A social-cognitive model of trait and state levels of gratitude.

Three studies tested a new model of gratitude, which specified the generative mechanisms linking individual differences (trait gratitude) and objective situations with the amount of gratitude people experience after receiving aid (state gratitude). In Study 1, all participants (N = 253) read identical vignettes describing a situation in which they received help. People higher in trait gratitude made more positive beneficial appraisals (seeing the help as more valuable, more costly to provide, and more altruistically intended), which fully mediated the relationship between trait and state levels of gratitude. Study 2 (N = 113) replicated the findings using a daily process study in which participants reported on real events each day for up to14 days. In Study 3, participants (N = 200) read vignettes experimentally manipulating objective situations to be either high or low in benefit. Benefit appraisals were shown to have a causal effect on state gratitude and to mediate the relationship between different prosocial situations and state gratitude. The 3 studies demonstrate the critical role of benefit appraisals in linking state gratitude with trait gratitude and the objective situation

Personality predictors of levels of forgiveness two and a half years after the transgression

The aim of the present study was to explore whether the domains and facets of the five-factor model of personality predicted motivational states for avoidance and revenge following a transgression at a second temporal point distant from the original transgression. A sample of 438 university students, who reported experiencing a serious transgression against them, completed measures of avoidance and revenge motivations around the transgression and five-factor personality domains and facets at time 1, and measures of avoidance and revenge motivations two and a half years later. The findings suggest that neuroticism, and specifically anger hostility, predicts revenge and avoidance motivation

Characterization of potential biomarkers of reactogenicity of licensed antiviral vaccines: randomized controlled clinical trials conducted by the BIOVACSAFE consortium

Funding text The authors are grateful for the vital contributions of the participating study volunteers, clinicians, nurses, and laboratory technicians at the Surrey study site. The work by Roberto Leone, laboratory technician at Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, is gratefully acknowledged. Finally, they thank Ellen Oe (GSK) for scientific writing assistance. The research leading to these results has received support from the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking under grant agreement n°115308, resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) and EFPIA companies’ in-kind contribution. The contribution of the European Commission to the Advanced Immunization Technologies (ADITEC) project (grant agreement n° 280873) is also gratefully acknowledged. Publisher Copyright: © 2019, The Author(s).Biomarkers predictive of inflammatory events post-vaccination could accelerate vaccine development. Within the BIOVACSAFE framework, we conducted three identically designed, placebo-controlled inpatient/outpatient clinical studies (NCT01765413/NCT01771354/NCT01771367). Six antiviral vaccination strategies were evaluated to generate training data-sets of pre-/post-vaccination vital signs, blood changes and whole-blood gene transcripts, and to identify putative biomarkers of early inflammation/reactogenicity that could guide the design of subsequent focused confirmatory studies. Healthy adults (N = 123; 20–21/group) received one immunization at Day (D)0. Alum-adjuvanted hepatitis B vaccine elicited vital signs and inflammatory (CRP/innate cells) responses that were similar between primed/naive vaccinees, and low-level gene responses. MF59-adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine (ATIV) induced distinct physiological (temperature/heart rate/reactogenicity) response-patterns not seen with non-adjuvanted TIV or with the other vaccines. ATIV also elicited robust early (D1) activation of IFN-related genes (associated with serum IP-10 levels) and innate-cell-related genes, and changes in monocyte/neutrophil/lymphocyte counts, while TIV elicited similar but lower responses. Due to viral replication kinetics, innate gene activation by live yellow-fever or varicella-zoster virus (YFV/VZV) vaccines was more suspended, with early IFN-associated responses in naïve YFV-vaccine recipients but not in primed VZV-vaccine recipients. Inflammatory responses (physiological/serum markers, innate-signaling transcripts) are therefore a function of the vaccine type/composition and presence/absence of immune memory. The data reported here have guided the design of confirmatory Phase IV trials using ATIV to provide tools to identify inflammatory or reactogenicity biomarkers.Peer reviewe

Implicit theories of a desire for fame

The aim of the present studies was to generate implicit theories of a desire for fame among the general population. In Study 1, we were able to develop a nine-factor analytic model of conceptions of the desire to be famous that initially comprised nine separate factors; ambition, meaning derived through comparison with others, psychologically vulnerable, attention seeking, conceitedness, social access, altruistic, positive affect, and glamour. Analysis that sought to examine replicability among these factors suggested that three factors (altruistic, positive affect, and glamour) neither display factor congruence nor display adequate internal reliability. A second study examined the validity of these factors in predicting profiles of individuals who may desire fame. The findings from this study suggested that two of the nine factors (positive affect and altruism) could not be considered strong factors within the model. Overall, the findings suggest that implicit theories of a desire for fame comprise six factors. The discussion focuses on how an implicit model of a desire for fame might progress into formal theories of a desire for fame

The development of the Meaning in Life Index (MILI) and its relationship with personality and religious behaviours and beliefs among UK undergraduate students

The scales available for assessing meaning in life appear to be confounded with several related constructs, including purpose in life, satisfaction with life, and goal-directed behaviour. The Meaning in Life Index (MILI), a new instrument devised as a specific measure of meaning in life, was developed from responses to a pool of 22 items rated by a sample of 501 undergraduate students in Wales. The nine-item scale demonstrated sufficient face validity, internal consistency, and scale reliability to commend the instrument for future use. With respect to personality, the MILI scores were most strongly predicted by neuroticism (negatively), and less strongly by extraversion (positively) and psychoticism (negatively). With respect to several religious behavioural variables, those who attended church at least weekly returned significantly higher MILI scores than those who attended church less frequently. Intrinsic religiosity was the only orientation to be significantly associated with the MILI scale scores, although the magnitude of the association was smaller than anticipated. These results suggest that meaning in life is associated more strongly with individual differences in personality than with specific religious behaviours and attitudes. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of individual's personal values and attitudes that might underlie their experience of a meaning in life

The helicase HAGE prevents interferon-a-induced PML expression in ABCB5+ malignant melanoma-initiating cells by promoting the expression of SOCS1

The tumour suppressor PML (promyelocytic leukaemia protein) regulates several cellular pathways involving cell growth, apoptosis, differentiation and senescence. PML also has an important role in the regulation of stem cell proliferation and differentiation. Here, we show the involvement of the helicase HAGE in the transcriptional repression of PML expression in ABCB5 + malignant melanoma-initiating cells (ABCB5 + MMICs), a population of cancer stem cells which are responsible for melanoma growth, progression and resistance to drug-based therapy. HAGE prevents PML gene expression by inhibiting the activation of the JAK-STAT (janus kinase-signal transducers and activators of transcription) pathway in a mechanism which implicates the suppressor of cytokine signalling 1 (SOCS1). Knockdown of HAGE led to a significant decrease in SOCS1 protein expression, activation of the JAK-STAT signalling cascade and a consequent increase of PML expression. To confirm that the reduction in SOCS1 expression was dependent on the HAGE helicase activity, we showed that SOCS1, effectively silenced by small interfering RNA, could be rescued by re-introduction of HAGE into cells lacking HAGE. Furthermore, we provide a mechanism by which HAGE promotes SOCS1 mRNA unwinding and protein expression in vitro

Psychological processes in adversarial growth

This thesis set out to investigate some of the variables associated with, and the processes and mechanisms of, positive change following trauma and adversity, or adversarial growth, in diverse populations. A systematic and comprehensive review of the literature (Chapter 2) identified the state of knowledge, and pointed to a number of salient directions for future research. Some of these directions were pursued in the subsequent empirical chapters. Five empirical chapters (Chapters 3 –7) examined a range of variables and processes in adversarial growth, using a variety of populations. Using two large student samples, it was found that emotion-focused coping mediated the association between subjective distress and adversarial growth, and that emotional intelligence was a potentially key variable in the role of emotions in adversarial growth (Chapter 3). A longitudinal study of people who had been severely traumatised and were suffering chronic psychological distress revealed that the experience of positive change predicted lower psychological distress and negative change six months later (Chapter 4). Vicarious processes in adversarial growth were investigated in therapists, and it was shown that the working alliance may be a core channel through which the process of vicarious growth operates (Chapter 5). Extending this focus on vicarious processes, in two samples of disaster workers, and funeral directors, it was shown that psychosocial variables were more salient in their associations with adversarial growth than professional experience variables. Specifically, the role of cognitive processing was emphasised, together with an exploration of the novel area of death attitudes (Chapter 6). A more explicitly existential focus, using three samples of churchgoers, members of the general population, and funeral directors, addressed the role of Yalom’s ultimate existential concerns and adversarial growth. Negative death attitudes were shown to be consistently associated with more negative changes and fewer positive changes, but the associations with negative changes were mediated, in some instances, by the presence of meaning in life and satisfying close relationships, consistent with theoretical predictions. Further, aspects of the organismic valuing theory of growth through adversity were tested, and broadly supported (Chapter 7). The concluding chapter (Chapter 8) reviewed the main findings from the thesis, identified ongoing questions from the literature, and indicated salient directions for research, including an emphasis on the clinical applications of adversarial growth

HAGE (DDX43) is a biomarker for poor prognosis and a predictor of chemotherapy response in breast cancer

Background: HAGE protein is a known immunogenic cancer-specific antigen. Methods: The biological, prognostic and predictive values of HAGE expression was studied using immunohistochemistry in three cohorts of patients with BC (n=2147): early primary (EP-BC; n=1676); primary oestrogen receptor-negative (PER-BC; n=275) treated with adjuvant anthracycline-combination therapies (Adjuvant-ACT); and primary locally advanced disease (PLA-BC) who received neo-adjuvant anthracycline-combination therapies (Neo-adjuvant-ACT; n=196). The relationship between HAGE expression and the tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in matched prechemotherapy and postchemotherapy samples were investigated. Results: Eight percent of patients with EP-BC exhibited high HAGE expression (HAGEþ) and was associated with aggressive clinico-pathological features (Ps<0.01). Furthermore, HAGEþexpression was associated with poor prognosis in both univariate and multivariate analysis (Ps<0.001). Patients with HAGE+ did not benefit from hormonal therapy in high-risk ER-positive disease. HAGE+ and TILs were found to be independent predictors for pathological complete response to neoadjuvant-ACT; P<0.001. A statistically significant loss of HAGE expression following neoadjuvant-ACT was found (P=0.000001), and progression-free survival was worse in those patients who had HAGE+ residual disease (P=0.0003). Conclusions: This is the first report to show HAGE to be a potential prognostic marker and a predictor of response to ACT in patients with BC

Coaching Research: who? what? where? when? why?

The remarkable growth of coaching to date has not, so far, been matched by a similar growth in the research corpus that underpins it. There may be several explanations for this, including the pace of growth relative to the pace of research; coaching’s location at the juxtaposition of business consultancy and applied psychology; and competing imperatives that leave coaches themselves torn between being coaches and being researchers. Drawing from a model of these competing imperatives of research and practice in occupational psychology, this article outlines some of the core issues that coaches might face when thinking about research. It suggests some possible answers to the questions of who, what, where, when and why of coaching research, and concludes by identifying the critical questions that will likely shape the future evolution of coaching

Psychological processes in adversarial growth

This thesis set out to investigate some of the variables associated with, and the processes and mechanisms of, positive change following trauma and adversity, or adversarial growth, in diverse populations. A systematic and comprehensive review of the literature (Chapter 2) identified the state of knowledge, and pointed to a number of salient directions for future research. Some of these directions were pursued in the subsequent empirical chapters. Five empirical chapters (Chapters 3 –7) examined a range of variables and processes in adversarial growth, using a variety of populations. Using two large student samples, it was found that emotion-focused coping mediated the association between subjective distress and adversarial growth, and that emotional intelligence was a potentially key variable in the role of emotions in adversarial growth (Chapter 3). A longitudinal study of people who had been severely traumatised and were suffering chronic psychological distress revealed that the experience of positive change predicted lower psychological distress and negative change six months later (Chapter 4). Vicarious processes in adversarial growth were investigated in therapists, and it was shown that the working alliance may be a core channel through which the process of vicarious growth operates (Chapter 5). Extending this focus on vicarious processes, in two samples of disaster workers, and funeral directors, it was shown that psychosocial variables were more salient in their associations with adversarial growth than professional experience variables. Specifically, the role of cognitive processing was emphasised, together with an exploration of the novel area of death attitudes (Chapter 6). A more explicitly existential focus, using three samples of churchgoers, members of the general population, and funeral directors, addressed the role of Yalom’s ultimate existential concerns and adversarial growth. Negative death attitudes were shown to be consistently associated with more negative changes and fewer positive changes, but the associations with negative changes were mediated, in some instances, by the presence of meaning in life and satisfying close relationships, consistent with theoretical predictions. Further, aspects of the organismic valuing theory of growth through adversity were tested, and broadly supported (Chapter 7). The concluding chapter (Chapter 8) reviewed the main findings from the thesis, identified ongoing questions from the literature, and indicated salient directions for research, including an emphasis on the clinical applications of adversarial growth.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceUniversity of WarwickGBUnited Kingdo