Remarkable Mechanochromism in Blends of a π-Conjugated Polymer P3TEOT: The Role of Conformational Transitions and Aggregation

A novel mechanism for well-pronounced mechanochromism in blends of a π-conjugated polymer based on reversible conformational transitions of a chromophore rather than caused by its aggregation state, is exemplified. Particularly, a strong stretching-induced bathochromic shift of the light absorption, or hypsochromic shift of the emission, is found in blends of the water-soluble poly(3-tri(ethylene glycol)) (P3TEOT) embedded into the matrix of thermoplastic polyvinyl alcohol. This counterintuitive phenomenon is explained in terms of the concentration dependency of the P3TEOT's aggregation state, which in turn results in different molecular conformations and optical properties. A molecular flexibility, provided by low glass transition temperature of P3TEOT, and the fact that P3TEOT adopts an intermediate, moderately planar conformation in the solid state, are responsible for the unusual complex mechanochromic behavior. © 2019 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, WeinheimRussian Foundation for Basic Research, RFBR: 18-03-00715Volkswagen FoundationDeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG: KI-1094/9-1J.Z. and M.S. contributed equally to the work. The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (Grant KI-1094/9-1) and cfaed (ExInI). T.B. gratefully acknowledges financial support by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Project 18-03-00715). This project is financially supported by the Volkswagen Foundation through a Freigeist Fellowship to T.A.F.K. The authors acknowledge the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) within the Cluster of Excellence ?Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden? (cfaed) for financial support

Exploring the Role of Explicit and Implicit Self-Esteem and Self-Compassion in Anxious and Depressive Symptomatology Following Acquired Brain Injury

[EN] Objectives Acquired brain injury (ABI) can lead to the emergence of several disabilities and is commonly associated with high rates of anxiety and depression symptoms. Self-related constructs, such as self-esteem and self-compassion, might play a key role in this distressing symptomatology. Low explicit (i.e., deliberate) self-esteem is associated with anxiety and depression after ABI. However, implicit (i.e., automatic) self-esteem, explicit-implicit self-discrepancies, and self-compassion could also significantly contribute to this symptomatology. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether implicit self-esteem, explicit-implicit self-discrepancy (size and direction), and self-compassion are related to anxious and depressive symptoms after ABI in adults, beyond the contribution of explicit self-esteem. Methods The sample consisted 38 individuals with ABI who were enrolled in a long-term rehabilitation program. All participants completed the measures of explicit self-esteem, implicit self-esteem, self-compassion, anxiety, and depression. Pearson's correlations and hierarchical regression models were calculated. Results Findings showed that both self-compassion and implicit self-esteem negatively accounted for unique variance in anxiety and depression when controlling for explicit self-esteem. Neither the size nor direction of explicit-implicit self-discrepancy was significantly associated with anxious or depressive symptomatology. Conclusions The findings suggest that the consideration of self-compassion and implicit self-esteem, in addition to explicit self-esteem, contributes to understanding anxiety and depression following ABI.Lorena Desdentado is supported by a FPU doctoral scholarship (FPU18/01690) from the Spanish Ministry of Universities. This work was supported by CIBEROBN, an initiative of the ISCIII (ISC III CB06 03/0052).Desdentado, L.; Cebolla, A.; Miragall, M.; Llorens Rodríguez, R.; Navarro, MD.; Baños, RM. (2021). Exploring the Role of Explicit and Implicit Self-Esteem and Self-Compassion in Anxious and Depressive Symptomatology Following Acquired Brain Injury. Mindfulness. 12(4):899-910. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01553-wS899910124Anson, K., & Ponsford, J. (2006). Coping and emotional adjustment following traumatic brain injury. The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 21(3), 248–259. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001199-200605000-00005.Baños, R. M., & Guillén, V. (2000). Psychometric characteristics in normal and social phobic samples for a Spanish version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Psychological Reports, 87(1), 269–274. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.2000.87.1.269.Beadle, E. J., Ownsworth, T., Fleming, J., & Shum, D. (2016). 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Effects of Shinrin-yoku Retreat on Mental Health: A Pilot Study in Fukushima, Japan

Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) is a cost-effective healing practice that has recently attracted the interest of social scientists who have attributed it, in part, to mental health benefits. Japanese university students suffer from high rates of mental health problems, and the number of suicides remain high despite the total number of suicides in Japan decreasing. Effective mental health approaches which increase mental wellbeing and self-compassion, and reduce associated deficits, such as loneliness, are sought after for Japanese students, however healthful treatment has not been identified to date. Accordingly, this pre-post pilot study evaluated the levels of mental wellbeing, self-compassion, and loneliness among 25 Japanese undergraduate students who participated in a three-day shinrin-yoku retreat in Fukushima. Measurements were taken prior, straight after, and two weeks-post intervention. One-way ANOVA with Tukey post hoc analysis revealed that the mean scores of self-compassion, common humanity, and mindfulness increased statistically significantly from pre-retreat to follow-up. The mean scores of mental wellbeing and loneliness did not statistically significantly change. The positive effects on self-compassion indicate that shinrin-yoku retreat should be evaluated within a larger sample and in a shorter time frame to establish optimal shinrin-yoku parameters in this arena.N/

Effectiveness of self-compassion related therapies:A systematic review and meta-analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated whether self-compassion-related therapies, including compassion-focussed therapy, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy, are effective in promoting self-compassion and reducing psychopathology in clinical and subclinical populations. A total of 22 randomised controlled trials met inclusion criteria, with data from up to 1172 individuals included in each quantitative analysis. Effect sizes were the standardised difference in change scores between intervention and control groups. Results indicated that self-compassion-related therapies produced greater improvements in all three outcomes examined: self-compassion (g = 0.52, 95% CIs [0.32, 0.71]), anxiety (g = 0.46, 95% CIs [0.25, 0.66]) and depressive symptoms (g = 0.40, 95% CIs [0.23, 0.57]). However, when analysis was restricted to studies that compared self-compassion-related therapies to active control conditions, change scores were not significantly different between the intervention and control groups for any of the outcomes. Patient status (clinical vs. subclinical) and type of therapy (explicitly compassion-based vs. other compassion-related therapies, e.g. mindfulness) were not moderators of outcome. There was some evidence that self-compassion-related therapies brought about greater improvements in the negative than the positive subscales of the Self-Compassion Scale, although a statistical comparison was not possible. The methodological quality of studies was generally good, although risk of performance bias due to a lack of blinding of participants and therapists was a concern. A narrative synthesis found that changes in self-compassion and psychopathology were correlated in several studies, but this relationship was observed in both intervention and control groups. Overall, this review presents evidence that third-wave therapies bring about improvements in self-compassion and psychopathology, although not over and beyond other interventions

Changes to the Fossil Record of Insects through Fifteen Years of Discovery

The first and last occurrences of hexapod families in the fossil record are compiled from publications up to end-2009. The major features of these data are compared with those of previous datasets (1993 and 1994). About a third of families (>400) are new to the fossil record since 1994, over half of the earlier, existing families have experienced changes in their known stratigraphic range and only about ten percent have unchanged ranges. Despite these significant additions to knowledge, the broad pattern of described richness through time remains similar, with described richness increasing steadily through geological history and a shift in dominant taxa, from Palaeoptera and Polyneoptera to Paraneoptera and Holometabola, after the Palaeozoic. However, after detrending, described richness is not well correlated with the earlier datasets, indicating significant changes in shorter-term patterns. There is reduced Palaeozoic richness, peaking at a different time, and a less pronounced Permian decline. A pronounced Triassic peak and decline is shown, and the plateau from the mid Early Cretaceous to the end of the period remains, albeit at substantially higher richness compared to earlier datasets. Origination and extinction rates are broadly similar to before, with a broad decline in both through time but episodic peaks, including end-Permian turnover. Origination more consistently exceeds extinction compared to previous datasets and exceptions are mainly in the Palaeozoic. These changes suggest that some inferences about causal mechanisms in insect macroevolution are likely to differ as well

Organelle segregation into Plasmodium liver stage merozoites

The liver stage of the Plasmodium parasite remains one of the most promising targets for intervention against malaria as it is clinically silent, precedes the symptomatic blood stage and represents a bottleneck in the parasite life cycle. However, many aspects of the development of the parasite during this stage are far from understood. During the liver stage, the parasite undergoes extensive replication, forming tens of thousands of infectious merozoites from each invading sporozoite. This implies a very efficient and accurate process of cytokinesis and thus also of organelle development and segregation. We have generated for the first time Plasmodium berghei double-fluorescent parasite lines, allowing visualization of the apicoplast, mitochondria and nuclei in live liver stage parasites. Using these we have seen that in parallel with nuclear division, the apicoplast and mitochondrion become two extensively branched and intertwining structures. The organelles then undergo impressive morphological and positional changes prior to cell division. To form merozoites, the parasite undergoes cytokinesis and the complex process of organelle development and segregation into the forming daughter merozoites could be analysed in detail using the newly generated transgenic parasites