Can a Smartphone App Make you Feel Super Better? A Pilot Study Utilizing a Multiple Single-Case Design

This dataset contains the de-identified data of four individuals who participated in this pilot study using the mental health app, SuperBetter. A multiple single-case design was used. The dataset contains: 1. Daily distress ratings, known as Subjective Units of Distress (SUDS); 2. Anxiety and depression symptom outcome ratings, captured at four different time points by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale - 21 Item Version (DASS-21); 3. Life functioning ratings captured at four different time points by the Outcome Questionnaire - 45 Item Version 2nd Edition (OQ-45.2); 4. Demographic information captured by our demographics questionnaire; and 5. Final app rating and appraisal captured by the Mobile Application Rating Scale - User Version (uMARS). The dataset contains both raw data files and graph / figure files for visual analysis. For more information on the background, method, results and discussion of this dataset, see the published research protocol article that covers both this pilot study and main intervention study (Marshall, Dunstan, & Bartik; 2020), and published pilot study article

Apps With Maps - Anxiety and Depression Mobile Apps With Evidence-Based Frameworks: Systematic Search of Major App Stores

Background: Mobile mental health apps have become ubiquitous tools to assist people in managing symptoms of anxiety and depression. However, due to the lack of research and expert input that has accompanied the development of most apps, concerns have been raised by clinicians, researchers, and government authorities about their efficacy.Objective: This review aimed to estimate the proportion of mental health apps offering comprehensive therapeutic treatments for anxiety and/or depression available in the app stores that have been developed using evidence-based frameworks. It also aimed to estimate the proportions of specific frameworks being used in an effort to understand which frameworks are having the most influence on app developers in this area.Methods: A systematic review of the Apple App Store and Google Play store was performed to identify apps offering comprehensive therapeutic interventions that targeted anxiety and/or depression. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) checklist was adapted to guide this approach.Results: Of the 293 apps shortlisted as offering a therapeutic treatment for anxiety and/or depression, 162 (55.3%) mentioned an evidence-based framework in their app store descriptions. Of the 293 apps, 88 (30.0%) claimed to use cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, 46 (15.7%) claimed to use mindfulness, 27 (9.2%) claimed to use positive psychology, 10 (3.4%) claimed to use dialectical behavior therapy, 5 (1.7%) claimed to use acceptance and commitment therapy, and 20 (6.8%) claimed to use other techniques. Of the 162 apps that claimed to use a theoretical framework, only 10 (6.2%) had published evidence for their efficacy.Conclusions: The current proportion of apps developed using evidence-based frameworks is unacceptably low, and those without tested frameworks may be ineffective, or worse, pose a risk of harm to users. Future research should establish what other factors work in conjunction with evidence-based frameworks to produce efficacious mental health apps

Treating Psychological Trauma in the Midst of COVID-19: The Role of Smartphone Apps

With the COVID-19 pandemic confronting health systems worldwide, medical practitioners are treating a myriad of physical symptoms that have, sadly, killed many thousands of people. There are signs that the public is also experiencing psychological trauma as they attempt to navigate their way through the COVID-19 restrictions impinging on many aspects of society. With unprecedented demand for health professionals' time, people who are unable to access face-to-face assistance are turning to smartphone apps to help them deal with symptoms of trauma. However, the evidence for smartphone apps to treat trauma is limited, and clinicians need to be aware of the limitations and unresolved issues involved in using mental health apps

Effectiveness of Using Mental Health Mobile Apps as Digital Antidepressants for Reducing Anxiety and Depression: Protocol for a Multiple Baseline Across-Individuals Design

Background: The use of mental health mobile apps to treat anxiety and depression is widespread and growing. Several reviews have found that most of these apps do not have published evidence for their effectiveness, and existing research has primarily been undertaken by individuals and institutions that have an association with the app being tested. Another reason for the lack of research is that the execution of the traditional randomized controlled trial is time prohibitive in this profit-driven industry. Consequently, there have been calls for different methodologies to be considered. One such methodology is the single-case design, of which, to the best of our knowledge, no peer-reviewed published example with mental health apps for anxiety and/or depression could be located.Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of 5 apps (Destressify, MoodMission, Smiling Mind, MindShift, and SuperBetter) in reducing symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. These apps were selected because they are publicly available, free to download, and have published evidence of efficacy.Methods: A multiple baseline across-individuals design will be employed. A total of 50 participants will be recruited (10 for each app) who will provide baseline data for 20 days. The sequential introduction of an intervention phase will commence once baseline readings have indicated stability in the measures of participants’ mental health and will proceed for 10 weeks. Postintervention measurements will continue for a further 20 days. Participants will be required to provide daily subjective units of distress (SUDS) ratings via SMS text messages and will complete other measures at 5 different time points, including at 6-month follow-up. SUDS data will be examined via a time series analysis across the experimental phases. Individual analyses of outcome measures will be conducted to detect clinically significant changes in symptoms using the statistical approach proposed by Jacobson and Truax. Participants will rate their app on several domains at the end of the intervention.Results: Participant recruitment commenced in January 2020. The postintervention phase will be completed by June 2020. Data analysis will commence after this. A write-up for publication is expected to be completed after the follow-up phase is finalized in January 2021.Conclusions: If the apps prove to be effective as hypothesized, this will provide collateral evidence of their efficacy. It could also provide the benefits of (1) improved access to mental health services for people in rural areas, lower socioeconomic groups, and children and adolescents and (2) improved capacity to enhance face-to-face therapy through digital homework tasks that can be shared instantly with a therapist. It is also anticipated that this methodology could be used for other mental health apps to bolster the independent evidence base for this mode of treatment.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/1715

A Leptin-regulated Circuit Controls Glucose Mobilization During Noxious Stimuli

Adipocytes secrete the hormone leptin to signal the sufficiency of energy stores. Reductions in circulating leptin concentrations reflect a negative energy balance, which augments sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation in response to metabolically demanding emergencies. This process ensures adequate glucose mobilization despite low energy stores. We report that leptin receptor–expressing neurons (LepRb neurons) in the periaqueductal gray (PAG), the largest population of LepRb neurons in the brain stem, mediate this process. Application of noxious stimuli, which often signal the need to mobilize glucose to support an appropriate response, activated PAG LepRb neurons, which project to and activate parabrachial nucleus (PBN) neurons that control SNS activation and glucose mobilization. Furthermore, activating PAG LepRb neurons increased SNS activity and blood glucose concentrations, while ablating LepRb in PAG neurons augmented glucose mobilization in response to noxious stimuli. Thus, decreased leptin action on PAG LepRb neurons augments the autonomic response to noxious stimuli, ensuring sufficient glucose mobilization during periods of acute demand in the face of diminished energy stores

Complete Haplotype Sequence of the Human Immunoglobulin Heavy-Chain Variable, Diversity, and Joining Genes and Characterization of Allelic and Copy-Number Variation

The immunoglobulin heavy-chain locus (IGH) encodes variable (IGHV), diversity (IGHD), joining (IGHJ), and constant (IGHC) genes and is responsible for antibody heavy-chain biosynthesis, which is vital to the adaptive immune response. Programmed V-(D)-J somatic rearrangement and the complex duplicated nature of the locus have impeded attempts to reconcile its genomic organization based on traditional B-lymphocyte derived genetic material. As a result, sequence descriptions of germline variation within IGHV are lacking, haplotype inference using traditional linkage disequilibrium methods has been difficult, and the human genome reference assembly is missing several expressed IGHV genes. By using a hydatidiform mole BAC clone resource, we present the most complete haplotype of IGHV, IGHD, and IGHJ gene regions derived from a single chromosome, representing an alternate assembly of ∼1 Mbp of high-quality finished sequence. From this we add 101 kbp of previously uncharacterized sequence, including functional IGHV genes, and characterize four large germline copy-number variants (CNVs). In addition to this germline reference, we identify and characterize eight CNV-containing haplotypes from a panel of nine diploid genomes of diverse ethnic origin, discovering previously unmapped IGHV genes and an additional 121 kbp of insertion sequence. We genotype four of these CNVs by using PCR in 425 individuals from nine human populations. We find that all four are highly polymorphic and show considerable evidence of stratification (Fst = 0.3–0.5), with the greatest differences observed between African and Asian populations. These CNVs exhibit weak linkage disequilibrium with SNPs from two commercial arrays in most of the populations tested

A large‐scale assessment of ant diversity across the Brazilian Amazon Basin: integrating geographic, ecological and morphological drivers of sampling bias

Tropical ecosystems are often biodiversity hotspots, and invertebrates represent the main underrepresented component of diversity in large-scale analyses. This problem is partly related to the scarcity of data widely available to conduct these studies and the lack of systematic organization of knowledge about invertebrates\u27 distributions in biodiversity hotspots. Here, we introduce and analyze a comprehensive data compilation of Amazonian ant diversity. Using records from 1817 to 2020 from both published and unpublished sources, we describe the diversity and distribution of ant species in the Brazilian Amazon Basin. Further, using high-definition images and data from taxonomic publications, we build a comprehensive database of morphological traits for the ant species that occur in the region. In total, we recorded 1067 nominal species in the Brazilian Amazon Basin, with sampling locations strongly biased by access routes, urban centers, research institutions and major infrastructure projects. Large areas where ant sampling is non-existent represent about 52% of the basin and are concentrated mainly in the northern, southeastern and western Brazilian Amazon. We found that distance to roads is the main driver of ant sampling in the Amazon. Contrary to our expectations, morphological traits had lower predictive power in predicting sampling bias than purely geographic variables. However, when geographic predictors were controlled, habitat stratum and traits contribute to explain the remaining variance. More species were recorded in better-sampled areas, but species richness estimation models suggest that areas in southern Amazonian edge forests are associated with especially high species richness. Our results represent the first trait-based, large-scale study for insects in Amazonian forests and a starting point for macroecological studies focusing on insect diversity in the Amazon Basin

Whole-genome sequencing provides new insights into the clonal architecture of Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma.

The molecular genetic relationship between esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and its precursor lesion, Barrett's esophagus, is poorly understood. Using whole-genome sequencing on 23 paired Barrett's esophagus and EAC samples, together with one in-depth Barrett's esophagus case study sampled over time and space, we have provided the following new insights: (i) Barrett's esophagus is polyclonal and highly mutated even in the absence of dysplasia; (ii) when cancer develops, copy number increases and heterogeneity persists such that the spectrum of mutations often shows surprisingly little overlap between EAC and adjacent Barrett's esophagus; and (iii) despite differences in specific coding mutations, the mutational context suggests a common causative insult underlying these two conditions. From a clinical perspective, the histopathological assessment of dysplasia appears to be a poor reflection of the molecular disarray within the Barrett's epithelium, and a molecular Cytosponge technique overcomes sampling bias and has the capacity to reflect the entire clonal architecture

Clades of huge phages from across Earth's ecosystems.

Bacteriophages typically have small genomes1 and depend on their bacterial hosts for replication2. Here we sequenced DNA from diverse ecosystems and found hundreds of phage genomes with lengths of more than 200 kilobases (kb), including a genome of 735 kb, which is-to our knowledge-the largest phage genome to be described to date. Thirty-five genomes were manually curated to completion (circular and no gaps). Expanded genetic repertoires include diverse and previously undescribed CRISPR-Cas systems, transfer RNAs (tRNAs), tRNA synthetases, tRNA-modification enzymes, translation-initiation and elongation factors, and ribosomal proteins. The CRISPR-Cas systems of phages have the capacity to silence host transcription factors and translational genes, potentially as part of a larger interaction network that intercepts translation to redirect biosynthesis to phage-encoded functions. In addition, some phages may repurpose bacterial CRISPR-Cas systems to eliminate competing phages. We phylogenetically define the major clades of huge phages from human and other animal microbiomes, as well as from oceans, lakes, sediments, soils and the built environment. We conclude that the large gene inventories of huge phages reflect a conserved biological strategy, and that the phages are distributed across a broad bacterial host range and across Earth's ecosystems