Are Changes in Personality Traits and Alcohol Use Associated? A Cohort Study Among Young Swiss Men.

Objective: It is well known that certain personality traits are associated with alcohol use. Because less is known about it, we wished to investigate whether changes in alcohol use were longitudinally associated with changes in personality and in which direction the influence or causation might flow. Methods: Data came from the self-reported questionnaire answers of 5,125 young men at two time points during the Cohort study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF). Their average ages were 20.0 and 25.4 years old at the first and second wave assessments, respectively. Four personality traits were measured: (a) aggression-hostility; (b) sociability; (c) neuroticism-anxiety; and (d) sensation seeking. Alcohol use was measured by volume (drinks per week) and binge drinking (about 60+ grams per occasion). Cross-lagged panel models and two-wave latent change score models were used. Results: Aggression-hostility, sensation seeking, and sociability were significantly and positively cross-sectionally associated with both alcohol use variables. Drinking volume and these three personality traits bidirectionally predicted each other. Binge drinking was bidirectionally associated with sensation-seeking only, whereas aggression-hostility and sociability only predicted binge drinking, but not vice versa. Changes in alcohol use were significantly positively associated with changes in aggression-hostility, sensation seeking, and sociability. Associations reached small Cohen's effect sizes for sociability and sensation seeking, but not for aggression-hostility. Associations with neuroticism-anxiety were mostly not significant. Conclusion: The direction of effects confirmed findings from other studies, and the association between changes in personality and alcohol use support the idea that prevention programs should simultaneously target both

Online Gambling's Associations With Gambling Disorder and Related Problems in a Representative Sample of Young Swiss Men.

Background and Aims: Internet gambling has recently grown in popularity, but relatively little is known about how online and the combination of online and offline (mixed) gambling are associated with gambling disorder (GD) and related problems. The present research examined in a cohort study sample of young Swiss men how their gambling activities and gambling-related problems differed across the spectrum from offline to online gambling. Sample: A general-population based sample from the Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF), consisting of 5,352 young Swiss men (mean age 28.26 years old). Measures: The spectrum from exclusively offline to almost exclusively online (>90% of gambling money spent online) gambling was measured using one question about the proportion of gambling money spent online. Total money gambled and time spent on gambling were also assessed. GD severity (range 0-9) was measured using items reflecting the nine DSM-5 GD criteria. The number of gambling-related problems (e.g., financial difficulties, range 0-10), other addictive disorders and mental health problems were also inquired about. Methods: We estimated a generalised linear model using a count model (negative binomial link function) for GD severity and gambling-related problems associated with the amounts and proportions of money gambled online and offline. Results: The number of GD criteria were associated with money gambled online (IRR [95%CI] = 2.81 [2.43, 3.24]) and offline (IRR = 2.68 [2.40, 3.00]). This was also found for the number of gambling-related problems (IRR = 2.43 [2.13, 2.79] and IRR = 2.89 [2.59, 3.23]). Compared with exclusively-offline gamblers, mixed gamblers (26-90% of money gambled online) showed the highest levels of GD symptoms and gambling-related problems, followed by the almost-exclusively-online gamblers (≥91% money gambled online) and, overall, these associations were still significant after adjustment for overall involvement in gambling (time spent and money gambled). Levels of other addictive disorders and mental health problems were higher among mixed gamblers than among offline-only gamblers, but levels among almost-exclusively-online gamblers were not. Conclusions: Symptoms of gambling disorder and gambling related problems are highest among gamblers engaging in both offline and online gambling. Prevention efforts need to target the combination of offline and online gambling

Powerful partnership: crosstalk between pannexin 1 and the cytoskeleton

The roles of pannexin 1 (Panx1) large-pore ion and metabolite channels are becoming recognized in many physiological and pathophysiological scenarios. Recent evidence has tightly linked Panx1 trafficking and function to the cytoskeleton, a multi-component network that provides critical structural support, transportation, and scaffolding functions in all cell types. Here we review early work demonstrating the mechanosensitive activation of Panx1 channels, and expand on more recent evidence directly linking Panx1 to the cytoskeleton. Further, we examine the reciprocal regulation between Panx1 and the cytoskeleton, and discuss the involvement of Panx1 in cytoskeletal-regulated cell behaviors. Finally, we identify important gaps in the current knowledge surrounding this emerging Panx1-cytoskeleton relationship

Unique versus shared associations between self-reported behavioral addictions and substance use disorders and mental health problems: A commonality analysis in a large sample of young Swiss men.

Behavioral addictions (BAs) and substance use disorders (SUDs) tend to co-occur; both are associated with mental health problems (MHPs). This study aimed to estimate the proportion of variance in the severity of MHPs explained by BAs and SUDs, individually and shared between addictions. A sample of 5,516 young Swiss men (mean = 25.47 years old; SD = 1.26) completed a self-reporting questionnaire assessing alcohol, cannabis, and tobacco use disorders, illicit drug use other than cannabis, six BAs (Internet, gaming, smartphone, Internet sex, gambling, and work) and four MHPs (major depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, social anxiety disorder, and borderline personality disorder). Commonality analysis was used to decompose the variance in the severity of MHPs explained (R <sup>2</sup> ) by BAs and SUDs into independent commonality coefficients. These were calculated for unique BA and SUD contributions and for all types of shared contributions. BAs and SUDs explained between a fifth and a quarter of the variance in severity of MHPs, but individual addictions explained only about half of this explained variance uniquely; the other half was shared between addictions. A greater proportion of variance was explained uniquely or shared within BAs compared to SUDs, especially for social anxiety disorder. The interactions of a broad range of addictions should be considered when investigating their associations with MHPs. BAs explain a larger part of the variance in MHPs than do SUDs and therefore play an important role in their interaction with MHPs

The psychological impact of the COVID-19 crisis on young Swiss men participating in a cohort study.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused many disturbances to daily life worldwide and may also have significantly affected people's psychological well-being. The present study aimed to describe the psychological impact of the crisis on our sample of young Swiss men and to examine differences due to their linguistic region, experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and living arrangements. Based on an ongoing cohort study, we assessed a general-population sample of young Swiss men (n = 2345; average 29 years old) shortly before (from April 2019) and early on during the COVID-19 crisis (between 13 May and 8 June 2020). This was a unique opportunity to estimate the crisis' psychological impact in the form of depression, perceived stress and sleep quality (assessed before and during COVID-19), and any crisis-induced fears, isolation or psychological trauma. Associations of psychological impact with living arrangements, experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and linguistic region (German-speaking vs French-speaking) were investigated using linear regression models. By the time participants responded to our questionnaire, less than 1% had been tested positive for COVID-19, 2.6% had been tested negative and 14.7% had had some COVID-19 symptoms but had not been tested. About 8.2% of the sample reported at least some symptoms of psychological trauma (≥24 points on the Impact of Event Scale). On average, participants reported higher levels of fear for others (43.6% at least moderate) and economic fear (12.7% at least moderate) than fear for themselves (5.8% at least moderate). Those living alone and those who reported having COVID-19 symptoms themselves, or knowing someone with symptoms, reported higher overall psychological impact in the form of depression, perceived stress, sleep quality, psychological trauma, fear and isolation. Associations with linguistic region varied by outcome, with higher levels of depression and fear in French-speaking regions and higher levels of perceived stress and isolation in German-speaking regions. The crisis had a considerable impact on the psychological well-being of our sample of young Swiss men, and some groups were more affected than others: those living alone and those who had shown COVID-19 symptoms themselves or had known someone with symptoms may have felt a greater psychological impact from the crisis. Supporting those at a higher risk of psychological consequences in such crises, whether through structural measures or via individual support, should be an important aspect of crisis management and could help reduce the overall impact of the current pandemic on Switzerland's population

Zur Kenntnis der Sesquiterpene und Azulene. 123. Mitteilung.* Uberfuhrung von Elemol in Eudesman

Langeres Erhitzen .des Benzoyl- bzw. p-Nitrobenzoylesters des monocyclischen Sesquiterpens Elemol (III) auf 190-2100 liefert ein Gemisch von Kohlenwasserstoffen C15H 24 (VII), welches bei der katalytischen Hydrierung nach Aufnahme von 2,1 Mol Wasserstoff in den bekannten, bicyclischen Kohlenwasserstoff Eudesman (VIII) iibergeht . Obwohl dieser Befund eine direkte experimentelle Ve1!lmiipfung der Sesquiterpenalkohole Eudesmol (IV) und Elemol (III) darstellt, kann er fiir die Bestimmung der absoluten Konfig uration des Elemols vorlii.ufig nicht h erangezogen werden

Vena cava inferior thrombosis detected by venous hum: a case report

We describe a patient in which a venous hum, heard during abdominal auscultation, lead to the diagnosis of a vena cava inferior thrombosis

Developing research priorities for palliative care of people with intellectual disabilities in Europe: a consultation process using nominal group technique

BACKGROUND: Empirical knowledge around palliative care provision and needs of people with intellectual disabilities is extremely limited, as is the availability of research resources, including expertise and funding. This paper describes a consultation process that sought to develop an agenda for research priorities for palliative care of people with intellectual disabilities in Europe. METHODS: A two-day workshop was convened, attended by 16 academics and clinicians in the field of palliative care and intellectual disability from six European countries. The first day consisted of round-table presentations and discussions about the current state of the art, research challenges and knowledge gaps. The second day was focused on developing consensus research priorities with 12 of the workshop participants using nominal group technique, a structured method which involved generating a list of research priorities and ranking them in order of importance. RESULTS: A total of 40 research priorities were proposed and collapsed into eleven research themes. The four most important research themes were: investigating issues around end of life decision making; mapping the scale and scope of the issue; investigating the quality of palliative care for people with intellectual disabilities, including the challenges in achieving best practice; and developing outcome measures and instruments for palliative care of people with intellectual disabilities. CONCLUSIONS: The proposal of four major priority areas and a range of minor themes for future research in intellectual disability, death, dying and palliative care will help researchers to focus limited resources and research expertise on areas where it is most needed and support the building of collaborations. The next steps are to cross-validate these research priorities with people with intellectual disabilities, carers, clinicians, researchers and other stakeholders across Europe; to validate them with local and national policy makers to determine how they could best be incorporated in policy and programmes; and to translate them into actual research studies by setting up European collaborations for specific studies that require such collaboration, develop research proposals and attract research funding

A Cell Motility Screen Reveals Role for MARCKS-Related Protein in Adherens Junction Formation and Tumorigenesis

Invasion through the extracellular matrix (ECM) is important for wound healing, immunological responses and metastasis. We established an invasion-based cell motility screen using Boyden chambers overlaid with Matrigel to select for pro-invasive genes. By this method we identified antisense to MARCKS related protein (MRP), whose family member MARCKS is a target of miR-21, a microRNA involved in tumor growth, invasion and metastasis in multiple human cancers. We confirmed that targeted knockdown of MRP, in both EpRas mammary epithelial cells and PC3 prostate cancer cells, promoted in vitro cell migration that was blocked by trifluoperazine. Additionally, we observed increased immunofluoresence of E-cadherin, β-catenin and APC at sites of cell-cell contact in EpRas cells with MRP knockdown suggesting formation of adherens junctions. By wound healing assay we observed that reduced MRP supported collective cell migration, a type of cell movement where adherens junctions are maintained. However, destabilized adherens junctions, like those seen in EpRas cells, are frequently important for oncogenic signaling. Consequently, knockdown of MRP in EpRas caused loss of tumorigenesis in vivo, and reduced Wnt3a induced TCF reporter signaling in vitro. Together our data suggest that reducing MRP expression promotes formation of adherens junctions in EpRas cells, allowing collective cell migration, but interferes with oncogenic β-catenin signaling and tumorigenesis

Potential therapeutic effects of an ayahuasca-inspired N,N-DMT and harmine formulation: a controlled trial in healthy subjects

Background: There is growing scientific evidence for the therapeutic benefits of the Amazonian plant-based psychedelic “ayahuasca” for neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. However, there are certain challenges when incorporating botanical ayahuasca into biomedical research and clinical therapy environments. Formulations inspired by ayahuasca, which contain specific and standardized active components, are a potential remedy. Methods: We investigated subjective acute and persisting effects of a novel formulation containing the reversible monoamine oxidase inhibitor harmine (orodispersible tablet containing 100 mg MAO-I) and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (incremental intranasal dosing of up to 100 mg DMT), compared with two other conditions, namely harmine alone and placebo, in a crossover RCT in 31 healthy male subjects. Results: DMT + harmine, but not harmine alone, induced a psychedelic experience assessed with the 5D-ASC rating scale [global score: F(2,60) = 80.21, p < 0.001] and acute experience sampling items over time, characterized by psychological insights [PIQ, F(2,58.5) = 28.514, p < 0.001], emotional breakthroughs [EBI, F(2,60) = 26.509, p < 0.001], and low scores on the challenging experience questionnaire [CEQ, F(2,60) = 12.84, p < 0.001]. Participants attributed personal and spiritual significance to the experience (GSR) with mainly positive persisting effects (PEQ) at 1- and 4-months follow-up. Acute drug effects correlated positively with persisting effects. We found no changes in trait measures of personality, psychological flexibility, or general well-being, and no increases in psychopathology (SCL-90-R) were reported. Discussion and Conclusion: Our results suggest that the experience induced by the standardized DMT + harmine formulation induces a phenomenologically rich psychedelic experience, demonstrates good psychological safety and tolerability, is well tolerated, and induces beneficial psychological processes that could possibly support psychotherapy. Further studies are required to investigate the psychotherapeutic potential in patients