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College student drinking is prevalent and costly to public and personal health, leading to calls to identify and target novel mechanisms of behavior change. We aimed to manipulate drinking identity (a cognitive risk factor for hazardous drinking) via three sessions of narrative writing about a future self. We tested whether writing could shift drinking identity and would be accompanied by changes in alcohol consumption and problems. Participants were college students meeting hazardous drinking criteria (N = 328; M age = 20.15; 59% women, 40% men, 1% gender-diverse; 60% white; 23% Asian; 12% multiple races; 2% other racial groups; 8% identified as Hispanic/Latino/a/x). The study had a 2 [narrative writing topic: low-risk drinker vs. reduced smartphone use] × 2 [writing perspective: first person vs. non-first-person] × 2 [social network instruction: instructed to include vs. not] factorial design. Outcomes were drinking identity, drinking refusal self-efficacy, alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, and craving. Participants completed three writing sessions and online follow-up assessments at 2, 4, and 12 weeks. The study is a registered clinical trial; hypotheses and analyses were preregistered (https://osf.io/vy2ep/). Contrary to predictions, narrative writing about a future self as a low-risk drinker did not significantly impact outcomes. Null results extended to expected interactions with writing perspective and social network instructions. The narrative writing task did not shift drinking or alcohol-related outcomes. Future experimental work may benefit from greater flexibility in conceptualizing a future self, recruiting individuals interested in behavior change, and more sensitive measures of drinking identity. • Drinking identity is a robust predictor of hazardous drinking among college students. • We aimed to shift drinking identity via three writing sessions about a future self. • We also tested whether writing would change alcohol consumption and problems. • Results were null. • Future tasks should allow more flexibility for conceptualizing a future self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cognitive Therapy Rating Scale (CTRS) is an observer-rated measure of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) treatment fidelity. Although widely used, the factor structure and psychometric properties of the CTRS are not well established. Evaluating the factorial validity of the CTRS may increase its utility for training and fidelity monitoring in clinical practice and research. The current study used multilevel exploratory factor analysis to examine the factor structure of the CTRS in a large sample of therapists (n = 413) and observations (n = 1,264) from community-based CBT training. Examination of model fit and factor loadings suggested that three within-therapist factors and one between-therapist factor provided adequate fit and the most parsimonious and interpretable factor structure. The three within-therapist factors included items related to (a) session structure, (b) CBT-specific skills and techniques, and (c) therapeutic relationship skills, although three items showed some evidence of cross-loading. All items showed moderate to high loadings on the single between-therapist factor. Results support continued use of the CTRS and suggest factors that may be a relevant focus for therapists, trainers, and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statistical training psychology focuses on frequentist methods. Bayesian methods are an alternative to standard frequentist methods. This article provides researchers with an introduction to fundamental ideas in Bayesian modeling. We use data from an electroencephalogram (EEG) and anxiety study to illustrate Bayesian models. Specifically, the models examine the relationship between error-related negativity (ERN), a particular event-related potential, and trait anxiety. Methodological topics covered include: how to set up a regression model in a Bayesian framework, specifying priors, examining convergence of the model, visualizing and interpreting posterior distributions, interval estimates, expected and predicted values, and model comparison tools. We also discuss situations where Bayesian methods can outperform frequentist methods as well has how to specify more complicated regression models. Finally, we conclude with recommendations about reporting guidelines for those using Bayesian methods in their own research. We provide data and R code for replicating our analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a method that takes advantage of the fluorophore loading dependence of fluorescence nanoparticle tracking (fNTA) to determine the content of specific miRNA targets in extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their stoichiometry across the entire EV population. The method is based on an assay for detecting EV miRNA by hybridization to fluorescently labeled, miRNA-specific molecular beacons encapsulated in cationic lipoplex nanoparticles that fuse non-specifically with negatively charged EVs. To demonstrate the method, we carry out a stoichiometric analysis of miR-21 in EVs released from A549 lung cancer cells. We find approximately 2.3% of the A549 EVs have an average copy number of ~ 44 miR-21 /A549 EV and contain at least a threshold number of 33 miR-21 copies/A549 EV required for fluorescence tracking. Potential applications of sizing, enumerating, and phenotyping EVs using this method include specifying dosages for therapeutic applications and identifying specific EV subpopulations in patient samples for diagnostic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the association of the extent of metastatic lymph node involvement with survival in pancreatic cancer. Methods: This is a retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database of patients who underwent resection for pancreatic adenocarcinoma, 1999-2011. Results: 165 patients were identified and divided into 3 groups based on the number of positive lymph nodes - 0 (group A), 1-2 (B), >3 (C). Each group had 55 patients. Those in group C were more likely to have a higher T stage, poorly differentiated grade, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), higher mean intraoperative blood loss, positive margins, tumor location involving the uncinate process, and a higher likelihood of undergoing a pancreaticoduodenectomy. Median overall survival (OS) for group A, B and C was 25.5 months (mo), 21 mo and 12.3 mo, respectively (p < 0.001). No survival difference was noted for survival between groups A and B (p = 0.86). The ratio of involved lymph nodes <0.2 was predictive of improved survival (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Resected pancreatic cancer patients with only 1-2 positive lymph nodes or less than 20% involvement have a similar prognosis to patients without nodal disease. Current staging should consider stratification based on the extent of nodal involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Cancer Care Monitor (CCM) is a tablet computer-based multidimensional measure of symptom burden and quality of life. This study examined individual item validity for 42 items measuring general physical symptoms and treatment side effects. Patients (40 females and 20 males) completed the CCM and a blinded nurse interview. In general, patient self-reported symptoms on the CCM corresponded well to nurse-verified evaluations. There was excellent agreement between the patient-reported CCM items and nurses'' ratings on whether the symptom was present or absent and on the severity of a given symptom. Additionally, the results suggested that the majority of items had high sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and Youden''s Index score. Taken together, the results suggest that the CCM can provide an efficient method for collecting information about symptom presence and symptom burden at the point of care. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for bulimia nervosa (BN) has received considerable empirical support for its efficacy. However, few investigators have examined the mechanisms proposed to account for the reduction of BN symptoms during CBT. The current study examined the associations between therapist interventions, client mechanisms, and symptoms during treatment in a sample of 56 clients undergoing CBT for BN. Results suggested that behavioral interventions were most associated with symptom change during treatment whereas relational interventions were most associated with change in client mechanisms such as client engagement. Additionally, some changes in BN symptoms were mediated by changes in proposed client mechanisms whereas others were directly associated with therapist interventions. Implications of these findings for CBT theory of BN treatment and CBT treatment process research methodology are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine the association between parental affective disorders and psychoactive substance use disorders and the onset of major depressive disorder (MDD) among adolescents and young adults and to determine whether this association is affected by stressful life events, family cohesion, self-esteem, or gender. Method: Prospective cohort study of 804 adolescents, aged 11-17 years, and their parents who were followed for seven consecutive years. The sample was drawn from the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Parental diagnoses were based on Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R administered during study screening stage. Diagnoses of MDD and age of onset were based on Composite International Diagnostic Interview 2.1 administered during final year of data collection. Results: Of the correlates examined, only parental affective disorders, Iow self-esteem, and gender were significantly related to the onset of MDD. Females were twice as likely as males to experience MDD. Conclusions: The direct association between parental affective disorders and MDD onset was not affected by family cohesion, self-esteem, or stressful life events; thus more research is needed on other factors that may affect this association, such as genetic factors or other family- and intrapersonal-based variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-sectional research has demonstrated that endorsing, or acknowledging, and frequently thinking about having a drinking identity are uniquely and positively associated with alcohol consumption and risk for hazardous drinking. In the current investigation, we evaluated whether these facets of drinking identity indicated a latent drinking identity variable. We also investigated whether greater identification with drinking predicted subsequent increases in alcohol consumption and risk for hazardous drinking, and whether higher levels of these drinking behavior variables predicted subsequent increases in identification with drinking. Data were collected from participants (N = 422) near their graduation from college and then again eight months later. Drinking identity endorsement and drinking identity thought frequency were positive indicators of a latent drinking identity variable. Identification with drinking was concurrently, positively associated with both alcohol consumption and risk for hazardous drinking at both time points. Greater identification with drinking at the first assessment predicted subsequent increases in alcohol consumption and risk for hazardous drinking. Surprisingly, the drinking behavior variables did not prospectively predict changes in identification with drinking. These findings support an expanded conceptualization of drinking identity, provide further evidence that greater identification with drinking prospectively predicts more drinking behaviors, and suggest that drinking identity should be considered in interventions to reduce hazardous drinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implicit measures of alcohol-related associations or implicit alcohol associations are associated with drinking outcomes over time and can be understood as vulnerability markers for problem drinking. Longitudinal research remains rare, leaving open questions about how implicit alcohol associations themselves change over time and what factors moderate that change. We examined these questions with data from a larger study of first and second year U.S. college students. We investigated how these implicit alcohol associations change over time and potential moderators of those changes (gender, lifetime drinking history, family history of problem drinking, and class standing). A sample of 506 students (57% women) completed baseline demographic measures and implicit measures (variants of the Implicit Association Test [IAT]) assessing associations with drinking and the self [drinking identity], alcohol and excite [alcohol-excite], and alcohol and approach [alcohol-approach]). IATs were completed at 3-month intervals for a total of 8 assessments. Results indicated small, but significant, change in alcohol-excite and alcohol-approach IAT scores over time, and mixed findings for hypothesized moderators. Drinking history moderated change in drinking identity IAT scores, with increases over time among individuals with no history of drinking or no history of intoxication and decreases among individuals with a history of intoxication. Gender moderated change in alcohol-excite IAT scores with greater change among women (vs. men). No significant moderators of change in alcohol approach IAT scores were found. Results point to the importance of evaluating implicit associations' trajectories and identifying additional factors that predict those trajectories and concomitant vulnerability to problem drinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated whether informal meditation practice (i.e., self-reported application of meditative techniques outside a period of formal meditation) was associated with outcomes in smartphone-based loving-kindness and compassion training. Meditation-naïve participants (n = 351) with clinically elevated symptoms completed measures of psychological distress, loneliness, empathy, and prosociality at baseline and following a two-week intervention. Informal practice, psychological distress, and loneliness were also assessed daily. Steeper increases in informal practice had small associations with pre-post improvements in distress (r = −.18, p =.008) and loneliness (r = −.19, p =.009) but not empathy or prosociality. Using a currently recommended approach for establishing cross-lagged effects in longitudinal data (latent curve model with structured residuals), higher current-day informal practice was associated with decreased next-day distress with a very small effect size (β s = −.06 to −.04, p =.018) but not decreased next-day loneliness. No cross-lagged associations emerged from distress or loneliness to informal practice. Findings suggest that further investigation into a potential causal role of informal practice is warranted. Future studies experimentally manipulating informal practice are needed. • Increased informal practice was correlated with pre-post reductions in distress. • Increased informal practice was correlated with pre-post reductions in loneliness. • Higher current-day informal practice predicted lower next-day distress. • No cross-lagged effects of distress or loneliness on informal practice. • Further investigation into a causal role of informal practice is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue that a certain picture of the relationship between language and the world informed Meehl’s outlook on how science worked. That picture authorized talk about constructs and has led to construct proliferation and other problems. Operational analysis offers an alternative view and suggests that a major shortcoming of soft psychology is its lack of disciplined limits on acceptable verbal behavior. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of strategic conflict-related adjustments in cognitive control processes on indices of performance monitoring. Previous research has examined the ability of parametric task-related manipulations to bias attention to errors; however, the present study sought to elucidate the effects of internal adjustments in control mediated by the anterior cingulate cortex on error-related conflict processing. High-density event-related potentials (ERPs) were obtained from 124 healthy individuals (68 female, 66 male) during a modified Eriksen flanker task. Behavioral measures (i.e., error rates, response times [RTs]) and N2 amplitudes showed significant conflict adaptation (i.e., previous-trial congruencies influenced current-trial measures). For error trials, the error-related negativity (ERN) was more negative for errors on high-conflict (i.e., incongruent) trials following high-conflict trials relative to errors on high-conflict trials following low-conflict (i.e., congruent) trials. These findings indicate that error-related conflict-monitoring processes adjust according to the post-conflict recruitment of strategic cognitive control and suggest an ongoing interplay between conflict and internal adjustments in control resources. Interpretations from the perspective of the conflict monitoring theory of cognitive control, the reinforcement learning theory, and the response–outcome theory of the ERN are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Measures of drinking identity are predictive of hazardous drinking. The extent to which hazardous drinking is differentially related to implicit compared to explicit drinking identity is not well understood. Neurocognitive models of addiction indicate that chronic alcohol use is associated with deficits in self-awareness which could limit the growth or recognition of drinking identity for individuals engaging in hazardous drinking. This might be particularly true for more reflective explicit measures of identity because their assessment and underlying cognitive processes rely more on self-awareness and conscious introspection. We predicted there would be different patterns of relationships between hazardous drinking and implicit/explicit drinking identity measures. A linear model was predicted to better fit the hazardous drinking and implicit identity relationship whereas a non-linear model was predicted to better fit the hazardous drinking and explicit identity relationship due to decreased ability to reflect on changes in identity at high levels of hazardous drinking. The present study is a re-analysis of a large secondary dataset (Project Implicit Mental Health; N = 11,320) which included measures of hazardous drinking (e.g., Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test) and implicit/explicit identity. Results were consistent with predictions. The relationship between hazardous drinking and implicit drinking identity was best modeled by a linear function whereas the relationship between hazardous drinking and explicit drinking identity was best modeled by a non-linear cubit spline function. These findings are consistent not only with neurocognitive models but also with dual process formulations that implicit and explicit drinking identity are somewhat related but also quite distinct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drinking identity (viewing oneself as a drinker) is a potential risk factor for problematic drinking in US undergraduate samples. Whether that risk extends to a broader, more general US sample is unknown. Additionally, there are critical, unanswered questions with respect to moderators of the drinking identity-problematic drinking relationship; an important issue for designing prevention efforts. Study aims were to assess the unique associations and interactive effects of implicit and explicit measures of drinking identity on problematic drinking, and to evaluate age and sex as potential moderators of the drinking identity-problematic drinking relationship. A sample of 11,320 adults aged 18-98 completed measures of implicit and explicit drinking identity and problematic drinking (the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test; AUDIT). Implicit and explicit drinking identity had positive, significant associations with AUDIT scores, as expected. Moderation analyses indicated small, but significant, interactions. There was an implicit by explicit identity interaction consistent with a synergistic effect: lower implicit and explicit identity was linked to a greater probability of being a non-drinker. Age moderated explicit but not implicit identity: lower drinking identity appeared to be more protective for younger individuals. Sex moderated implicit but not explicit identity: a weaker positive association with implicit identity and AUDIT scores was observed among men, potentially reflecting stigma against women's drinking. Findings suggest that drinking identity's potential as a risk factor for problematic drinking extends to a more general US sample and that both implicit and explicit identity should be targeted in prevention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic and debilitating condition that is relatively common in both children and adults, and it is associated with a wide range of functional impairments. Mental health researchers and practitioners have placed considerable attention on OCD over the past two decades, with the goal of advancing treatment and understanding its etiology. Until recently, it was unknown to what extent this disorder was associated with functional impairment. However, recent research shows that the condition has significant social and occupational liabilities. This article discusses etiology, common symptom presentations (including comorbid and ancillary symptoms), basic OCD subtypes, neuropsychological functioning, and the relation these have with functional disability in OCD. Recommendations for future research are also considered. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Patients with Down syndrome have characteristic heart valve lesions resulting from endocardial cushion defects. The Down syndrome critical region 1 (DSCR1) gene, identified at the conserved trisomic 21 region in those patients, encodes a calcineurin inhibitor that inactivates nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFATc) activity. Here, we identify a regulatory sequence in the promoter region of human DSCR1 that dictates specific expression of a reporter gene in the endocardium, defined by the temporal and spatial expression of Nfatcl during heart valve development. Activation of this evolutionally conserved DSCR1 regulatory sequence requires calcineurin and NFATcl signaling in the endocardium. NFATcl proteins bind to the regulatory sequence and trigger its enhancer activity. NFATcl is sufficient to induce the expression of Dscrl in cells that normally have undetectable or minimal NFATcl or DSCR1. Pharmacologic inhibition of calcineurin or genetic Nfatcl null mutation in mice abolishes the endocardial activity of this DSCR1 enhancer. Furthermore, in mice lacking endocardial NFATc1, the endogenous Dscrl expression is specifically inhibited in the endocardium but not in the myocardium. Thus, our studies indicate that the DSCR1 gene is a direct transcriptional target of NFATcl proteins within the endocardium during a critical window of heart valve formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cognitive intervention that may reduce weight and caloric intake is inhibitory control training (ICT; having individuals repeatedly withhold dominant responses to unhealthy food images). We conducted a randomized controlled trial where 100 individuals with overweight or obesity were assigned to complete a generic (n = 48) or food-specific ICT (n = 52) training four times per week for four weeks. Weight and caloric intake were obtained at baseline, four-weeks, and 12-weeks. Participants also completed high-calorie and neutral go/no-go tasks while N2 event-related potential (ERP) data, a neural indicator of inhibitory control, was measured at all visits. Results from mixed model analyses indicate that neither weight, caloric intake, nor N2 ERP component amplitude towards high-calorie foods changed at post-testing or at the 12-week follow up. Regression analyses suggest that individuals with smaller N2 difference amplitudes to food may show greater weight loss and reductions in caloric intake after a generic ICT, while individuals with larger N2 difference amplitudes to food may show greater weight loss and reductions in caloric intake after a food-specific ICT. Overall, multiple food-specific or generic ICT sessions over the course of a four-week period do not affect overall weight loss, caloric intake, or N2 ERP amplitude. • Four ICT sessions over four weeks do not affect weight or food intake. • Four ICT sessions over four weeks do not affect N2 amplitude to high-calorie foods. • Generic ICT may be more effective for individuals with lower inhibition. • Food-specific ICT may be more effective for individuals with higher inhibition. • Generic and food-specific ICT decreases appetitive drive to consume food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]