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Universities must prepare students for a complex world, but current mental health levels impair student outcomes. Increased concern over student wellbeing has fostered the demand for positive education interventions -- a relatively new topic requiring more research. We tested a positive psychology wellbeing intervention imbedded in undergraduate psychology classes with three studies and 469 participants. Intervention outcomes across three years indicate improvements in wellbeing, positive affect, negative affect and clinical wellbeing categories. Comparisons with an active control indicated the intervention buffered against semester stress. Practice frequency had little effect on wellbeing, however wellbeing gains were higher for students with low baseline wellbeing and those who valued happiness more -- suggesting positive education interventions have greater value for some students. This research has important implications for student wellbeing, indicating that imbedded wellbeing programs can improve student wellbeing with minimal resources and low stigma.

In recent years, there has been growing recognition of the threats to health posed by loneliness. One of the main strategies that has been recommended to address this is social prescribing (SP). This typically involves general practitioners (GPs) and other health practitioners directing clients who are experiencing loneliness and related conditions to take part in social activities—typically in recreational and community contexts. However, evidence for the effectiveness of SP is mixed—leading some to suggest that enthusiasm for it might be misplaced. In this review, we argue that a core problem with most existing approaches to SP is that they lack a strong theoretical base. This has been a barrier to (a) understanding when SP will work and why, (b) designing optimally effective SP programmes, and (c) developing practitioner skills and appropriate infrastructure to support them. As a corrective to this state of affairs, this review outlines a three-tier social identity framework for SP and five associated hypotheses. These hypotheses predict that SP will be more effective when (a) clients join groups and (b) these groups are ones with which they identify, and when SP is supported by (c) social-identity-enhancing social infrastructure, (d) a social-identity-based therapeutic alliance, and (e) identity leadership that builds and shapes this alliance as well as clients' identification with prescribed groups. This framework is supported by a range of evidence and provides an agenda for much-needed future research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the relationship between loneliness and psychological distress is well documented, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are less clear. One factor known to be related to loneliness as well as psychological distress, is social support, with some studies suggesting that support–both received and provided–can serve as a mechanism to reduce the distress associated with loneliness. In this paper we examine the mediating role of both aspects of support in the relationship between loneliness and psychological distress in the COVID-19 context. We used a multi-country dataset collected at two timepoints during the pandemic; the first during the early stages (N = 6,842, 11 countries) and the second collected for a subset of countries (N = 1,299, 3 countries) 3 months later. Across all eleven countries, results revealed significant positive associations between loneliness and distress. Furthermore, using longitudinal data, we investigated the directionality of this relationship and found that increased loneliness over time was associated with increased psychological distress. The data also showed that both feeling unsupported and feeling unable to provide support to others mediated this relationship. These findings point to the need to facilitate people's ability to draw effective social support and help others–particularly at times when social connectedness is threatened–as a way of alleviating the psychological distress that commonly presents with loneliness.

Mindfulness can be successfully combined with adventure education but the area is understudied. This longitudinal quasi-experimental study investigated whether an 8-day Outward Bound Mindfulness Program in nature would increase levels of positive affect, savouring, and mindfulness. Results indicate the experimental group experienced a statistically significant increase in mindfulness, positive affect and savouring compared to the control group post-intervention, and that the increase was maintained at 3-months post-intervention. These results illuminate the lasting impact of an intervention which combines mindfulness with adventure education, and highlight the potential which natural environments may play in educational and therapeutic processes. Study limitations and need for further research are shared.

Millions of nonprofits compete for a share of the billions of dollars donated to charity each year. Yet how donors select which charities to support remains relatively understudied. Social norms influence whether people give to charity at all, but no research has yet considered whether norms also communicate information about which causes group members typically support. To address this important question, we surveyed 1,735 people from 117 countries to understand whether they identified normative causes typically supported by their social groups. We found different normative giving profiles for men, women, older people, younger people, conservatives, progressives, religious, and nonreligious people, with varying degrees of consensus within each social group. Results demonstrate empirically—and for the first time—that social identities contain normative content about which charitable causes group members typically support. Some causes were relatively universally approved of or avoided. Results can inform nonprofit fundraising strategy around segmentation and targeting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Acute anaemia in decompensated liver cirrhosis is commonly caused due to gastrointestinal bleeding; however, sometimes, detecting the site of blood loss is challenging. Case summary A patient on waitlist for orthotopic liver transplantation because of decompensated liver cirrhosis was admitted with acute anaemia and recurrence of ascites. Their abdomen CT showed migration of gallbladder stones in the pelvis while paracentesis documented hemoperitoneum. A diagnosis of gallbladder perforation was performed. Conclusion Challenging choice of a “wait and see” strategy with conservative therapy, avoiding high-risk cholecystectomy, resulted in a successful liver transplant.

Background: COVID-19 disease, which typically presents with respiratory symptoms, can trigger intestinal inflammation through SARS-CoV-2 replication in the gastrointestinal tract. Supplementation with probiotics may have beneficial effects on gut inflammation due to their analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. The primary objective of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of a mix of three probiotic strains (Bifidobacterium lactis LA 304, Lactobacillus salivarius LA 302, and Lactobacillus acidophilus LA 201; Lactibiane Iki®) in the reduction in fecal calprotectin in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, compared to a control group. The secondary aim was to evaluate the reduction in oxygen support and length of hospital stay in patients taking the probiotic mix. Patients and Methods: We conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial at Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli, Rome. We enrolled patients with COVID-19 interstitial pneumonia. One group received the probiotic mix twice a day for 10 days in addition to the standard COVID-19 therapy, and a second group received standard COVID-19 therapy without probiotics. We administered oxygen support (through Ventimask or Optiflow®) on days (D) 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10, and the level of fecal calprotectin between D3–D5 and D7–D10. Results: A total of 80 patients (44 M/36 F; mean age: 59.8 ± 17.3) were enrolled with a mean value of calprotectin at enrollment of 140 mg/dl. At D7–10, the probiotic group showed a 35% decrease in fecal calprotectin compared to 16% in the control group, a decrease in C-reactive protein (CRP) of 72.7% compared to 62%, and a slight but not significant decrease in oxygen support compared to the control group. Conclusion: Supplementation with a mix of probiotics for 10 days in patients with COVID-19 interstitial pneumonia significantly reduces inflammatory markers.

Abstract Aid workers experience elevated levels of stress which has a detrimental impact on individuals, organisations and the aid sector; however, there is limited qualitative research capturing aid worker’s views on stressors and coping strategies. This study used thematic analysis to examine aid workers’ views on three research questions: their most common stressors, effective coping strategies and ineffective coping strategies. The study involved a wide range of aid workers (N = 218) living in 63 countries, including previously under-researched groups such as development professionals and national workers. Four overarching themes emerged across the three research questions: Work, Psychological, Lifestyle and Social Connection. The most common stressors were work-based issues such as workload, managers and colleagues. Key effective coping strategies were social connections and lifestyle activities such as exercise and hobbies. Ineffective strategies were lifestyle activities such as alcohol and unhealthy eating, and work-based strategies such as working harder. Investigation of aid workers’ views through a qualitative approach rather than quantitative scales yielded important new insights such as the high prevalence of work and team stressors, infrequent mention of trauma as a stressor, the important role of psychological support, the importance of meaningful work and the observation that coping mechanisms can be both effective and ineffective depending on context. We used additional quantitative analysis to identify many differences between national and international workers but few between humanitarian and development professionals. Regarding theoretical implications, coping strategies were effectively mapped on to the psychological flexibility framework, which underpins acceptance and commitment therapy. We also use the findings to inform practical stress reduction recommendations at the individual, organisational and sector levels. By giving a voice to aid workers, this research extends our understanding of stress and coping within the aid sector, with the potential to enhance aid worker wellbeing and the delivery of aid.

Management students are experiencing a crisis in well-being, and educators have a pressing responsibility to help them cope with the stresses of business school under the new realities of physically distanced learning. Amid rapidly growing interest in mindfulness in management education, we examine the effects of a promising new technology for cultivating student well-being: online mindfulness training. In investigating whether and how online mindfulness training works, and which students it most benefits, we conducted a large quasi-experiment with a custom-designed active control group (physical exercise) and multiple waves of data collected over two semesters of an academic year. Results show that online mindfulness training improved psychological well-being by helping students cultivate authenticity, but that such rewards were only realized by those who were relatively high in trait conscientiousness. In presenting our theory and findings, we shed new light on the role of personality in helping management students integrate experiential learning into their sense of self, and we offer novel, practical, and empirically substantiated guidance to management educators on how to help students develop authenticity and psychological well-being through an innovative, engaging, and ready-made online solution that requires little extra effort or cost to implement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wernicke’s encephalopathy (WE) is an acute neurological disorder resulting from thiamine deficiency, commonly found in alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients. Liver transplantation (LT) could represent a risk factor for the onset of WE in AUD patients, due to the onset of chronic depletion of thiamine in this population and the high metabolic demand of surgery and the postoperative period. However, few data are available about the risk of the onset of WE in AUD patients after LT. Here we report three cases of AUD patients who developed WE with confusion and delirium after LT. Prompt parenteral administration of thiamine led to a rapid improvement of the clinical condition and a complete remission of neurological symptoms after 3–4 days. In addition, a search of the available English literature was conducted in order to perform a review of the possible association between the onset of WE and LT in AUD patients. A prophylactic treatment regimen based on the administration of thiamine could be suggested in AUD patients before and after LT. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal regimen of thiamine in the prevention of WE in this setting.

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a chronic and relapsing condition characterized by harmful alcohol intake and behavioral-cognitive changes. AUD is the most common cause of liver disease in the Western world. Alcohol abstinence is the cornerstone of therapy in alcoholic patients affected with liver disease. Medical recommendations, brief motivational interventions and psychosocial approach are essential pieces of the treatment for these patients; however, their efficacy alone may not be enough to achieve total alcohol abstinence. The addition of pharmacological treatment could improve clinical outcomes in AUD patients. Moreover, pharmacological treatments for AUD are limited in patients with advanced liver disease, since impaired liver function affects drugs metabolism and could increase the risk of drugs-related hepatotoxicity. At present, only baclofen has been tested in RCTs in patients with advanced liver disease. This medication was effective to reduce alcohol intake, to promote alcohol abstinence and to prevent relapse in AUD patients affected by liver cirrhosis. In addition, the drug showed a safe profile in these patients. In this review, clinical studies about efficacy and safety of baclofen administration in patients with AUD and advanced liver disease will be reviewed. Open question about the most appropriate dose of the drug, duration of the treatment and need of additional studies will also be discussed.

Since two decades the richness and potential of natural history collections (NHC) were rediscovered and emphasized, promoting a revolution in the access on data of species occurrence, and fostering the development of several disciplines. Nevertheless, due to their inherent erratic nature, NHC data are plagued by several biases. Understanding these biases is a major issue, particularly because ecological niche models (ENMs) are based on the assumption that data are not biased. Based on it, a recent body of research have focused on searching adequate methods for dealing with biased data and proposed the use of filters in geographical and environmental space. Although the strength of filtering in environmental space has been shown with virtual species, nothing has yet been tested with a real dataset including field validation. In order to contribute to this task, we explore this issue by comparing a dataset from NHC to a recent targeted sampling of the cockroach genus Monastria Saussure, 1864 in the Brazilian Atlantic forest. We showed that, despite strong similarities, the area modeled with NHC data was much smaller. These differences were due to strong climate biases, which increased model's specificity and reduced sensitivity. By applying two forms of rarefaction in the environmental space, we showed that deleting points at random in the most biased climate class is a powerful way for increasing model's sensitivity, so making predictions more suitable to the reality.