Григорій Епік

Епік Григорій Данилович (1901–1937) – український письменник, кіносценарист, перекладач і публіцист

An Internet-based intervention for eating disorders consisting of automated computer-tailored feedback with or without supplemented frequent or infrequent support from a coach: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Several Internet-based interventions for eating disorders have shown their effectiveness. Still, there is a need to refine such interventions given that most existing programs seem to be limited by their static 'one-size-fits-all' approach. 'Featback', an Internet-based intervention for symptoms of eating disorders provides a more individualized approach. It consists of several components (psychoeducation, a fully automated monitoring and feedback system, and support from a coach), which can be matched to participants' needs and preferences. Until now, it is unclear whether online self-help interventions for eating disorders with support are more ef

Surface alignment, anchoring transitions, optical properties, and topological defects in the thermotropic nematic phase of organo-siloxane tetrapodes

We address the status of oxadiazole mesogens, C7 and C12, reported to show the biaxial nematic phase, by exploring material aspects (chemical stability, surface anchoring, optical and dielectric properties, topological defects) linked to the type of nematic order. We demonstrate that the isogyres splitting in conoscopic patterns of homeotropic state depends on sample thickness and is associated with variations of molecular tilt along the normal to substrates. We observe isolated topological point defects (boojums and hedgehogs), as well as nonsingular “escaped” disclinations pertinent only to the uniaxial nematic order. Our conclusion is that C7 and C12 feature only a uniaxial nematic phase and the apparent biaxiality is caused by surface effects

A randomized controlled trial of an Internet-based intervention for eating disorders and the added value of expert-patient support: study protocol

Background: E-mental health has become increasingly popular in interventions for individuals with eating disorders (EDs). It has the potential to offer low-threshold interventions and guide individuals to the needed care more promptly. Featback is such an Internet-based intervention and consists of psychoeducation and a fully automated monitoring and feedback system. Preliminary findings suggest Featback to be (cost-)effective in reducing ED symptomatology. Additionally, e-mail or chat support by a psychologist did not enhance the effectiveness of Featback. Support by an expert patient (someone with a lived experience of an ED) might be more effective, since that person can effectively model healthy behavior and enhance self-efficacy in individuals struggling with an ED. The present study aims to replicate and build on earlier findings by further investigating the (cost-)effectiveness of Featback and the added value of expert-patient support. Methods: The study will be a randomized controlled trial with a two-by-two factorial design with repeated measures. The four conditions will be (1) Featback, in which participants receive automated feedback on a short monitoring questionnaire weekly, (2) Featback with weekly e-mail or chat support from an expert patient, (3) weekly support from an expert patient, and (4) a waiting list. Participants who are 16 years or older and have at least mild self-reported ED symptoms receive a baseline measure. Subsequently, they are randomized to one of the four conditions for 8 weeks. Participants will be assessed again post-intervention and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months follow-up. The primary outcome measure will be ED psychopathology. Secondary outcome measures are experienced social support, self-efficacy, symptoms of anxiety and depression, user satisfaction, intervention usage, and help-seeking attitudes and behaviors. Discussion: The current study is the first to investigate e-mental health in combination with expert-patient support for EDs and will add to the optimization of the delivery of Internet-based interventions and expert-patient support. Trial registration: Netherlands Trial Register, NTR7065. Registered on 7 June 2018

External quality assessment of SARS-CoV-2-sequencing: An ESGMD-SSM pilot trial across 15 European laboratories

Objective: This first pilot on external quality assessment (EQA) of SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequencing, initiated by the ESCMID Study Group for Genomic and Molecular Diagnostics (ESGMD) and Swiss Society for Microbiology (SSM), aims to build a framework between laboratories in order to improve pathogen surveillance sequencing.Methods: Ten samples with varying viral loads were sent out to 15 clinical laboratories who had free choice of sequencing methods and bioinformatic analyses. The key aspects on which the individual centres were compared on were identification of 1) SNPs and indels, 2) Pango lineages, and 3) clusters between samples.Results: The participating laboratories used a wide array of methods and analysis pipelines. Most were able to generate whole genomes for all samples. Genomes were sequenced to varying depth (up to 100-fold difference across centres). There was a very good consensus regarding the majority of reporting criteria, but there were a few discrepancies in lineage and cluster assignment. Additionally, there were inconsistencies in variant calling. The main reasons for discrepancies were missing data, bioinformatic choices, and interpretation of data.Conclusions: The pilot EQA was an overall success. It was able to show the high quality of participating labs and provide valuable feedback in cases where problems occurred, thereby improving the sequencing setup of laboratories. A larger follow-up EQA should, however, improve on defining the variables and format of the report. Additionally, contamination and/or minority variants should be a further aspect of assessment.</p

Motives for using social networking sites:a uses &amp; gratifications perspective amongst people with eating disorder symptoms

Studies investigating motives for social networking sites (SNS) use amongst people with eating disorder (ED) symptoms are scarce. The uses and gratifications theory states that people actively select media content to gratify their individual needs and this may help to explain why individuals with eating disorder symptoms choose to expose themselves to specific media content and how they choose to respond. Some evidence exists that readiness to change may be a factor related to SNS use patterns in this population. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential relationship between readiness to change ED cognitions/behaviors and SNS use motives in individuals with current or past ED symptoms, employing a uses and gratifications theory perspective. Participants were recruited from ED recovery websites; 103 individuals (16–55 years old) provided complete data. As hypothesized, ED symptom severity was inversely associated with readiness to change and time spent on (specific) SNS was not associated with ED symptom severity. The results of hierarchical regression analyses further suggested that if individuals felt less capable of overcoming their dysfunctional cognitions/behaviors about their body/eating (i.e., were less ready to change), they were more likely to be motivated to use SNSs for the purpose of impressing others and reputation management. The clinical implication is that high amounts of SNS use may not necessarily be harmful for people with EDs or recovering from EDs, whereas using SNSs for the purposes of impression management could potentially be related to being less ready to recover

Emotion Regulation in Binge Eating Disorder: A Review

The purpose of the present review is to provide a summary of the research findings on emotion regulation in Binge Eating Disorder (BED). Negative emotions and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies play a role in the onset and maintenance of binge eating in BED. Anger and sadness, along with negative emotions related to interpersonal experiences (i.e., disappointment, being hurt or loneliness), seem to be particularly relevant. Individuals with BED have a tendency to suppress and ruminate on their unwanted emotions, which leads to increased psychopathological thoughts and symptoms. Compared to healthy controls, they use adaptive strategies, such as reappraisal, less frequently. Evidence concerning the causal relation between negative affect and binge eating is inconclusive and still very limited. While experimental studies in a laboratory setting lack ecological validity, ecological momentary assessment studies offer more promise at unraveling the causal relationship between emotions and binge eating. Increases in negative affect are found to be antecedents of binge eating in BED. However, there seems to be less support for the possibility that binge eating serves as a means to alleviate negative affect. Finally, BED seems to be related to other forms of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, such as substance abuse and self-harm

Feeling bad or feeling good, does emotion affect your consumption of food? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence

Whether emotions affect eating, and in whom, has remained unclear. This meta-analysis assessed the effect of emotions on eating in both healthy and eating disordered individuals. Fifty-six experimental studies investigating the causal effect of emotions on eating behavior were selected including 3670 participants. Separate meta-analyses (random models) were performed for negative and positive emotions. Among healthy people the moderating impact of individual differences in restrained and emotional eating and of being overweight or obese was assessed for negative emotions. Results: Restrained eaters showed increased eating in response to negative emotions. Negative emotions did not affect eating in overweight or obese people, people with eating disorders or in self-assessed emotional eaters. Positive emotion resulted in increased eating across groups. Heterogeneity was high and could be explained by differences in emotion induction procedures, eating measures, and age of participants. These findings indicate that particularly restrained eaters are vulnerable to emotion-induced eating. Additional qualitatively good experiments are called for in combination with studies assessing emotion-eating links in people's naturalistic environment

Feeling bad or feeling good, does emotion affect your consumption of food? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence

Whether emotions affect eating, and in whom, has remained unclear. This meta-analysis assessed the effect of emotions on eating in both healthy and eating disordered individuals. Fifty-six experimental studies investigating the causal effect of emotions on eating behavior were selected including 3670 participants. Separate meta-analyses (random models) were performed for negative and positive emotions. Among healthy people the moderating impact of individual differences in restrained and emotional eating and of being overweight or obese was assessed for negative emotions. Results: Restrained eaters showed increased eating in response to negative emotions. Negative emotions did not affect eating in overweight or obese people, people with eating disorders or in self-assessed emotional eaters. Positive emotion resulted in increased eating across groups. Heterogeneity was high and could be explained by differences in emotion induction procedures, eating measures, and age of participants. These findings indicate that particularly restrained eaters are vulnerable to emotion-induced eating. Additional qualitatively good experiments are called for in combination with studies assessing emotion-eating links in people's naturalistic environment