How are Conversations via an On-Demand Peer-To-Peer Emotional Well-Being App Associated with Emotional Improvement?

Non-clinical, on-demand peer-to-peer (PtP) support apps have become increasingly popular over the past several years. Although not as pervasive as general self-help apps, these PtP support apps are usually free and instantly connect individuals through live texting with a non-clinical volunteer who has been minimally trained to listen and offer support. To date, there is little empirical work that examines whether and how using an on-demand PtP support app improves emotional well-being. Applying regression and multilevel models to N = 1000+ PtP conversations, this study examined whether individuals experience emotional improvement following a conversation on a PtP support app (HearMe) and whether dyadic characteristics of the conversation - specifically, verbal and emotional synchrony - are associated with individuals' emotional improvement. We found that individuals reported emotional improvement following a conversation on the PtP support app and that verbal (but not emotional) synchrony was associated with the extent of individuals' emotional improvement. Our results suggest that online PtP support apps are a viable source of help. We discuss cautions and considerations when applying our findings to enhance the delivery of support provision on PtP apps.

Longitudinal trends in domperidone dispensing to mothers of very preterm infants and its association with breast milk feeding at infant discharge: a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims: (a) to evaluate patterns of domperidone dispensing to mothers of very preterm (<32 weeks gestation) infants born before and after 2014 when international recommendations were made to limit its use and (b) to examine characteristics associated with domperidone dispensing and impacts on breast milk feeding rates at infant hospital discharge. DESIGN: Retrospective audit using linked electronic medical records and hospital pharmacy records. SETTING: Tertiary-referral neonatal intensive care unit at the Women's and Children's Hospital in South Australia. PATIENTS: Mothers of preterm infants admitted to neonatal intensive care from January 2004 to December 2018. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rate of domperidone dispensing compared pre-2014 and post-2014 recommendations using interrupted time series analyses, and breast milk feeding rates at infant discharge based on domperidone treatment status, adjusted for other factors known to influence breast milk production. RESULTS: Overall, domperidone was dispensed to 691 (41%) of 1688 mothers. Prior to 2014 recommendations, the proportion of women dispensed domperidone was stable. Following the recommendations, there was a significant reduction in trend (-2.55% per half year, 95% CI -4.57% to -0.53%;), reflecting less domperidone dispensing.Breast milk feeding rates at discharge remained consistently lower in infants of women dispensed domperidone than those who were not (adjusted OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.45 to 0.75). CONCLUSION: Domperidone dispensing in mothers of hospitalised very preterm infants has declined over time following international regulatory warnings. Breast milk feeding rates remain lower in mothers prescribed domperidone, suggesting further research is needed to optimise lactation support for mothers of very preterm infants.

Examining individual differences in how interaction behaviors change over time: A dyadic multinomial logistic growth modeling approach.

Several theoretical perspectives suggest that dyadic experiences are distinguished by patterns of behavioral change that emerge during interactions. Methods for examining change in behavior over time are well elaborated for the study of change along continuous dimensions. Extensions for charting increases and decreases in individuals' use of specific, categorically defined behaviors, however, are rarely invoked. Greater accessibility of Bayesian frameworks that facilitate formulation and estimation of the requisite models is opening new possibilities. This article provides a primer on how multinomial logistic growth models can be used to examine between-dyad differences in within-dyad behavioral change over the course of an interaction. We describe and illustrate how these models are implemented in the Bayesian framework using data from support conversations between strangers (N = 118 dyads) to examine (RQ1) how six types of listeners' and disclosers' behaviors change as support conversations unfold and (RQ2) how the disclosers' preconversation distress moderates the change in conversation behaviors. The primer concludes with a series of notes on (a) implications of modeling choices, (b) flexibility in modeling nonlinear change, (c) necessity for theory that specifies how and why change trajectories differ, and (d) how multinomial logistic growth models can help refine current theory about dyadic interaction. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A new translation and reader's guide to Victor von Ebner's classical description of spermatogenesis.

This is a translation and modern interpretation of one of the most important manuscripts on spermatogenesis, published by Victor von Ebner, in 1871. It was originally written in Italian, and to the best of my knowledge has never been translated to English or examined by modern scientists.

Efficacy of music on sedation, analgesia and delirium in critically ill patients. A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

PURPOSE: To systematically synthesize randomized controlled trial data on the efficacy of music to provide sedation and analgesia, and reduce incidence of delirium, in critically ill patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Relevant databases (Medline, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane, Alt Healthwatch, LILACS, PsycINFO, CAIRSS, RILM) were searched from inception to April 26, 2018. We also searched the reference lists of included publications and for ongoing trials. The selection of relevant articles was conducted by two researchers at two levels of screening. Data collection followed the recommendations from the Cochrane Systematic Reviews Handbook. We used the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias. Quality of the evidence was rated according to GRADE. RESULTS: The review identified six adult studies and no neonatal or pediatric studies. A descriptive analysis of study results was performed. Meta-analysis was not feasible due to heterogeneity. One study reported a reduction in sedation requirements with the use of music while the other five did not find any significant differences across groups. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review revealed limited evidence to support or refute the use of music to reduce sedation/analgesia requirements, or to reduce delirium in critically ill adults, and no evidence in pediatric and neonatal critically ill patients.

Patient engagement, treatment preferences and shared decision-making in the treatment of opioid use disorder in adults: a scoping review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is characterised by the fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual as a problematic pattern of opioid use (eg, fentanyl, heroin, oxycodone) that leads to clinically significant impairment. OUD diagnoses have risen substantially over the last decade, and treatment services have struggled to meet the demand. Evidence suggests when patients with chronic illnesses are matched with their treatment preferences and engaged in shared decision-making (SDM), health outcomes may improve. However, it is not known whether SDM could impact outcomes in specific substance use disorders such as OUD. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A scoping review will be conducted according to Arksey and O'Malley's framework and by recommendations from Levac et al. The search strategy was developed to retrieve relevant publications from database inception and June 2017. MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database for Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database for Systematic Reviews and reference lists of relevant articles and Google Scholar will be searched. Included studies must be composed of adults with a diagnosis of OUD, and investigate SDM or its constituent components. Experimental, quasi-experimental, qualitative, case-control, cohort studies and cross-sectional surveys will be included. Articles will be screened for final eligibility according to title and abstract, and then by full text. Two independent reviewers will screen excluded articles at each stage. A consultation phase with expert clinicians and policy-makers will be added to set the scope of the work, refine research questions, review the search strategy and identify additional relevant literature. Results will summarise whether SDM impacts health and patient-centred outcomes in OUD. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Scoping review methodology is considered secondary analysis and does not require ethics approval. The final review will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal, disseminated at relevant academic conferences and will be shared with policy-makers, patients and clinicians.

Techno-economic and uncertainty analysis of in situ and ex situ fast pyrolysis for biofuel production.

This study evaluates the techno-economic uncertainty in cost estimates for two emerging technologies for biofuel production: in situ and ex situ catalytic pyrolysis. The probability distributions for the minimum fuel-selling price (MFSP) indicate that in situ catalytic pyrolysis has an expected MFSP of $1.11 per liter with a standard deviation of 0.29, while the ex situ catalytic pyrolysis has a similar MFSP with a smaller deviation ($1.13 per liter and 0.21 respectively). These results suggest that a biorefinery based on ex situ catalytic pyrolysis could have a lower techno-economic uncertainty than in situ pyrolysis compensating for a slightly higher MFSP cost estimate. Analysis of how each parameter affects the NPV indicates that internal rate of return, feedstock price, total project investment, electricity price, biochar yield and bio-oil yield are parameters which have substantial impact on the MFSP for both in situ and ex situ catalytic pyrolysis.

Hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass: developments from batch to continuous process.

This review describes the recent results in hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of biomass in continuous-flow processing systems. Although much has been published about batch reactor tests of biomass HTL, there is only limited information yet available on continuous-flow tests, which can provide a more reasonable basis for process design and scale-up for commercialization. High-moisture biomass feedstocks are the most likely to be used in HTL. These materials are described and results of their processing are discussed. Engineered systems for HTL are described; however, they are of limited size and do not yet approach a demonstration scale of operation. With the results available, process models have been developed, and mass and energy balances determined. From these models, process costs have been calculated and provide some optimism as to the commercial likelihood of the technology.

Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) initiative: protocol for an international Delphi study to achieve consensus on how to select outcome measurement instruments for outcomes included in a 'core outcome set'.

BACKGROUND: The Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) initiative aims to facilitate the development and application of 'core outcome sets' (COS). A COS is an agreed minimum set of outcomes that should be measured and reported in all clinical trials of a specific disease or trial population. The overall aim of the Core Outcome Measurement Instrument Selection (COMIS) project is to develop a guideline on how to select outcome measurement instruments for outcomes included in a COS. As part of this project, we describe our current efforts to achieve a consensus on the methods for selecting outcome measurement instruments for outcomes to be included in a COS. METHODS/DESIGN: A Delphi study is being performed by a panel of international experts representing diverse stakeholders with the intention that this will result in a guideline for outcome measurement instrument selection. Informed by a literature review, a Delphi questionnaire was developed to identify potentially relevant tasks on instrument selection. The Delphi study takes place in a series of rounds. In the first round, panelists were asked to rate the importance of different tasks in the selection of outcome measurement instruments. They were encouraged to justify their choices and to add other relevant tasks. Consensus was reached if at least 70% of the panelists considered a task 'highly recommended' or 'desirable' and if no opposing arguments were provided. These tasks will be included in the guideline. Tasks that at least 50% of the panelists considered 'not relevant' will be excluded from the guideline. Tasks that were indeterminate will be taken to the second round. All responses of the first round are currently being aggregated and will be fed back to panelists in the second round. A third round will only be performed if the results of the second round require it. DISCUSSION: Since the Delphi method allows a large group of international experts to participate, we consider it to be the preferred consensus-based method for our study. Based upon this consultation process, a guideline will be developed on instrument selection for outcomes to be included in a COS.

Integrated evaluation of cost, emissions, and resource potential for algal biofuels at the national scale.

Costs, emissions, and resource availability were modeled for the production of 5 billion gallons yr(-1) (5 BGY) of renewable diesel in the United States from Chlorella biomass by hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). The HTL model utilized data from a continuous 1-L reactor including catalytic hydrothermal gasification of the aqueous phase, and catalytic hydrotreatment of the HTL oil. A biophysical algae growth model coupled with weather and pond simulations predicted biomass productivity from experimental growth parameters, allowing site-by-site and temporal prediction of biomass production. The 5 BGY scale required geographically and climatically distributed sites. Even though screening down to 5 BGY significantly reduced spatial and temporal variability, site-to-site, season-to-season, and interannual variations in productivity affected economic and environmental performance. Performance metrics based on annual average or peak productivity were inadequate; temporally and spatially explicit computations allowed more rigorous analysis of these dynamic systems. For example, 3-season operation with a winter shutdown was favored to avoid high greenhouse gas emissions, but economic performance was harmed by underutilized equipment during slow-growth periods. Thus, analysis of algal biofuel pathways must combine spatiotemporal resource assessment, economic analysis, and environmental analysis integrated over many sites when assessing national scale performance.

Single-step syngas-to-distillates (S2D) process based on biomass-derived syngas--a techno-economic analysis.

This study compared biomass gasification based syngas-to-distillate (S2D) systems using techno-economic analysis (TEA). Three cases, state of technology (SOT), goal, and conventional, were compared in terms of performance and cost. The SOT case represented the best available experimental results for a process starting with syngas using a single-step dual-catalyst reactor for distillate generation. The conventional case mirrored a conventional two-step S2D process consisting of separate syngas-to-methanol and methanol-to-gasoline (MTG) processes. The goal case assumed the same performance as the conventional, but with a single-step S2D technology. TEA results revealed that the SOT was more expensive than the conventional and goal cases. The SOT case suffers from low one-pass yield and high selectivity to light hydrocarbons, both of which drive up production cost. Sensitivity analysis indicated that light hydrocarbon yield and single pass conversion efficiency were the key factors driving the high cost for the SOT case.

Integrated transcriptomic and proteomic profiling of white spruce stems during the transition from active growth to dormancy.

In the autumn, stems of woody perennials such as forest trees undergo a transition from active growth to dormancy. We used microarray transcriptomic profiling in combination with a proteomics analysis to elucidate processes that occur during this growth-to-dormancy transition in a conifer, white spruce (Picea glauca[Moench] Voss). Several differentially expressed genes were likely associated with the developmental transition that occurs during growth cessation in the cambial zone and the concomitant completion of cell maturation in vascular tissues. Genes encoding for cell wall and membrane biosynthetic enzymes showed transcript abundance patterns consistent with completion of cell maturation, and also of cell wall and membrane modifications potentially enabling cells to withstand the harsh conditions of winter. Several differentially expressed genes were identified that encoded putative regulators of cambial activity, cell development and of the photoperiodic pathway. Reconfiguration of carbon allocation figured centrally in the tree's overwintering preparations. For example, genes associated with carbon-based defences such as terpenoids were down-regulated, while many genes associated with protein-based defences and other stress mitigation mechanisms were up-regulated. Several of these correspond to proteins that were accumulated during the growth-to-dormancy transition, emphasizing the importance of stress protection in the tree's adaptive response to overwintering.

Molecular events of apical bud formation in white spruce, Picea glauca.

Bud formation is an adaptive trait that temperate forest trees have acquired to facilitate seasonal synchronization. We have characterized transcriptome-level changes that occur during bud formation of white spruce [Picea glauca (Moench) Voss], a primarily determinate species in which preformed stem units contained within the apical bud constitute most of next season's growth. Microarray analysis identified 4460 differentially expressed sequences in shoot tips during short day-induced bud formation. Cluster analysis revealed distinct temporal patterns of expression, and functional classification of genes in these clusters implied molecular processes that coincide with anatomical changes occurring in the developing bud. Comparing expression profiles in developing buds under long day and short day conditions identified possible photoperiod-responsive genes that may not be essential for bud development. Several genes putatively associated with hormone signalling were identified, and hormone quantification revealed distinct profiles for abscisic acid (ABA), cytokinins, auxin and their metabolites that can be related to morphological changes to the bud. Comparison of gene expression profiles during bud formation in different tissues revealed 108 genes that are differentially expressed only in developing buds and show greater transcript abundance in developing buds than other tissues. These findings provide a temporal roadmap of bud formation in white spruce.

Influence of nitrogen fertilization on xylem traits and aquaporin expression in stems of hybrid poplar.

We studied the influence of nitrogen (N) on hydraulic traits and aquaporin (AQP) expression in the stem xylem of hybrid poplar saplings (Populus trichocarpa (Torr. & Gray) x deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh clone H11-11). Plants were grown in a controlled environment and were kept well watered throughout the experiments. Hydraulic measurements were done on basal and distal stem segments of plants receiving high N fertilization (high N plants) versus plants receiving only adequate N fertilization (adequate N plants). High N plants grew faster and exhibited more leaf area than adequate N controls. These morphological differences were paralleled by wider vessels and higher specific conductivities (K(S)) in high N plants. However, stems of high N plants were more vulnerable to xylem cavitation, at least in one of two experiments, and showed lower wood densities than stems of adequate N plants. Leaf area was strongly correlated with cross-sectional xylem area in both plant groups. Since higher K(S) in high N plants was accompanied by concomitant increases in leaf area, leaf-specific conductivities were similar in both plant groups. Influences of N on hydraulic traits were paralleled by changes in AQP expression. Seven AQPs were upregulated in the stem xylem of high N plants, five of which have been identified recently as water transporters. The enhanced growth of secondary xylem of high N plants has been shown to result from both increased cambial activity as well as increased cell size. We suggest that some of these water-transporting AQPs could play a role in xylogenesis, facilitating the influx of water into the zone of differentiating and maturing cells in secondary xylem, including expanding vessels.

Implementing the single assessment for older people.

The National Service Framework for Older People envisages that the single assessment process will act as a key driver in the improvement of services for older people. Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust implemented a form of contact assessment that works in both hospital and community settings.

The PACE Clinic: identification and management of young people at "ultra" high risk of psychosis.

Over the past decade, both clinical and research interest in the early stages of psychotic disorders has grown. This has been associated with research suggesting that early intervention in these disorders may limit their impact on the life of the affected individual and his or her family. It has also been recognized that the biological and psychological changes underpinning the development of psychotic disorders may already be active in the prepsychotic or prodromal phase. It has been suggested that efforts to prevent psychotic disorders should be focused on this phase of emerging illness. In this article, the authors review work conducted at the PACE Clinic in Melbourne, Australia since 1994. This clinical research program was established to develop strategies for identifying young people at high risk for developing a psychotic disorder within a short period. The program has also investigated biological and psychological processes thought to underlie the development of psychosis and evaluated potential preventive interventions.