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Although associations between fear of fat and eating disorders (ED) have been frequently studied, it appears that the construct of fear of fat requires in-depth understanding to determine whether it is similar in individuals diagnosed with bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and individuals from the general population. The purpose of our study was to confirm the factor structure of the Goldfarb Fear of Fat Scale (GFFS) in clinical and non-clinical settings. This issue has not yet been investigated in the literature. Data were collected from 126 female patients diagnosed with ED and a total of 581 women from the general population. Our findings are highly consistent with the original single-factor structure of GFFS but only in the clinical sample. In the non-clinical sample, a good fit to the data has been achieved with a two-factor model composed of Fear of gaining weight and Fear of losing control over eating/weight. The Polish version of GFFS demonstrated good psychometric properties. It can be used as a fast screening tool to identify individuals with eating disorders and those at risk of developing such disorders. We recommend the two-factor model for non-clinical samples and the one-dimensional model for clinical samples for both research and practice.

Whilst alterations in emotional face processing, as indicated by event-related potentials (ERPs), are associated with depression and anxiety symptoms in clinical and non-clinical samples, it has remained unclear whether they are related to mental wellbeing. The current study aimed to address this question in a non-clinical sample. The analysis included 402 adult twins from the TWIN-E study. The COMPAS-W and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-42) were used to measure mental wellbeing and depression/anxiety symptoms, respectively. Participants viewed facial expressions under Unmasked (conscious) and Masked (subliminal) conditions while ERPs were recorded. The associations of emotion processing with mental wellbeing and depression/anxiety symptoms were assessed using multivariate linear mixed models. There was a strong association between depression/anxiety symptoms and the N170 amplitude difference for the Fear - Happy contrast in the Masked condition after controlling for wellbeing scores (B = 0.34, p .001). Specifically, higher depression/anxiety symptoms were associated with a lack of differentiation between fearful and happy faces. No associations were found between emotional face processing and mental wellbeing scores. These results indicate that even within a non-clinical sample, alterations in emotional ERPs, namely the N170, reflect differences in depression/anxiety symptoms rather than differences in wellbeing. Furthermore, this effect was limited to automatic processing, rather than conscious processing of emotional stimuli, suggesting the observed differences apply only to the subconscious pathway.

Background Helicopter parenting has been one of major contributing factors to depression, and the occurrence of severe depressive level has been increasing in college students. Based on self-determinant theory (SDT), previous studies have indicated the pathway between helicopter parenting and depressive level, especially focusing on the roles of basic psychological needs, self-control and teacher autonomy support. But few studies focused on the full model of these interactive factors and the Chinese non-clinical college students. Methods Non-clinical college students (n = 648), aging from 17 to 28 years old, were recruited as participants from universities in Guangzhou, China, in 2020. The participants were asked to complete five self-report questionnaires, including Helicopter Parenting Scale (HPS), Learning Climate Questionnaire (LCQ), Basic Psychological Needs Scale (BPNS), Self-Control Scale (SCS), and Beck Depression Scale-II (BDI-II). Results Results have revealed that basic psychological needs and self-control played a chain-type mediating role between helicopter parenting and depressive scores among non-clinical Chinese college students. In addition, the path between helicopter parenting and basic psychological needs was moderated by teacher autonomy support. Conclusions This study reveals a potential pathway of how helicopter parenting influence the depressive level among non-clinical college students in the context of Chinese background. These findings give multi-dimensional (parents, teachers, and college students) indications for reducing the effects of helicopter parenting on depressive level among non-clinical Chinese college students, which will be helpful for improving their mental health. However, this is a cross-sectional study and other factors may also play important roles in this pathway.

The bodily self is key to emotional embodiment, which is important for social functioning and emotion regulation. There is a paucity of research systematically assessing how basic and bodily self-disturbances relate to multimodal hallucinations. This study hypothesised that participants with greater hallucination-proneness would report greater degrees of basic and bodily self-disturbance and would demonstrate more ambiguous and less discrete mapping of emotional embodiment. Stage one screened non-clinical participants’ degree of hallucination-proneness. Stage two participants completed seven further questionnaires. Hierarchical linear regression modelled the influence of hallucination-proneness and covariates on measures of basic and bodily self-disturbance and sensed presence. Stage two participants also completed a computerised body mapping task (EmBODY) which assessed emotional embodiment. Topographical maps were generated to compare patterns of embodiment between high and low hallucination-proneness groups. 55 respondents participated in stage two, with 18 participants from the high or low hallucination-proneness groups completing EmBODY. In the hierarchical regression analyses, the addition of a measure of hallucination proneness in the final step only increased predictive power where the dependent variable assessed sensed presence (p = 0.035 and p = 0.009, respectively). The EmBODY data revealed that participants with low hallucination-proneness consistently reported more bodily activation across 14 emotional states, whereas the high hallucination-proneness group reported more deactivation. In conclusion, hallucination-proneness was most strongly associated with sensed presence experiences. Patterns of embodiment appeared similar between the two groups, despite consistent differences in activation and deactivation. These findings are exploratory and need to be confirmed in a larger sample.

Background Psychosis is associated with dysregulation of psychophysiological stress-reactivity, including in subjective, autonomic nervous system (ANS) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) parameters. Aims This study investigated whether dysregulated psychophysiological stress-reactivity is specifically associated with auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) or psychosis more generally by comparing voice-hearers with and without a need for care. Method Clinical (n = 20) and non-clinical voice-hearers (n = 23), as well as a healthy control group with no voices (n = 23), were compared on HPA and ANS responses, and subjective reactivity, to a psychophysiological stress paradigm, the socially evaluative cold pressor test. Results Measures of HPA function in both clinical and non-clinical voice-hearers diverged from non-voice-hearing controls. Clinical participants showed a blunted peak response compared to both non-clinical groups (p = 0.02), whilst non-clinical voice-hearers showed, at trend-level, reduced cortisol levels during stress exposure compared to both clinical voice-hearers (p = 0.07) and healthy controls (p = 0.07), who unexpectedly did not differ from each other (p = 0.97). Clinical participants showed greater subjective stress levels than both non-clinical groups (p 0.05). Conclusions Dysregulated psychophysiological stress-function is present in clinical voice-hearers, and partially discriminates them from non-clinical voice-hearers. Overall, the present findings identified specific potential psychophysiological markers of risk and resilience in auditory verbal hallucinations and need for care.

Background There are disparities of in-hospital non-clinical nursing care delivered by the nursing assistant under different management models in China. This study aimed to identify the best management model of the nursing assistant from the patient perspective. Methods This is a cross-sectional study. The inpatient satisfaction with in-hospital non-clinical nursing care delivered by the nursing assistant under different management models was measured and analyzed based on a national inpatient survey Likert the 5-point scale questionnaire conducted in 144 public tertiary hospitals across 31 provinces of China. The study conducted univariate analysis and binary Logistic regression analysis to examine which management model of the nursing assistant and any other key determinants would lead to a positive satisfaction rating by the inpatient who experienced non-clinical nursing care. Findings The overall satisfaction rating of 6211 inpatients received non-clinical nursing care was 4.73 out of 5, among which 96.09% of the responded inpatients had a positive satisfaction rating. By controlling of the other variables, the likelihood of having a positive inpatient satisfaction rating of non-clinical nursing care delivered by the nursing assistant under the direct commercial company management model, the self-employed model, the commercial company and hospital joint management model accounted for only 14.8%, 20.3% and 35.7% of the nursing assistant under the direct hospital management model. Conclusions The direct hospital management model of the nursing assistant might be the best one to deliver the non-clinical nursing care that mostly satisfied the inpatient of Chinese public hospitals.

Background A multitude of Australian hospitals use non-clinical staff to assist with chest compressions and ancillary duties during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Whilst few studies have focused on psychological implications for non-clinical staff, research into other groups indicates that a lack of attention to psychological support may adversely impact individual wellbeing, team functioning and clinical performance. The aim of this study was to explore how non-clinical workers were psychologically affected during cardiopulmonary resuscitation and factors that might mitigate adverse psychological effects. Methods This study utilised a qualitative descriptive methodology involving semi-structured, face to face interviews to investigate the experiences of non-clinical staff involved in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and a validated Post Traumatic Stress rating scale. Results The study found that all 12 participants had experienced critical incident stress symptoms following their involvement in resuscitation attempts, though only one had ongoing evidence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Participants felt that they needed more psychological preparation and that post-incident debriefs had been helpful but inconsistently provided and facilitated. Peer support was seen as the most significant factor in mitigating the psychological impact of critical incidents. Conclusion This study shows that the development and formalisation of peer support networks for non-clinical health staff warrants serious consideration. The study also indicates that non-clinical members of resuscitation teams may benefit from more psychological preparation and support with self-care.

Ginsenosides, the major active ingredients of ginseng and other plants of the genus Panax, have been used as natural medicines in the East for a long time; in addition, their popularity in the West has increased owing to their various beneficial pharmacological effects. There is therefore a wealth of literature regarding the pharmacological effects of ginsenosides. In contrast, there are few comprehensive studies that investigate their pharmacokinetic behaviors. This is because ginseng contains the complicated mixture of herbal materials as well as thousands of constituents with complex chemical properties, and ginsenosides undergo multiple biotransformation processes after administration. This is a significant issue as pharmacokinetic studies provide crucial data regarding the efficacy and safety of compounds. Moreover, there have been many difficulties in the development of the optimal dosage regimens of ginsenosides and the evaluation of their interactions with other drugs. Therefore, this review details the pharmacokinetic properties and profiles of ginsenosides determined in various animal models administered through different routes of administration. Such information is valuable for designing specialized delivery systems and determining optimal dosing strategies for ginsenosides. Keywords: Bioavailability, Ginsenosides, Pharmacokinetic, Protopanaxadiol, Protopanaxatriol

The impact of non-clinical transfer delay (TD) from the ICU to a general care unit on the progress of the patient's care is unknown. We measured the association between TD and: (1) the patient's subsequent hospital length of stay (LOS); (2) the timing of care decisions that would advance patient care.This was a single center retrospective study in the United States of patients admitted to the surgical and neurosurgical ICUs during 2013 and 2015. The primary outcome was hospital LOS after transfer request. The secondary outcome was the timing of provider orders representing care decisions (milestones) that would advance the patient's care. Patient, surgery, and bed covariates were accounted for in a multivariate regression and propensity matching analysis.Out of the cohort of 4,926 patients, 1,717 met inclusion criteria. 670 (39%) experienced ≥12 hours of TD. For each day of TD, there was an average increase of 0.70 days in LOS (P 0.001). The last milestone occurred on average 0.35 days later (P 0.001). Propensity matching analyses were confirmatory (P 0.001, P 0.001).TD is associated with longer LOS and delays in milestone clinical decisions that progress care. Eliminating delays in milestones could mitigate TD's impact on LOS.

Previous studies have indicated that childhood adversity and emotional attachment difficulties are common in hoarding disorder. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore whether current insecure attachment style, operationalized as insecure attachment to romantic partners, and emotional over-attachment to objects might be one mechanism linking the experience of early adversity to later hoarding tendencies. Data was gathered using an online survey from 463 adult participants; n = 216 scored in the clinical range for hoarding. The experience of two types of childhood trauma (emotional abuse and physical neglect) predicted higher levels of hoarding symptoms. Attachment anxiety and avoidance were positively correlated with hoarding symptoms and with emotional attachment to possessions. Current attachment insecurity and emotional attachment to objects partly mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and hoarding symptoms, after controlling for anxiety and depression. This study provides evidence for a novel way by which traumatic life events may influence hoarding symptomatology via attachment to significant others and object attachment. The findings are limited by the use of a cross-sectional design; however, they support the growing body of research which points to the importance of early adverse events and attachment difficulties in the aetiology of hoarding.

Background Differentiating melancholic and non-melancholic depressive disorders and evaluating whether they differ categorically or dimensionally has had a lengthy history, but has not previously been evaluated in a non-clinical adolescent sample. Methods We studied a sample of 1579 senior high school students and evaluated the capacity of the Sydney Melancholia Prototype Index (SMPI) to differentiate melancholic from non-melancholic depression, both using a ‘top down’ strategy of imposing a pre-established cut-off score and a ‘bottom up’ strategy of employing latent class analyses. Results The two strategies respectively generated prevalence figures of 3.4% and 8.1% of the students having experienced a melancholic depressive episode and with the difference reflecting the LCA assigning some students who did not reach the pre-established cut-off score for the SMPI in the putative melancholic class. The principal latent class analysis failed to generate pristine melancholic and non-melancholic depressive classes, in that it also generated an ‘intermediate’ as well as a non-clinical depressive class. Both SMPI strategies identified similar symptoms—such as anhedonia and anergia—and several illness correlates that best differentiated those assigned melancholia status, and both strategies confirmed melancholia assignment being associated with factors indicative of more severe depressive disorders and of likely melancholic depression. Limitations Data were assessed by self-report only, only lifetime depression was assessed, and no other depressive diagnostic validating measure was administered. Conclusions The SMPI appears capable of identifying and differentiating melancholic from non-melancholic depression in a non-clinical adolescent sample.

Background Sets of stimuli from babies’ facial emotions provide a good instrument to detect the recognition of facial emotion (RFE) in clinical and non clinical groups. However, specificities from the stimuli have not been widely explored and validated by previous studies. New method We presented a new set of facial stimuli from infants aged 6–12 months, both sexes, different races, representing five basic emotions. We also present the psychometric properties of validity/reliability for each stimulus and assess whether the sociodemographic characteristics of the stimuli and the subjects affect the RFE. Results The stimuli were obtained by a standardized protocol of activities to elicit emotions and 72 stimuli were developed. A total of 119 subjects from the community were selected for the psychometric analysis of the stimuli. The set produced indicators of validity (mean 62.5%) and reliability. Stimuli were evaluated using the Rash model and 15 stimuli had indicators of unpredictability and unmodeled residuals. The difficulty index of each stimulus was calculated, evidencing that the set was normally distributed. Comparison with existing method Previously published methods are limited in terms of racial diversity, standardisation of the elicitation of emotions, procedure of stimuli extraction, and psychometric evidence. Conclusions The findings reinforced the Differential Emotion Theory regarding the expression of basic emotions in infants and evidenced the effect of education level on emotion recognition to the detriment of other sociocultural characteristics (sex and race). This set is freely accessible by email request.

Hoarding is linked to ambivalence and uncertainty about one′s self and others. These notions are close to those constituting attachment representations. Hoarding is also linked to seeking support from objects. Studies concerning attachment and hoarding suggest that attachment representations may impact seeking or possessing objects. Acquiring objects may give people momentary support, normally provided by the attachment figure in cases of stress. This study aims to better understand the links between attachment and hoarding. One hundred and ninety-seven non-clinical women (M = 30.58) completed two self-report questionnaires on attachment and hoarding behaviors. The results show a link between insecure attachment (preoccupied and fearful) and hoarding. Preoccupied and fearful attachments are characterized by a fear of loss and abandonment. Possession and accumulation of objects in hoarding could help insecure people to deal with these fears. Therefore, insecure attachment appears to be a vulnerability factor in the development of hoarding behaviors.

Nonclinical safety testing of biopharmaceuticals can present significant challenges to human risk assessment with these innovative and often complex drugs. Emerging topics in this field were discussed recently at the 2016 Annual US BioSafe General Membership meeting. The presentations and subsequent discussions from the main sessions are summarized. The topics covered included: (i) specialty biologics (oncolytic virus, gene therapy, and gene editing-based technologies), (ii) the value of non-human primates (NHPs) for safety assessment, (iii) challenges in the safety assessment of immuno-oncology drugs (T cell-dependent bispecifics, checkpoint inhibitors, and costimulatory agonists), (iv) emerging therapeutic approaches and modalities focused on microbiome, oligonucleotide, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) therapeutics, (v) first in human (FIH) dose selection and the minimum anticipated biological effect level (MABEL), (vi) an update on current regulatory guidelines, International Council for Harmonization (ICH) S1, S3a, S5, S9 and S11 and (vii) breakout sessions that focused on bioanalytical and PK/PD challenges with bispecific antibodies, cytokine release in nonclinical studies, determining adversity and NOAEL for biologics, the value of second species for toxicology assessment and what to do if there is no relevant toxicology species.

The Safety Pharmacology Society organized a scientific session at its annual conference in 2017 to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the Comprehensive In-Vitro Proarrhythmia Assay (CiPA) paradigm. Our intention was to raise awareness of this initiative with its members and also to gauge the extent to which safety pharmacologists have incorporated the CiPA testing strategy within the pharmaceutical industry. CiPA offers many potential opportunities including 1) a focus on proarrhythmic risk (as opposed to QTc prolongation), 2) providing scientific rationale to support the continued development of compounds that may have a poor selectivity over hERG whilst also blocking other inward currents and 3) reducing the extent of ECG monitoring in clinical trials with a greater influence of the non-clinical studies. Such opportunities may speed drug development and reduce costs. However, there are also challenges for CiPA implementation. For example, the mixed ion channel paradigm does not easily lend itself to a prospective drug discovery strategy although testing for such effects can be achieved with assays with good throughput. However, it should also be recognized that compounds with a mixed ion channel profile might also have properties that are undesirable to treat non-life threatening indications. All components of CiPA (nonclinical and clinical) require validation, particularly as a composite package to impact drug development and evaluation. One of the significant discussion points was that the existing regulatory guidance supports the use of components of CiPA through follow-up studies. A survey of the conference audience showed that the level of awareness of CiPA is quite high and that companies are already conducting some testing against a wider panel of cardiac ion channels beyond hERG. However, the adoption of other technologies (stem cell derived cardiac myocytes and in silico modeling) is less well developed. Taken together, the session demonstrated the potential advantages of CiPA, but also some significant challenges.

Background We validated the Social Mistrust Scale (SMS) and utilized it to examine the structure, prevalence, and heritability of social mistrust in a large sample of Chinese children and adolescents. Methods In Study 1, a large sample of healthy twins (N = 2094) aged 8 to 14 years (M = 10.27 years, SD = 2) completed the SMS. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to assess the structure of the SMS and to estimate the heritability of social mistrust in a sub-sample of twins (n = 756 pairs). In Study 2, 32 adolescents with childhood-onset schizophrenia were compared with 34 healthy controls on levels of suspiciousness and clinical symptoms to examine the associations between the SMS and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Results We found a three-factor structure for social mistrust (home, school, and general mistrust). Social mistrust was found to be moderately - heritable (19%–40%), with mistrust at home most strongly influenced by genetic factors. Compared with 11.76% of the healthy controls, 56.25% of the adolescents with early-onset schizophrenia exhibited very high levels of social mistrust on all three subscales of the SMS. The SMS exhibited good discriminant validity in distinguishing adolescents with childhood-onset schizophrenia from healthy controls and showed associations with a broad range of symptoms assessed by the PANSS. Conclusions Social mistrust assessed by the SMS may be heritable. The SMS demonstrates good discriminant validity with clinical diagnoses of schizophrenia. However, it seems to be correlated with multiple aspects of psychopathology in the schizophrenia group, rather than being specific to delusional ideation/paranoia.

Pharmacotherapy shows striking individual differences in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, involving drug efficacy and adverse reactions. Recent genetic research has revealed that genetic polymorphisms are important intrinsic factors for these inter-individual differences. This pharmacogenomic information could help develop safer and more effective precision pharmacotherapies and thus, regulatory guidance/guidelines were developed in this area, especially in the EU and US. The Project for the Promotion of Progressive Medicine, Medical Devices, and Regenerative Medicine by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, performed by Tohoku University, reported scientific information on the evaluation of genetic polymorphisms, mainly on drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters, during non-clinical studies and phase I clinical trials in Japanese subjects/patients. We anticipate that this paper will be helpful in drug development for the regulatory usage of pharmacogenomic information, most notably pharmacokinetics.

Falls can result in injuries that require rehabilitation and long-term care after hospital discharge. Identifying factors that contribute to prediction of discharge disposition is crucial for efficient resource utilization and reducing cost. Several factors may influence discharge location after hospitalization for a fall. The aim of this study was to examine clinical and non-clinical factors that may predict discharge disposition after a fall. We hypothesized that age, injury type, insurance type, and functional status would affect discharge location.This two-year retrospective study was performed at an urban, adult level-1 trauma center. Fall patients who were discharged home or to a facility after hospital admission were included in the study. Data was obtained from the trauma registry and electronic medical records. Logistic regression modeling was used to assess independent predictors.A total of 1,121 fallers were included in the study. 621 (55.4%) were discharged home and 500 (44.6%) to inpatient rehabilitation (IRF)/skilled nursing facility (SNF). The median age was 64 years (IQR: 49-79) and 48.4% (543) were male. The median length of hospital stay was 5 days (IQR: 2.5-8). Increasing age (p 0.001), length of stay in the ICU (p 0.001), injury severity (p 0.001), number of comorbidities (p = 0.038), having Medicare insurance (p = 0.025), having a fracture at any body region (p 0.001), and ambulation status (p = 0.025) significantly increased the odds of being discharged to IRF/SNF compared to home. The removal of injury severity score and ICU length of stay from the "late/regular discharge" model, to create an "early discharge" model, decreased the accuracy of the prediction rate from 78.5% to 74.9% (p 0.001).A combination of demographic, clinical, social, economic, and functional factors can together predict discharge disposition after a fall. The majority of these factors can be assessed early in the hospital stay, which may facilitate a timely discharge plan and shorter stays in the hospital.

Understanding what happens at first onset of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) is extremely important on a clinical and theoretical level. Previous studies have only focused on age with regard to first onset of AVHs. In the current epidemiological study, we examined a number of aspects relating to first onset of AVHs, such as the role of adverse life events at first onset of AVHs on symptom severity and general mental health. For this purpose, we compared participants who reported adverse life events at first onset of AHVs (adverse-trigger group; N = 76) to those that did not report any specific events at first onset of AVHs (no-adverse-trigger group; N = 59) on a large array of variables. Results showed that AVHs in the adverse-trigger group were experienced as more emotional compared to the no-adverse-trigger group. In addition, the adverse-trigger group more often reported hallucinations in other (non-auditory) sensory modalities (e.g. visual) compared to the no-adverse-trigger group. Furthermore, the adverse-trigger group reported poorer general mental health, reported having contact with mental health professionals more often, and also reported more frequently taking medication for psychological problems in general. The implications of these findings are discussed., Highlights • First epidemiological study to look at long-term effects of adverse life events at first onset of AVHs. • The adverse-trigger group displayed more severe AVHs and poorer general mental health. • Presence of adverse life events at first-onset of AVHs may increase the likelihood of transition to psychosis.

Various aspects of interoception are regarded as temporally stable phenomena. This study investigates the temporal stability of and longitudinal associations between interoceptive accuracy (as measured with heartbeat tracking task) and a related concept, body awareness (assessed by self-report).In a two-month longitudinal study 103 university students (31% male, 23.34±4.34yrs.; 44 Hungarians; 36.4% male, 21.4±1.67yrs. and 59 Norwegians; 25.4% male, 24.8±5.09yrs) were investigated using Schandry's heartbeat tracking task and the Body Awareness Questionnaire.Both interoceptive accuracy and body awareness showed good test-retest reliability (r=0.60 and r=0.73, respectively; p0.001 in both cases). The two concepts were independent of each other at baseline (r=0.06, p=0.587), and did not predict each other over an eight weeks period of time.Self-reported body awareness and objectively measured interoceptive accuracy are temporally stable and not related to each other.

Different dimensions of formal thought disorder (FTD) are distinguished by different patterns of cognitive dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia; however, inconsistent findings may relate to patient-related confounds. To avoid these confounds, we examined relationships between FTD dimensions and cognitive domains in a non-clinical sample with attenuated schizophrenia-like traits, or schizotypal traits, on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (N = 91). To our knowledge, no study has done this. FTD dimension scores were derived following principal component analysis of the Scale for the Assessment of Thought, Language and Communication (TLC dimensions: Disorganisation, Verbosity, Emptiness) and the Thought and Language Index (TLI dimensions: Negative, Idiosyncratic). The sample completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Findings indicate that higher-order reasoning, executive function (set shift and generative ability) and language/semantic functioning are the primary drivers of FTD in our non-clinical sample with elevated schizotypal traits, in line with schizophrenia research. FTD may have shared aetiology along the schizophrenia spectrum.

Background and objectives Research on incompleteness and not-just right experiences, (INC/NJREs) indicate that some OCD symptom dimensions are motivated by these experiences rather than by anxiety. Most published data are correlational, using non-clinical individuals. This study sought to examine INC/NJREs in vivo in non-clinical and OCD individuals. Methods Study 1: Ninety-three undergraduates were randomly assigned to a INC/NJREs induction (n=44) or non-induction task (n=47). Scores on self-reports assessing INC, NJREs, OCD, Anxiety, and Depression were also recorded. Study 2: Twenty adults with OCD performed the induction task and completed the same questionnaire-packet as the non-clinical participants. Results Study 1: The induction-group scored higher on several DVs of the experimental task, as INC/NJREs and uncomfortable physical sensations predicted impulses/urges to do something. All the DVs correlated with INC, NJREs, and OCD symptoms. Anxiety was only related to suppressing difficulties of the most intense sensation. Study 2: Results were comparable to those found in non-clinical people. Induced INC/NJREs correlated with compulsions severity and were associated with ordering, washing, and hoarding symptoms. OCDs did not differ from non-clinical subjects in the number of induced INC/NJREs, but they were more disturbing, difficult to suppress, and instigated more urges to do in OCDs. Limitations The small group of OCDs and the lack of a non-OCD clinical group kept us from drawing conclusions about the specificity of INC/NJREs to some OCD symptoms. Conclusions Findings support the role of INC/NJREs as stimuli triggering urges and/impulses to do and their impact on OCD severity.

Antisense oligonucleotides, short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and aptamers are oligonucleotide-based pharmaceuticals with a promising role in targeted therapies. Currently, five oligonucleotide-based pharmaceuticals have achieved marketing authorization in Europe or USA and many more are undergoing clinical testing. However, several safety concerns have been raised in non-clinical and clinical studies. Oligonucleotides share properties with both chemical and biological pharmaceuticals and therefore they pose challenges also from the regulatory point of view. We have analyzed the safety data of oligonucleotides and evaluated the applicability of current non-clinical toxicological guidelines for assessing the safety of oligonucleotide-based pharmaceuticals. Oligonucleotide-based pharmaceuticals display a similar toxicological profile, exerting adverse effects on liver and kidney, evoking hematological alterations, as well as causing immunostimulation and prolonging the coagulation time. It is possible to extrapolate some of these effects from non-clinical studies to humans. However, evaluation strategies for genotoxicity testing of "non-natural" oligonucleotides should be revised. Additionally, the selective use of surrogates and prediction of clinical endpoints for non-clinically observed immunostimulation is complicated by its multiple potential manifestations, demanding improvements in the testing strategies. Utilizing more relevant and mechanistic-based approaches and taking better account of species differences, could possibly improve the prediction of relevant immunological/proinflammatory effects in humans.

Maternal depression can significantly impact mothers’ sensitivity to their infants’ needs as well as infants’ social and emotional development. The still-face paradigm (SFP) is widely used to assess infants’ understanding of the contingency between their own behavior and that of their caregivers, as well as infants’ ability to self-regulate arousal levels during sudden changes in maternal responsiveness. Infants of clinically depressed mothers display blunted levels of negative affect compared to infants of non-depressed mothers during the still-face (SF) phase. However, little is known about whether individual differences in elevated, non-clinical levels of maternal depression similarly affect mother-infant interactions. The current study examines the longitudinal effects of non-clinical maternal depression on infant and maternal behaviors during the SFP. Infants (N = 63) were assessed at 5 and 9 months and maternal depression was assessed at 5 months using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Infants of mothers with elevated levels of depression displayed less negative engagement during the SF phase compared to infants of mothers with lower levels of depression. This effect was present at 5 months, but not at 9 months. Findings demonstrate that non-clinical levels of maternal depressive symptomatology can have a significant impact on infants’ affective regulation during the first half of the first year of life, but this does not necessarily have a long-lasting influence later in infancy. Interventions may want to target mothers with non-clinical depression to promote healthy infant social and emotional development.

Objective Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and not just right experiences (NJREs) have been claimed putative vulnerability factors for obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). The aim of the present study was to test whether IU could represent a trans-diagnostic construct accountable for OC checking behaviors and whether NJREs could embody an OCD-specific criterion through which IU operates. Method One hundred and eighty-eight Italian community individuals completed self-report measures of IU, NJREs, OC symptoms, worry, anxiety, and depression. Mediation and moderated mediation models were tested using a bootstrapping approach, wherein IU was included as the independent variable as well as the moderator; checking behaviors were entered as the dependent variable; and NJRE severity was included as a mediator. Results The main findings highlighted that NJREs were a mediator of the relationship between IU and checking behaviors; nonetheless, in connection with medium levels of IU, NJREs no longer mediated the path. Furthermore, IU did not emerge to moderate the mediation. Conclusion Despite their preliminary nature, the present results might be a hint for future research, as theoretical integration may represent a way to go for better understanding OCD etiology and phenomenology.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a great deal of anxiety for many individuals. Several papers have noted that individuals with OCD may be particularly negatively impacted by COVID-19, and that the threat of COVID-19 may impact treatment (Banerjee, 2020; Jassi et al., 2020; Sheu et al., 2020). The study presented herein examined OCD-related and COVID-related intrusions in a non-patient sample. Individuals with elevated OCD symptoms reported having both OCD and COVID intrusions at a similar frequency. Further, OCD symptom severity was significantly correlated with the frequency of COVID related intrusions and the amount of distress they caused. However, distress from COVID related intrusions was not significantly correlated with OCD symptom severity. These results shed light on the similarities between reactions to objectively elevated threat and the perceptions of elevated threat experienced in OCD.

Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, Brazil)Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) [2012/05178-0, 2019/13229-2]

Background and objectives The study examines the nature of OCD-related unwanted mental intrusions (UMIs) by comparing OCD, anxiety disorders (AD), and healthy control (HC) groups. Methods The patients with OCD (n = 50), AD (n = 59), and HC (n = 50) completed a semi-structured interview assessing UMIs, and a set of questionnaires. Results Our results provided evidence for the cognitive content specificity of OCD-related unwanted mental intrusions (UMIs) and appraisals. Two patient groups and non-clinical participants reported at least one OCD-related UMI and the groups did not differ from each other in terms of the forms and triggers of UMIs. However, the intrusions were more distressing and persistent in the OCD patients. The patients with OCD placed higher importance on getting UMIs out of their minds and reported higher difficulty in controlling them compared to the other two control groups. Furthermore, control appraisals showed higher relevance to the distressing features of the intrusions. Conclusions The results underlined the specificity of obsessive cognitive content and the importance of thought control-related appraisal in defining the distressful features of the mental intrusions seen in OCD. The results were discussed in light of the cognitive specificity model.

Objective Negative associations between hearing loss (HL) and behavioural and academic difficulties have been reported. However, most studies are based on small clinical samples. The aim of the present study was to investigate such associations using data from a large-scale non-clinical Danish birth cohort controlling for a large number of relevant confounding factors. Methods The study applied data from the Aarhus Birth Cohort's 10-12-year-old follow-up (N = 7599). Associations between parent-reported HL on the one hand, and parent- and teacher-reported behavioural difficulties measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and parent-reported academic difficulties on the other hand, were investigated. Results After controlling for relevant confounding factors, significant associations were observed between parent-reported HL and parent- and teacher-reported Externalising scores, and academic difficulties. Conclusions Childhood HL is associated with behavioural and academic difficulties. Parent reported HL in a non-clinical cohort is indicative for academic and behavioural difficulties.

New challenges and opportunities in nonclinical safety testing of biotherapeutics were presented and discussed at the 5th European BioSafe Annual General Membership meeting in November 2015 in Ludwigshafen. This article summarizes the presentations and discussions from both the main and the breakout sessions. The following topics were covered in six main sessions: The following questions were discussed across 4 breakout sessions (i-iv) and a case-study based general discussion (v).

Objective This paper reviewed the relationship between non-clinical, client-oriented promotional campaigns to raise bowel cancer awareness and screening engagement. Method An integrative literature review using predefined search terms was conducted to summarise the accumulated knowledge. Data was analysed by coding and categorising, then synthesized through development of themes. Results Eighteen of 116 studies met inclusion criteria. Promotional campaigns had varying impact on screening uptake for bowel cancer. Mass media was found to moderately increase screening, predominately amongst “worried well”. Small media used in conjunction with other promotional activities, thus its effect on screening behaviours was unclear. One-on-one education was less effective and less feasible than group education in increasing intention to screen. Financial support was ineffective in increasing screening rates when compared to other promotional activities. Screening engagement increased because of special events and celebrity endorsement. Conclusion Non-clinical promotional campaigns did impact uptake of bowel cancer screening engagement. However, little is evident on the effect of single types of promotion and most research is based on clinician-directed campaigns. Practice implications Cancer awareness and screening promotions should be implemented at community and clinical level to maximize effectiveness. Such an approach will ensure promotional activities are targeting consumers, thus strengthening screening engagement.

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between resilience, risky family and psychiatric symptoms in order to understand which role resilience may have. 608 post-doc course students (323 males and 285 females) were recruited and evaluated through the Resilience Scale for Adult, the Risky Family Questionnaire and the Brief Symptom Inventory. A cluster analysis was implemented to understand the possible associations among the variables, showing four clusters; then a correlation analysis for each cluster was carried out. There was a significant and meaningful correlation pattern for cluster 1. Subsequently a Sobel test in cluster 1 was implemented, with a significant mediating role for resilience. Resilience is associated with less symptoms in Clusters 1 and 2, but in different ways. It has a protective role, mediating the relation between risky family and psychiatric symptoms in Cluster 1. Meanwhile it has a compensatory effect buffering the symptoms in Cluster 2. Clusters 3 and 4 show a high level of family stress and symptoms but a low level of resilience. It is possible to hypothesize that resilience does not “work” when there has been a high past risky family and so resilience could not have protective or compensatory effect.

Skin cancers including malignant melanoma which are due to UV radiation constitute a serious public health problem. Recent studies have confirmed the importance of UVA radiation in the pathogenesis of skin cancer, as well as the protective effects of broad-spectrum sunscreen use. Barriers for effective protection of the US public include the lack of effective UV filters, especially in the UVA spectrum. The major reason for the paucity of UVA-effective filters in the US is due primarily to the FDA's reluctance to approve agents which have already been on the market in Europe and elsewhere in the world for more than a decade. The underlying reasons for these discrepancies in new sunscreen approval success between the US and abroad are complex, and include factors such as that the FDA considers UV filters as drugs, whereas they are regulated as cosmetics elsewhere. FDA has not as yet developed a consistent approach for the approval of new UV filters. We provide a paradigm for both non-clinical testing and human safety testing which includes parameters for a human maximum use test (MUsT) that is based upon both ethical and scientific concepts. These suggestions could form the basis of future regulatory guidelines for rational testing thus allowing us to reach the consensus goal of more efficient and timely approval of much-needed UV filters to provide protection for the US public.

Background and objectives Family factors, such as family accommodation and parent-child characteristics, are hypothesised as important maintaining factors in paediatric OCD. There is limited research assessing parent and child behaviour amongst young people with OCD during family interactions. Thus, the current study sought to further explore parent-child interaction variables in OCD, using an observational design with three groups. Methods 23 young people with OCD, 30 young people with other anxiety disorders, and 23 young people with no clinical problems, along with their primary caregiver, completed a brief problem-solving discussion task designed to assess family interaction variables. Groups were compared on observer-rated and self-rated parent and child behaviours. It was expected that OCD families would differ from both anxious and nonclinical families on some behavioural dimensions, for example, rating lower on warmth, confidence, and positive problem solving. Results Results showed that young people in the OCD group could be differentiated from young people in the clinical and nonclinical comparison groups based on observed behaviour. Young people in the OCD group showed less warmth during their interactions and less confidence in their ability to solve the problem. These children and adolescents also had higher levels of doubt and withdrawal during interactions with their parent. Interestingly, parent behaviour did not differ between the groups, suggesting that parent behaviours are a less reliable indicator of OCD symptomatology. Conclusions During family interactions, young people with OCD behave in a different way to young people with another anxiety disorder as well as young people with no diagnosis. These findings provide interesting and important exploratory information relating to observed parent and child behaviour across different clinical and nonclinical groups. Limitations of this study are addressed and directions for future research are discussed.

The most effective therapy for patients with a contamination-related sub-type of obsessive-compulsive disorder is exposure with response prevention. However, several studies show that a notable proportion of patients do not benefit from exposure. One possible reason is the high functionality of compulsive thoughts and actions in shortly reducing aversive thoughts and feelings, which might cause high ambivalence and low willingness towards exposure. The present study investigates whether ambivalence and willingness can be influenced by additional motivational strategies to more effectively reduce disgust during exposure. Therefore, 54 healthy subjects were randomly assigned to either a standard exposure condition or an exposure condition whereby self-reference and action competences were amplified. The results show that disgust habituated strongly and willingness as well as persuasiveness were significant predictors of exposure success. However, the motivational intervention had no impact on disgust reduction. In light of the few experimental studies and the general difficulty of operationalizing motivational processes, four concrete implications of the study for future research are discussed.

Introduction Dissociative symptoms are common in people with trauma-related disorders and often co-occur with other psychiatric conditions. In particular, the relationships between dissociative symptoms, Schneiderian first-rank symptoms and borderline personality symptoms are still contentious, poorly understood and require more attention. Objectives This preliminary study investigated these three symptom clusters in a non-clinical Chinese sample in Hong Kong. Methods A total of 190 college students in Hong Kong completed the Dissociative Experiences Scale-Taxon (DES-T), the 5-item Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ-5) and some sections of the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule (DDIS). Results About one-fourth of the participants (24.7%) screened positive for one symptom cluster, 12.1% were positive for two symptom clusters; and 5.26% were positive for all three symptom clusters. Preliminary analysis showed that the three symptom clusters were associated with distress/impairment. Conclusion Dissociative, Schneiderian and borderline personality symptoms as measured in this study are not uncommon in this non-clinical Chinese sample. The data indicate that these three symptom clusters are highly related but are not the same constructs of psychopathology; the co-occurrence of these symptoms may require additional attention. The findings have significant implications for research and practice. Further studies are needed.

This research investigated the unique contribution of adverse childhood experiences (psychoanalytic theory) and parental overvaluation (social learning theory) in the development of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism in adults (N = 263). Multiple linear regressions revealed that, as expected, adverse childhood experiences, but not parental overvaluation, predicted vulnerable narcissism while parental overvaluation, but not adverse childhood experiences, predicted grandiose narcissism. Albeit, predictive effects were small in all analyses. Further analyses revealed that 1) adverse childhood experiences significantly predicted vulnerable narcissism over and above the effects of past mental health disorders; and, 2) correlation patterns of the Adverse Childhood Experience Questionnaire subscales were positively associated with vulnerable narcissism, but negatively associated with grandiose narcissism. Combined, these findings strengthen the two-type model of narcissism and have implications for both research and society at macro and individual levels.