than 3D- GCS and GRS, respectively. However, no significant differences in LVEF and WMSI could be observed between 2D and 3D echocardiography. Myocardial strain indices, LVEF, and WMSI using 2D and 3D echocardiography also had good correlations with MIS as measured by SPECT. ROC curve analysis showed that the 3D and 2D myocardial indices, LVEF, and WMSI could distinguish between small and large MIS, while 2D- GLS had the highest AUC. Conclusion The 2D and 3D myocardial strain indices correlated well with MIS by SPECT. Among them, the 2D- GLS showed the highest diagnostic value, while 3D- GRS and GCS had better diagnostic value than 2D- GRS and GCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]