Tears evoke the intention to offer social support: A systematic investigation of the interpersonal effects of emotional crying across 41 countries

Tearful crying is a ubiquitous and likely uniquely human phenomenon. Scholars have argued that emotional tears serve an attachment function: Tears are thought to act as a social glue by evoking social support intentions. Initial experimental studies supported this proposition across several methodologies, but these were conducted almost exclusively on participants from North America and Europe, resulting in limited generalizability. This project examined the tears-social support intentions effect and possible mediating and moderating variables in a fully pre-registered study across 7007 participants (24,886 ratings) and 41 countries spanning all populated continents. Participants were presented with four pictures out of 100 possible targets with or without digitally-added tears. We confirmed the main prediction that seeing a tearful individual elicits the intention to support, d = 0.49 [0.43, 0.55]. Our data suggest that this effect could be mediated by perceiving the crying target as warmer and more helpless, feeling more connected, as well as feeling more empathic concern for the crier, but not by an increase in personal distress of the observer. The effect was moderated by the situational valence, identifying the target as part of one's group, and trait empathic concern. A neutral situation, high trait empathic concern, and low identification increased the effect. We observed high heterogeneity across countries that was, via split-half validation, best explained by country-level GDP per capita and subjective well-being with stronger effects for higher-scoring countries. These findings suggest that tears can function as social glue, providing one possible explanation why emotional crying persists into adulthood.</p

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (vesus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world

Etracorporeal shock wave therapy: An emerging treatment modality for retracting scars of the hands

Prolonged and abnormal scarring after trauma, burns and surgical procedures often results in a pathologic scar. We evaluated the efficacy of unfocused shock wave treatment, alone or in combination with manual therapy, on retracting scars on the hands. Scar appearance was assessed by means of the modified Vancouver Scar Scale; functional hand mobility was evaluated using a range-of-motion scale, whereas a visual analogue score was implemented for detecting any improvements in referred pain. Additionally, biopsy specimens were collected for clinico-pathologic correlation. For each active treatment group, statistically significant improvements in modified Vancouver Scar Scale were recorded as early as five treatment sessions and confirmed 2 wk after the last treatment session. Analogous results were observed when assessing pain and range of movement. Histopathological examination revealed significant increases in dermal fibroblasts in each active treatment group, as well as in neoangiogenetic response and type-I collagen concentration

Integrated treatment with endodermal massage, proprioceptive rehabilitation, viscoelastic, plantar orthosis and myofascial manual therapy on skin graft: case report

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Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy: An Emerging Treatment Modality for Retracting Scars of the Hands

Abstract Prolonged and abnormal scarring after trauma, burns and surgical procedures often results in a pathologic scar. We evaluated the efficacy of unfocused shock wave treatment, alone or in combination with manual therapy, on retracting scars on the hands. Scar appearance was assessed by means of the modified Vancouver Scar Scale; functional hand mobility was evaluated using a range-of-motion scale, whereas a visual analogue score was implemented for detecting any improvements in referred pain. Additionally, biopsy specimens were collected for clinico-pathologic correlation. For each active treatment group, statistically significant improvements in modified Vancouver Scar Scale were recorded as early as five treatment sessions and confirmed 2 wk after the last treatment session. Analogous results were observed when assessing pain and range of movement. Histopathological examination revealed significant increases in dermal fibroblasts in each active treatment group, as well as in neoangiogenetic response and type-I collagen concentration

Validation of Murray sputum purulence scale in the Italian Registry of Bronchiectasis (IRIDE)

Introduction: Murray sputum colour chart stratifies patients according to the presence of mucous (M), muco-purulent (MP) or purulent (P) sputum, and has not been validated in Bx yet. We aimed to validate this scale across a large Italian cohort of Bx patients. Methods: A secondary analysis of the IRIDE database was conducted including adults with Bx and daily sputum production enrolled across 13 Italian centres between 2014 and 2017. M vs. MP vs. P sputum producers were identified and clinical, functional and microbiological data were collected. Clinical outcomes during a two-year follow up period were evaluated in the Monza and Milan cohorts. A sensitivity analysis excluding COPD patients was conducted. Results: 448 patients were enrolled (65% female, median age 68 years): 45% belonged to Group M, 40% to Group MP and 15% to Group P. Significant differences (M vs. MP vs. P) were detected in terms of rate of chronic infection due to any bacteria (30% vs. 47% vs. 71%, p<0.001), P. aeruginosa (20% vs. 32% vs. 58%, p<0.001) and other bacteria (14% vs 19% vs 25%, p=0.038). Median predicted FEV1 was statistically different among the groups (M:88% vs. MP:77% vs. P:72%, p<0.001) as well as the median Bronchiectasis Severity Index values (M:6 vs. MP:8 vs. P:9, p<0.001). Quality of life was significantly poorer in Group P vs. MP vs. M (QoL-B respiration score: 52 vs. 61 vs. 70, p<0.001). Differences in hospitalization rate (M: 10% vs P: 33%) and 3+ exacerbation/year (M 41% vs P 58%) were detected in follow up. The exclusion of COPD did not affect the results. Conclusion: Murray sputum chart is a valuable tool to assess disease severity and might be useful to predict clinical outcomes in Bx

Validation of Murray sputum purulence scale in the Italian Registry of Bronchiectasis (IRIDE)

Introduction: Murray sputum colour chart stratifies patients according to the presence of mucous (M), muco-purulent (MP) or purulent (P) sputum, and has not been validated in Bx yet. We aimed to validate this scale across a large Italian cohort of Bx patients. Methods: A secondary analysis of the IRIDE database was conducted including adults with Bx and daily sputum production enrolled across 13 Italian centres between 2014 and 2017. M vs. MP vs. P sputum producers were identified and clinical, functional and microbiological data were collected. Clinical outcomes during a two-year follow up period were evaluated in the Monza and Milan cohorts. A sensitivity analysis excluding COPD patients was conducted. Results: 448 patients were enrolled (65% female, median age 68 years): 45% belonged to Group M, 40% to Group MP and 15% to Group P. Significant differences (M vs. MP vs. P) were detected in terms of rate of chronic infection due to any bacteria (30% vs. 47% vs. 71%, p&lt;0.001), P. aeruginosa (20% vs. 32% vs. 58%, p&lt;0.001) and other bacteria (14% vs 19% vs 25%, p=0.038). Median predicted FEV1 was statistically different among the groups (M:88% vs. MP:77% vs. P:72%, p&lt;0.001) as well as the median Bronchiectasis Severity Index values (M:6 vs. MP:8 vs. P:9, p&lt;0.001). Quality of life was significantly poorer in Group P vs. MP vs. M (QoL-B respiration score: 52 vs. 61 vs. 70, p&lt;0.001). Differences in hospitalization rate (M: 10% vs P: 33%) and 3+ exacerbation/year (M 41% vs P 58%) were detected in follow up. The exclusion of COPD did not affect the results. Conclusion: Murray sputum chart is a valuable tool to assess disease severity and might be useful to predict clinical outcomes in Bx. Footnotes Cite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2018 52: Suppl. 62, PA2673