MODELING DAILY POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS SYMPTOMS AND MENTAL CONTAMINATION EXPERIENCES AMONG SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL TRAUMA

Mental contamination (i.e., feelings of dirtiness in the absence of contact with a contaminant) is a potentially important yet understudied factor in posttraumatic psychopathology, particularly for survivors of sexual trauma. Mental contamination has been linked to PTSD symptom severity, negative affect, and coping cross-sectionally and in lab-based paradigms, but research has yet to assess these relationships in ecological contexts. The present study extends previous cross-sectional findings by modelling relationships between mental contamination and posttraumatic psychopathology, emotions, and coping both within-day and from one day to the next. Forty-two female sexual trauma survivors completed twice-daily assessments of mental contamination, PTSD symptoms, negative emotions, and avoidant/approach coping via a smartphone app. Daily averages and intraindividual changes in mental contamination scores were linked with PTSD symptoms at the same timepoint. Mental contamination also significantly predicted several specific avoidant coping strategies at later timepoints in addition to concurrent links. Unexpectedly, several negative emotions exhibited positive links with concurrent mental contamination but were negatively linked to later mental contamination. Exploratory analyses identified a significant interaction whereby elevated morning negative affect predicted evening reductions in mental contamination, but only for individuals also high in morning PTSD symptoms. Lastly, prevalence of reported baseline mental contamination was much higher in the present study compared to prior research. Clinical relevance and future recommendations for ecological research in trauma-related mental contamination is discussed

The Role of Stress in the Pathogenesis and Maintenance of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder often identify psychosocial stress as a factor that exacerbates their symptoms, and many trace the onset of symptoms to a stressful period of life or a discrete traumatic incident. However, the pathophysiological relationship between stress and obsessive-compulsive disorder remains poorly characterized: it is unclear whether trauma or stress is an independent cause of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms, a triggering factor that interacts with a preexisting diathesis, or simply a nonspecific factor that can exacerbate obsessive-compulsive disorder along with other aspects of psychiatric symptomatology. Nonetheless, preclinical research has demonstrated that stress has conspicuous effects on corticostriatal and limbic circuitry. Specifically, stress can lead to neuronal atrophy in frontal cortices (particularly the medial prefrontal cortex), the dorsomedial striatum (caudate), and the hippocampus. Stress can also result in neuronal hypertrophy in the dorsolateral striatum (putamen) and amygdala. These neurobiological effects mirror reported neural abnormalities in obsessive-compulsive disorder and may contribute to an imbalance between goal-directed and habitual behavior, an imbalance that is implicated in the pathogenesis and expression of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptomatology. The modulation of corticostriatal and limbic circuits by stress and the resultant imbalance between habit and goal-directed learning and behavior offers a framework for investigating how stress may exacerbate or trigger obsessive-compulsive disorder symptomatology

One hundred mosaic embryos transferred prospectively in a single clinic: exploring when and why they result in healthy pregnancies

Objective To investigate the parameters of mosaicism and the biological mechanisms leading to healthy pregnancies from mosaic embryo transfers. Design Prospective study. Setting IVF center and associated research laboratory. Patient(s) Fifty-nine patients. Intervention(s) Embryos underwent blastocyst-stage preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy by next-generation sequencing. Trophectoderm biopsies containing 20%–80% abnormal cells were deemed mosaic, and corresponding blastocysts were transferred. Mosaic embryos donated to research were examined for karyotype concordance in multiple biopsies and assessed for cell proliferation and death by immunofluorescence and computational quantitation. Main Outcome Measure(s) Chemical start of pregnancy, implantation, fetal heartbeat, and birth. Result(s) Globally, mosaic embryos showed inferior clinical outcomes compared with euploid embryos. Aneuploid cell percentage in trophectoderm biopsies did not correlate with outcomes, but type of mosaicism did, as embryos with single mosaic segmental aneuploidies fared better than all other types. Mosaic blastocysts generated from oocytes retrieved at young maternal ages (?34 years) showed better outcomes than those retrieved at older maternal ages. Mosaic embryos displayed low rates of karyotype concordance between multiple biopsies and showed significant elevation of cell proliferation and death compared with euploid embryos. Conclusion(s) After euploid embryos, mosaic embryos can be considered for transfer, prioritizing those of the single segmental mosaic type. If a patient has mosaic embryos available that were generated at different ages, preference should be given to those made at younger ages. Intrablastocyst karyotype discordance and differential cell proliferation and death might be reasons that embryos classified as mosaic can result in healthy pregnancies and babies

Assessment of aneuploidy concordance between clinical trophectoderm biopsy and blastocyst

STUDY QUESTION Is a clinical trophectoderm (TE) biopsy a suitable predictor of chromosomal aneuploidy in blastocysts? SUMMARY ANSWER In the analyzed group of blastocysts, a clinical TE biopsy was an excellent representative of blastocyst karyotype in cases of whole chromosome aneuploidy, but in cases of only segmental (sub-chromosomal) aneuploidy, a TE biopsy was a poor representative of blastocyst karyotype. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Due to the phenomenon of chromosomal mosaicism, concern has been expressed about the possibility of discarding blastocysts classified as aneuploid by preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) that in fact contain a euploid inner cell mass (ICM). Previously published studies investigating karyotype concordance between TE and ICM have examined small sample sizes and/or have utilized chromosomal analysis technologies superseded by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). It is also known that blastocysts classified as mosaic by PGT-A can result in healthy births. TE re-biopsy of embryos classified as aneuploid can potentially uncover new instances of mosaicism, but the frequency of such blastocysts is currently unknown. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION For this study, 45 patients donated 100 blastocysts classified as uniform aneuploids (non-mosaic) using PGT-A by NGS (n = 93 whole chromosome aneuploids, n = 7 segmental aneuploids). In addition to the original clinical TE biopsy used for PGT-A, each blastocyst was subjected to an ICM biopsy as well as a second TE biopsy. All biopsies were processed for chromosomal analysis by NGS, and karyotypes were compared to the original TE biopsy. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS The setting for this study was a single IVF center with an in-house PGT-A program and associated research laboratory. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE When one or more whole chromosomes were aneuploid in the clinical TE biopsy, the corresponding ICM was aneuploid in 90 out of 93 blastocysts (96.8%). When the clinical TE biopsy contained only segmental (sub-chromosomal) aneuploidies, the ICM was aneuploid in three out of seven cases (42.9%). Blastocysts showing aneuploidy concordance between clinical TE biopsy and ICM were also aneuploid in a second TE biopsy in 86 out of 88 cases (97.7%). In blastocysts displaying clinical TE–ICM discordance, a second TE biopsy was aneuploid in only two out of six cases (33.3%). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION All embryos in this study had an initial classification of ‘aneuploid’ and not ‘euploid’ or ‘mosaic’. Therefore, the findings of this study refer specifically to a TE biopsy predicting aneuploidy in the remaining blastocyst, and cannot be extrapolated to deduce the ability of a TE biopsy to predict euploidy in the blastocyst. No conclusions should be drawn from this study about the ability of a mosaic TE biopsy to predict the karyotype of the corresponding blastocyst. Caution should be exercised in generalizing the findings of the sample group of this study to the general IVF blastocyst population. The segmental aneuploidy group only contained seven samples. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS The high rate of intra-blastocyst concordance observed in this study concerning whole chromosome aneuploidy contributes experimental evidence to the validation of PGT-A at the blastocyst stage. Concomitantly, the results suggest potential clinical value in reassessing blastocysts deemed aneuploid by TE re-biopsy in select cases, particularly in instances of segmental aneuploidies. This could impact infertility treatment for patients who only have blastocysts classified as aneuploid by PGT-A available. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This study was supported by the Zouves Foundation for Reproductive Medicine and Zouves Fertility Center. The authors have no competing interest to disclose

sj-docx-1-jiv-10.1177_08862605221127205 – Supplemental material for Daily Associations Between Trauma-Related Mental Contamination and Use of Specific Coping Strategies: Results of a Daily Monitoring Study

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-jiv-10.1177_08862605221127205 for Daily Associations Between Trauma-Related Mental Contamination and Use of Specific Coping Strategies: Results of a Daily Monitoring Study by Jordyn M. Tipsword, Matthew W. Southward, Anita M. Adams, C. Alex Brake and Christal L. Badour in Journal of Interpersonal Violence</p

Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Older Adults: a Review of the Effects on Physical and Emotional Well-Being

OBJECTIU: Observar si la llàgrima es veu afectada per la demanda en visió propera en joves estudiants de 1r i 4t del grau de la facultat d’Òptica i Optometria. MATERIAL I MÈTODES: 63 participants, d’edats compreses entre 18-30 anys, van ser sotmesos a un estudi clínic per determinar si l’ús sistemàtic d’ordinador i les demandes en visió propera provoquen canvis significatius en la qualitat i quantitat de la llàgrima. Primer de tot, es van classificar els alumnes en dos grups; de 1r i de 4t de carrera. Posteriorment, se’ls hi va passar el qüestionari OSDI i es va realitzar un estudi de la llàgrima amb l’OCULUS Keratograph 5M, per determinar els possibles canvis en la quantitat i qualitat de llàgrima valorant els paràmetres següents: el test OSDI, el temps de ruptura lacrimal i el menisc lacrimal. RESULTATS: La puntuació de l’OSDI en estudiants de primer és de 75.67% d’alumnes entre 0-20 punts; 21.62% entre 21-45 punts; i un 2.7% entre 46-100 punts. La mitjana de tots els alumnes de primer és de 14.76 punts. La puntuació de l’OSDI en estudiants de quart és de 50% d’alumnes entre 0-20 punts; 34.61% entre 21-45 punts; i 15.38% entre 46-100 punts. La mitjana dels alumnes és de 22.45 punts. El valor del temps de ruptura lacrimal en estudiants de primer és de 54.05% amb valors superiors a 10 segons i 45.95% valors inferiors a 10 segons. A quart s’observa un 38.46% d’estudiants amb valors superiors a 10 segons i 61.54% valors inferiors a 10 segons. Per últim, l’alçada del menisc lacrimal en estudiants de primer curs és de 59.46% amb menisc normal (superior a 0.18 mil·límetres) i el 40.54% amb menisc inferiors a 0.18 mm. Els alumnes de quart presenten un valor de 34.61% amb meniscs superiors a 0.18 mm i del 65.38% amb meniscs inferiors a 0.18 mm. CONCLUSIONS: No es contemplen diferències estadísticament significatives en quant a quantitat i qualitat de la llàgrima entre els estudiants de 1r i 4t de la facultat. El sexe i l’edat tampoc en són un factor influent. No s’ha observat una disminució de volum ni de la qualitat de la llàgrima després d’aquets quatre anys del grau, tenint en compte l’ús d’ordinador i ús prolongat de visió propera