Routine Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for anxiety and depression is more effective at repairing symptoms of psychopathology than enhancing wellbeing

This is the final version. Available on open access from Springer via the DOI in this recordThe primary focus of classic cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for depression and anxiety is on decreasing symptoms of psychopathology. However, there is increasing recognition that it is also important to enhance wellbeing during therapy. This study investigates the extent to which classic CBT for anxiety and depression leads to symptom relief versus wellbeing enhancement, analysing routine outcomes in patients receiving CBT in high intensity Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) Services in the UK. At intake, there were marked symptoms of anxiety and depression (a majority of participants scoring in the severe range) and deficits in wellbeing (a majority of participants classified as languishing, relative to general population normative data). CBT was more effective at reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression than repairing wellbeing. As a result, at the end of treatment, a greater proportion of participants met recovery criteria for anxiety and depression than had moved from languishing into average or flourishing levels of wellbeing. Given the importance of wellbeing to client definitions of recovery, the present results suggest a greater emphasis should be placed on enhancing wellbeing in classic CBT

A Review on Treatment-Related Brain Changes in Aphasia

Numerous studies have investigated brain changes associated with interventions targeting a range of language problems in patients with aphasia. We strive to integrate the results of these studies to examine (1) whether the focus of the intervention (i.e., phonology, semantics, orthography, syntax, or rhythmic-melodic) determines in which brain regions changes occur; and (2a) whether the most consistent changes occur within the language network or outside, and (2b) whether these are related to individual differences in language outcomes. The results of 32 studies with 204 unique patients were considered. Concerning (1), the location of treatment-related changes does not clearly depend on the type of language processing targeted. However, there is some support that rhythmic-melodic training has more impact on the right hemisphere than linguistic training. Concerning (2), we observed that language recovery is not only associated with changes in traditional language-related structures in the left hemisphere and homolog regions in the right hemisphere, but also with more medial and subcortical changes (e.g., precuneus and basal ganglia). Although it is difficult to draw strong conclusions, because there is a lack of systematic large-scale studies on this topic, this review highlights the need for an integrated approach to investigate how language interventions impact on the brain. Future studies need to focus on larger samples preserving subject-specific information (e.g., lesion effects) to cope with the inherent heterogeneity of stroke-induced aphasia. In addition, recovery-related changes in whole-brain connectivity patterns need more investigation to provide a comprehensive neural account of treatment-related brain plasticity and language recovery

Interoception, Contemplative Practice, and Health

AcceptedArticleCopyright: © 2015 Farb, Daubenmier, Price, Gard, Kerr, Dunn, KLein, Paulus and Mehling.This Document is Protected by copyright and was first published by Frontiers. All rights reserved. it is reproduced with permission.Interoception can be broadly defined as the sense of signals originating within the body. As such, interoception is critical for our sense of embodiment, motivation and well-being. And yet, despite its importance, interoception remains poorly understood within modern science. This paper reviews interdisciplinary perspectives on interoception, with the goal of presenting a unified perspective from diverse fields such as neuroscience, clinical practice, and contemplative studies. It is hoped that this integrative effort will advance our understanding of how interoception determines well-being, and identify the central challenges to such understanding. To this end, we introduce an expanded taxonomy of interoceptive processes, arguing that many of these processes can be understood through an emerging predictive coding model for mind-body integration. The model, which describes the tension between expected and felt body sensation, parallels contemplative theories, and implicates interoception in a variety of affective and psychosomatic disorders. We conclude that maladaptive construal of bodily sensations may lie at the heart of many contemporary maladies, and that contemplative practices may attenuate these interpretative biases, restoring a person’s sense of presence and agency in the world

Mass mortality of eastern box turtles with upper respiratory disease following atypical cold weather

Emerging infectious diseases cause population declines in many ectotherms, with outbreaks frequently punctuated by periods of mass mortality. It remains unclear, however, whether thermoregulation by ectotherms and variation in environmental temperature is associated with mortality risk and disease progression, especially in wild populations. Here, we examined environmental and body temperatures of free-ranging eastern box turtles Terrapene carolina during a mass die-off coincident with upper respiratory disease. We recorded deaths of 17 turtles that showed clinical signs of upper respiratory disease among 76 adult turtles encountered in Berea, Kentucky (USA), in 2014. Of the 17 mortalities, 11 occurred approximately 14 d after mean environmental temperature dropped 2.5 SD below the 3 mo mean. Partial genomic sequencing of the major capsid protein from 1 sick turtle identified a ranavirus isolate similar to frog virus 3. Turtles that lacked clinical signs of disease had significantly higher body temperatures (23°C) than sick turtles (21°C) during the mass mortality, but sick turtles that survived and recovered eventually warmed (measured by temperature loggers). Finally, there was a significant negative effect of daily environmental temperature deviation from the 3 mo mean on survival, suggesting that rapid decreases in environmental temperature were correlated with mortality. Our results point to a potential role for environmental temperature variation and body temperature in disease progression and mortality risk of eastern box turtles affected by upper respiratory disease. Given our findings, it is possible that colder or more variable environmental temperatures and an inability to effectively thermoregulate are associated with poorer disease outcomes in eastern box turtles

The influence of liver dysfunction on cyclosporine pharmacokinetics -A comparison between 70 per cent hepatectomy and complete bile duct ligation in dogs-

The influence of experimentally induced hepatic dysfunction on the pharmacokinetics of Cyclosporine A (CsA) was determined in dogs. The pharmacokinetics of oral (PO) and intravenous (IV) CsA were studied before and after 70 per cent hepatectomy or complete bile duct ligation (CBDL). Changes in liver function were monitored by serial measurements of serum bilirubin, and by the maximum removal rate (Rmax) and plasma disappearance rate (ICG-K) of indocyanine green (ICG). Concentrations of CsA in whole blood were measured by HPLC. Seventy per cent hepatectomy caused significant liver dysfunction: the ICG-Rmax decreased by 47.7±7.1 per cent (mean±SD) and the ICG-K decreased by 61.3±9.7 per cent during the first week after hepatectomy. At the same time, the systemic clearance (CLs) of IV-CsA decreased by 43.9±8.2 per cent, the area under the concentration curve (AUC) of IV-CsA increased by 35.4±20.8 per cent and the bioavailability of CsA decreased by 26.4±14.8 per cent. CBDL also induced significant liver dysfunction: the ICG-Rmax decreased by 39.1±12.8 per cent and the ICG-K decreased by 65.6±3.6 per cent in the second week after the operation. During the same period, the AUC of PO-CsA decreased by 69.9±10.7 per cent and the bioavailability of CsA also decreased markedly by 73.9±15.6 per cent. These data indicate that hepatic impairment significantly influences the pharmacokinetics of CsA, not only by the changes in intestinal absorption, but also by those in hepatic, metabolism. Dose adjustment is therefore necessary in the presence of hepatic dysfunction in order to maintain an adequate blood concentration of CsA without causing side effects. © 1989 The Japan Surgical Society

p70 S6 kinase and actin dynamics: A perspective

p70 S6 kinase (p70S6K), a member of the AGC serine/threonine kinase family, was initially identified as a key player, together with its downstream effector S6, in the regulation of cellular growth and survival. The p70S6K protein has emerged in recent years as a multifunctional protein which also regulates the actin cytoskeleton and thus plays a role in cell migration. This new function is through two important activities of p70S6K, namely actin cross-linking and Rac1 and Cdc42 activation. The testis is critically dependent on an intricate balance of fundamental cellular processes such as adhesion, migration, and differentiation. It is increasingly evident that Rho GTPases and actin binding proteins play fundamental roles in regulating spermatogenesis within the testis. In this review, we will discuss current findings of p70S6K in the control of actin cytoskeleton dynamics. In addition, the potential role of p70S6K in spermatogenesis and testicular function will be highlighted

Comparison of breast and bowel cancer screening uptake patterns in a common cohort of South Asian women in England

Background: Inequalities in uptake of cancer screening by ethnic minority populations are well documented in a number of international studies. However, most studies to date have explored screening uptake for a single cancer only. This paper compares breast and bowel cancer screening uptake for a cohort of South Asian women invited to undertake both, and similarly investigates these women's breast cancer screening behaviour over a period of fifteen years. Methods: Screening data for rounds 1, 2 and 5 (1989-2004) of the NHS breast cancer screening programme and for round 1 of the NHS bowel screening pilot (2000-2002) were obtained for women aged 50-69 resident in the English bowel screening pilot site, Coventry and Warwickshire, who had been invited to undertake breast and bowel cancer screening in the period 2000-2002. Breast and bowel cancer screening uptake levels were calculated and compared using the chi-squared test. Results: 72,566 women were invited to breast and bowel cancer screening after exclusions. Of these, 3,539 were South Asian and 69,027 non-Asian; 18,730 had been invited to mammography over the previous fifteen years (rounds 1 to 5). South Asian women were significantly less likely to undertake both breast and bowel cancer screening; 29.9% (n = 1,057) compared to 59.4% (n = 40,969) for non-Asians (p < 0.001). Women in both groups who consistently chose to undertake breast cancer screening in rounds 1, 2 and 5 were more likely to complete round 1 bowel cancer screening. However, the likelihood of completion of bowel cancer screening was still significantly lower for South Asians; 49.5% vs. 82.3% for non-Asians, p < 0.001. South Asian women who undertook breast cancer screening in only one round were no more likely to complete bowel cancer screening than those who decided against breast cancer screening in all three rounds. In contrast, similar women in the non-Asian population had an increased likelihood of completing the new bowel cancer screening test. The likelihood of continued uptake of mammography after undertaking screening in round 1 differed between South Asian religio-linguistic groups. Noticeably, women in the Muslim population were less likely to continue to participate in mammography than those in other South Asian groups. Conclusions: Culturally appropriate targeted interventions are required to reduce observed disparities in cancer screening uptakes

An introduction to genetic quality in the context of sexual selection

This special issue of Genetica brings together empirical researchers and theoreticians to present the latest on the evolutionary ecology of genetic quality in the context of sexual selection. The work comes from different fields of study including behavioral ecology, quantitative genetics and molecular genetics on a diversity of organisms using different approaches from comparative studies, mathematical modeling, field studies and laboratory experiments. The papers presented in this special issue primarily focus on genetic quality in relation to ( 1) sources of genetic variation, ( 2) polyandry, ( 3) new theoretical developments and ( 4) comprehensive reviews

Rapid assessment of myocardial infarct size in rodents using multi-slice inversion recovery late gadolinium enhancement CMR at 9.4T

Background: Myocardial infarction (MI) can be readily assessed using late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR). Inversion recovery (IR) sequences provide the highest contrast between enhanced infarct areas and healthy myocardium. Applying such methods to small animals is challenging due to rapid respiratory and cardiac rates relative to T-1 relaxation.Methods: Here we present a fast and robust protocol for assessing LGE in small animals using a multi-slice IR gradient echo sequence for efficient assessment of LGE. An additional Look-Locker sequence was used to assess the optimum inversion point on an individual basis and to determine most appropriate gating points for both rat and mouse. The technique was applied to two preclinical scenarios: i) an acute (2 hour) reperfused model of MI in rats and ii) mice 2 days following non-reperfused MI.Results: LGE images from all animals revealed clear areas of enhancement allowing for easy volume segmentation. Typical inversion times required to null healthy myocardium in rats were between 300-450 ms equivalent to 2-3 R-waves and similar to 330 ms in mice, typically 3 R-waves following inversion. Data from rats was also validated against triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining and revealed close agreement for infarct size.Conclusion: The LGE protocol presented provides a reliable method for acquiring images of high contrast and quality without excessive scan times, enabling higher throughput in experimental studies requiring reliable assessment of MI