Biochemical challenges for testing novel anti-panic drugs in humans.

Current medications for panic disorder each carry significant limitations that indicate the need for novel anxiolytics. The high costs and low success rates of drug development demand that testing trials be efficient. Lab panicogenic challenges in humans allow for the rapid biochemical induction of panic symptoms and hence an efficient means of testing potential anti-panic drugs. This paper describes ideal characteristics of lab panicogens, reviews the validity and utility of various biochemical panicogenic agents, identifies key outcome measures for studies of novel anti-panic drugs, and makes broad recommendations for labs wishing to perform such studies. We conclude by presenting a four-tiered hierarchy of panicogens that matches each against ideal characteristics and reflects our recommendations for their laboratory use.

Locus coeruleus noradrenaline depletion and its differential impact on CO2-induced panic and hyperventilation in male and female mice.

CO2 exposure has been used to investigate the panicogenic response in patients with panic disorder. These patients are more sensitive to CO2, and more likely to experience the "false suffocation alarm" which triggers panic attacks. Imbalances in locus coeruleus noradrenergic (LC-NA) neurotransmission are responsible for psychiatric disorders, including panic disorder. These neurons are sensitive to changes in CO2/pH. Therefore, we investigated if LC-NA neurons are differentially activated after severe hypercapnia in mice. Further, we evaluated the participation of LC-NA neurons in ventilatory and panic-like escape responses induced by 20% CO2 in male and female wild type mice and two mouse models of altered LC-NA synthesis. Hypercapnia activates the LC-NA neurons, with males presenting a heightened level of activation. Mutant males lacking or with reduced LC-NA synthesis showed hypoventilation, while animals lacking LC noradrenaline present an increased metabolic rate compared to wild type in normocapnia. When exposed to CO2, males lacking LC noradrenaline showed a lower respiratory frequency compared to control animals. On the other hand, females lacking LC noradrenaline presented a higher tidal volume. Nevertheless, no change in ventilation was observed in either sex. CO2 evoked an active escape response. Mice lacking LC noradrenaline had a blunted jumping response and an increased freezing duration compared to the other groups. They also presented fewer racing episodes compared to wild type animals, but not different from mice with reduced LC noradrenaline. These findings suggest that LC-NA has an important role in ventilatory and panic-like escape responses elicited by CO2 exposure in mice.

Panicolytic-like effects of environment enrichment on male mice threatened by Bothrops jararaca lancehead pit vipers.

Environment enrichment (EE) is a well-known eustress model showing beneficial effects in different psychiatric diseases, but its positive properties in panic disorders are not yet established. The confrontation between prey and predator in complex arenas has been validated as a putative panic attack model. The principal aim of this work was to investigate the role of the EE on panic-like defensive responses elicited by mice threatened by venomous snakes. After 6 weeks of exposure either to an enriched or standard environments, 36 male mice were habituated in a complex polygonal arena for snakes containing an artificial burrow and elevated platforms for escape. The animals were confronted by Bothrops jararaca for 5 min, and the following antipredatory responses were recorded: defensive attention, stretched attend posture, flat back approach, prey versus predator interaction, oriented escape behavior, time spent in a safe place, and number of crossings. Mice threatened by snakes displayed several antipredatory reactions as compared to the exploratory behavior of those animals submitted to a nonthreatening situation (toy snake) in the same environment. Notably, EE causes anxiolytic- and panicolytic-like effects significantly decreasing the defensive attention and time spent in safe places and significantly increasing both prey versus predator interaction and exploratory behavior. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that EE can alter the processing of fear modulation regarding both anxiety- and panic-like responses in a dangerous condition, significantly modifying the decision-making defensive strategy.

The role of the peripheral and central adrenergic system in the construction of the subjective emotional experience of panic.

RATIONALE: Although the study of emotions can look back to over 100 years of research, it is unclear which information the brain uses to construct the subjective experience of an emotion. OBJECTIVE: In the current study, we assess the role of the peripheral and central adrenergic system in this respect. METHODS: Healthy volunteers underwent a double inhalation of 35% CO2, which is a well-validated procedure to induce an intense emotion, namely panic. In a randomized, cross-over design, 34 participants received either a ß1-blocker acting selectively in the peripheral nervous system (atenolol), a ß1-blocker acting in the peripheral and central nervous system (metoprolol), or a placebo before the CO2 inhalation. RESULTS: Heart rate and systolic blood pressure were reduced in both ß-blocker conditions compared to placebo, showing effective inhibition of the adrenergic tone. Nevertheless, the subjective experience of the induced panic was the same in all conditions, as measured by self-reported fear, discomfort, and panic symptom ratings. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that information from the peripheral and central adrenergic system does not play a major role in the construction of the subjective emotion.

Identification of a novel perifornical-hypothalamic-area-projecting serotonergic system that inhibits innate panic and conditioned fear responses.

The serotonin (5-HT) system is heavily implicated in the regulation of anxiety and trauma-related disorders such as panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, respectively. However, the neural mechanisms of how serotonergic neurotransmission regulates innate panic and fear brain networks are poorly understood. Our earlier studies have identified that orexin (OX)/glutamate neurons within the perifornical hypothalamic area (PFA) play a critical role in adaptive and pathological panic and fear. While site-specific and electrophysiological studies have shown that intracranial injection and bath application of 5-HT inhibits PFA neurons via 5-HT1a receptors, they largely ignore circuit-specific neurotransmission and its physiological properties that occur in vivo. Here, we investigate the role of raphe nuclei 5-HT inputs into the PFA in panic and fear behaviors. We initially confirmed that photostimulation of glutamatergic neurons in the PFA of rats produces robust cardioexcitation and flight/aversive behaviors resembling panic-like responses. Using the retrograde tracer cholera toxin B, we determined that the PFA receives discrete innervation of serotonergic neurons clustered in the lateral wings of the dorsal (lwDRN) and in the median (MRN) raphe nuclei. Selective lesions of these serotonergic projections with saporin toxin resulted in similar panic-like responses during the suffocation-related CO2 challenge and increased freezing to fear-conditioning paradigm. Conversely, selective stimulation of serotonergic fibers in the PFA attenuated both flight/escape behaviors and cardioexcitation responses elicited by the CO2 challenge and induced conditioned place preference. The data here support the hypothesis that PFA projecting 5-HT neurons in the lwDRN/MRN represents a panic/fear-off circuit and may also play a role in reward behavior.

Research on panic spread and decision behaviour in a delayed SEIR evolutionary game model under an emergency.

Taking major emergencies as the research background, the transmission mechanism for panic spread and the decision behaviour of the opinion field are explored in this paper. By using evolutionary game theory to explore the game relationship between the official opinion field and the public opinion field and by considering the existence of strategy dependency in the same game group, the dependence coefficient is introduced to improve replicator dynamics. The dynamic delayed SEIR evolutionary game model is built by combining the epidemic model with the delay effect within the group, and the stability of the proposed model is analysed. The research results show that the strategy dependency among the same game group has positive and negative effects on the evolution process. The evolution of the dynamic delayed panic SEIR evolutionary game spread model under the effect of a positive effect is simulated. The results suggest that the official opinion field and the public opinion field should actively deal with emergencies, formulate effective control strategies to make the panic within the group disappear, and provide theoretical guidance for the relevant government to formulate plans.

Wolf contact in horses at permanent pasture in Germany.

Wolves returned to Germany in 2000, leading to fear in German horse owners that their horses could be in danger of wolf attacks or panic-like escapes from pastures when sighting wolves. However, reports from southern European countries indicate that wolf predation on horses diminishes with increasing presence of wildlife. Therefore, we conducted a long-term, filed observation between January 2015 and July 2022 on 13 non breeding riding horses, mares and geldings, kept permanently on two pastures within the range of wildlife and a stable wolf pack with annual offspring. Wildlife cameras at the fences of the pastures made 984 times recordings of wolves and 3151 times recordings of wildlife in and around the pastures. Between 1 January 2022 and 23 March 2022 we observed two stable horse groups. Pasture 1 was grazed by five horses of mixed breed, four mares and one gelding, with the median age of 8 years (min. = 6y, max. = 29y). Pasture 2 was grazed by eight heavy warmbloods and draught horses, three mares and five geldings, with the median age of 16 years (min. = 13y, max. = 22y). During this period no wolf was recorded at pasture 2, but wild boar several times, whereas at pasture 1, wolves were recorded 89 times, and for the wildlife mostly hare. Wolves may have avoided pasture 2 because of the presence of wild boar or because the large group of older, heavy breed horses may have formed a stable, protective group. The latter needs to be confirmed in a follow-up field observation, which records anti-predator behavior and welfare indicators in horses. In conclusion, wolves did not attack the mature horses on pastures with plenty of wildlife and the horses did not respond to the presence of wolves with visible signs of reduced welfare or panic. This indicates that wolves may prefer to prey on easily accessible wildlife around and at horse pastures and that Central European horses become accustom to the presence of non-hunting wolves.

Copeptin response to panic provocation with CO2 in healthy adults.

Repeated panic attacks are the core symptom of panic disorder and severely stressful for patients. Additional to the psychological response, the physiological symptoms are an important aspect of the experienced panic. However, data on the extent of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis activation during panic attacks is inconsistent. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed at investigating the stress-axis activity in more detail by including Copeptin (CoP) as a stable surrogate parameter for the vasopressinergic hypothalamic activity during experimentally induced panic attacks in healthy adults (N = 21). During a placebo-controlled panic challenge with 35% CO2 compared to normal air inhalation, we measured CoP and the peripheral effector hormones Adrenocorticotropic Releasing Hormone (ACTH) and cortisol in plasma along with the psychological response to panic anxiety. We analyzed hormonal secretion patterns, their correlations and individual panic ratings over time and explored differences between female and male participants. We found a significant CO2-induced increase of CoP plasma levels and psychological panic symptoms after CO2-administration, while no positive correlations of CoP levels with the peripheral HPA-axis hormones and with panic symptoms were present. No differences between female and male participants concerning their psychological response nor their baseline CoP levels, the release of CoP or its increase during the experiment were found. CoP could be a sensitive indicator for an organism's physiologic acute hypothalamic response during stress and panic attacks.

Premature burial.

The fear of being buried alive or taphophobia remains a significant concern for a number of individuals. In previous centuries however, reports of live burials were frequently promulgated in the media fostering an industry focused around the manufacturing and selling of security coffins which either facilitated egress or enabled the recently buried to alert those on the surface to their plight. Holding mortuaries with resuscitation facilities were also established mainly in Continental Europe to permit close observation of the recently deceased until definitive signs of putrefaction had developed. Underpinning much of this panic was the inability of medical practitioners to definitely diagnose death. Although still a rare possibility, mainly in situations where qualified medical personnel are not available, the likelihood of alive burial is nowadays fortunately rare.

Hypophosphatemia, hypokalaemia and rhabdomyolysis associated with a panic attack.

Panic attacks have been associated with hypophosphatemia, which can lead to numerous complications if unrecognised. Here, we present the case of an otherwise-healthy man in his 20s who experienced a panic attack accompanied by hypophosphatemia and hypokalaemia and subsequently developed rhabdomyolysis. This trajectory highlights the clinical significance of panic attack-associated metabolic derangements and their potential for medical complications such as rhabdomyolysis.

The Spanish Version of the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index: Factorial Dimensions and Invariance across Gender in a Sample of Adolescents.

Anxiety sensitivity is a transdiagnostic construct that has been associated with the etiology of emotional disorders, especially panic and other anxiety disorders. Although it is well known that, for the adult population, the factor structure of anxiety sensitivity includes three separate facets (physical, cognitive, and social concerns), the facets of anxiety sensitivity for adolescents have not yet been established. The main goal of the present study was to examine the factor structure of the Spanish version of the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI). A large sample of nonclinical adolescents completed the Spanish version of the CASI in school settings (N = 1655; aged 11-17 years; 800 boys and 855 girls). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the full scale (CASI-18) indicate that a three first-order factor solution represents appropriately the three anxiety sensitivity facets previously defined for the adult population. The 3-factor structure had a better fit and was more parsimonious than a 4-factor solution. Results also indicate that the 3-factor structure remains invariant across genders. Girls scored significantly higher than boys on the total scale and on all three dimensions of anxiety sensitivity. In addition, the present study provides information concerning normative data for the scale. The CASI holds promise as a useful tool for assessing general and specific facets of anxiety sensitivity. It could be helpful for the assessment of this construct in clinical and preventive settings. The limitations of the study and suggestions for further research are outlined.

Anxiety sensitivity and panic symptoms: the moderating influence of distress tolerance.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is the fear of consequences of anxiety-related sensations, and has been linked to the development of panic symptoms. Distress tolerance (DT) encompasses one's behavioral or self-perceived ability to handle aversive states. We examined whether higher DT buffers the relationship between AS and changes in panic symptoms across two timepoints, spaced ∼three weeks apart. DESIGN AND METHODS: At Time 1, 208 participants completed questionnaires and a physical DT task (breath-holding duration), a cognitive DT task (anagram persistence), and a self-report measure of DT (perceived DT). Panic symptoms were assessed at both timepoints. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate two models in which AS and DT predicted changes in panic. RESULTS: Contrary to hypotheses, for those with longer breath-holding duration (higher physical DT), higher fears of physical anxiety-related sensations (higher physical AS) were associated with worse panic outcomes over time. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that those with lower physical DT may have been less willing to engage with difficult tasks in the short-term. Although disengagement in the short-term may provide temporary relief, it is possible that averse psychopathological consequences stemming from rigid or habitual avoidance of distressing states may develop over longer periods of time.

Tiros na escola: algumas referências para a psicologia na assistência à comunidade escolar / School shotting: some references for psychology in school comunity support / Tíros em la escuela: algunas referencias para la psicología em la asistencia à comunidad escolar

A atuação em situações de emergências e desastres apresentam-se como um dos grandes desafios na atuação dos profissionais da Psicologia, demandando intervenções singulares, desde o primeiro contato com as vítimas e o com entorno afetado pelo ocorrido, passando pelo trabalho interdisciplinar e interinstitucional junto aos órgãos públicos de segurança, justiça, assistência e saúde. O presente artigo tem como objetivo apresentar, por meio da experiência na assistência às vítimas na Escola Estadual Raul Brasil, as particularidades e adversidades enfrentadas durante o primeiro semestre de intervenções emergenciais que antecederam a contratação de psicólogos por parte do poder público municipal para continuidade das ações. Por meio de relatos de experiência em intervenções psicológicas, obtidos em diferentes instituições para a assistência às vítimas, este trabalho também visa apresentar alternativas que possam servir de referências para a intervenção do psicólogo e da psicóloga em situações de emergências e desastres, especialmente ocorridas na comunidade escolar. Observou-se que a realização do trabalho interdisciplinar e interinstitucional somado à participação da direção da escola no planejamento das ações e a realização de plantões psicológicos e rodas de conversa junto à comunidade escolar foram fundamentais para a assistência às vítimas do ocorrido.(AU)

Timely response to emergency and disaster situations is a major challenge for Psychology professionals and require particular interventions, from initial contact with the victims and the affected environment to interdisciplinary and interinstitutional collaboration with public security, justice, assistance and health agencies. Based on the experience of providing assistance to the victims of the State School Raul Brasil, this paper presents the adversities and specificities faced during the first semester of emergency interventions implemented before psychologists were hired by municipal officials for the continuity of care. By analyzing experience reports on psychological interventions obtained from different institutions for victim assistance, this paper proposes alternatives to be used as reference for psychological intervention in emergency and disaster situations, especially those experienced by the school community. Interdisciplinary and interinstitutional collaboration with the school board for planning actions and offering psychological services and conversation circles for the school community was fundamental to assist the victims.(AU)

La actuación en situaciones de emergencias es uno de los grandes desafíos a los profesionales de la psicología, pues demanda intervenciones singulares desde el primer contacto con las víctimas y con el contexto afectado por lo ocurrido, pasando por la interdisciplinaridad e interinstitucionalidad junto a los organismos públicos de seguridad, justicia, asistencia y salud. Este artículo tiene como objetivo presentar, por medio de la experiencia de la asistencia a las víctimas del colegio estadual Raul Brasil (en São Paulo, Brasil), las particularidades y adversidades enfrentadas durante el primer semestre de las intervenciones de emergencia que antecedieron la contratación de psicólogos por parte del municipio para continuidad de las acciones. Por medio de reportes de experiencia en intervenciones psicológicas, obtenidos en diferentes instituciones para la asistencia a las víctimas, este estudio también pretende presentar alternativas que puedan servir de referencia en la intervención de psicólogos y psicólogas en situaciones de emergencia y desastres, especialmente ocurridas en la comunidad escolar. Se verificó que la realización del trabajo interdisciplinar e interinstitucional, la participación de la dirección del colegio en la implementación de acciones y la realización de guardias psicológicas y círculos de conversación con la comunidad escolar fueron fundamentales para una asistencia a las víctimas.(AU)

Impacto da solidão na qualidade de vida de universitários de Minas Gerais / The impact of solitude in the quality of life of college students in Minas Gerais / Impacto de la soledad en la calidad de vida de estudiantes universitarios de Minas Gerais

O ingresso na universidade é marcado por intensas transformações pessoais e pela necessidade de adaptação para um modelo de ensino mais autônomo. Esse cenário pode contribuir para o surgimento de sentimentos de solidão e impactar a qualidade de vida dos universitários. O presente estudo visou investigar as relações entre a solidão e a qualidade de vida em universitários de uma universidade pública do interior de Minas Gerais. Participaram da pesquisa 268 estudantes de graduação selecionados aleatoriamente. Como instrumentos, foram utilizados um questionário sociodemográfico e de hábitos de vida, o Medical Outcomes Study 36 - item Short Form (SF-36), e a Escala Brasileira de Solidão (UCLA-BR). Foram conduzidas análises descritivas e inferenciais (correlação, Kruskal-Wallis e regressão logística). O domínio da qualidade de vida com maior escore foi Capacidade Funcional e Vitalidade foi o menor. Referente à solidão, 60,82% da amostra apresentou nível mínimo. Houve associação significativa entre a solidão e seis domínios da qualidade de vida. A solidão dobrou a chance de pior qualidade de vida nos domínios: aspectos sociais (β = 2,66), limitação emocional (β = 2,18) e saúde mental (β = 2,61). Conclui-se que a solidão impacta negativamente a qualidade de vida dos universitários e que, por isso, são necessárias intervenções para essa população.(AU)

Enrollment in the university is marked by intense personal transformations and the need to adapt to a more autonomous teaching model. This scenario can contribute to the emergence of feelings of loneliness and impact the quality of life of college students. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between loneliness and quality of life in college students at a public university in the interior of the state of Minas Gerais. A total of 268 undergraduate students randomly select took part in the study. The instruments used were a sociodemographic and lifestyle questionnaire, the Medical Outcomes Study 36 - item Short Form (SF-36), and the Brazilian Loneliness Scale (UCLA-BR). Descriptive and inferential analyzes were conducted (correlation, Kruskal-Wallis, and logistic regression). The highest score in the quality of life's domain was Functional Capacity and the lowest was Vitality. Regarding loneliness, 60.82% of the sample had a minimum level. There was a significant association between loneliness and six quality of life domains. Loneliness doubled the chance of worse quality of life for the domains: social aspects (β = 2.66), emotional limitation (β = 2.18), and mental health (β = 2.61). In conclusion, loneliness negatively impacts the quality of life of university students and, therefore, interventions are required for this population.(AU)

El ingreso a la universidad está marcado por intensas transformaciones personales y la necesidad de adaptarse a un modelo de enseñanza más autónomo. Este escenario puede contribuir a la aparición de sentimientos de soledad e impactar la calidad de vida de los estudiantes universitarios. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar las relaciones entre la soledad y la calidad de vida en los estudiantes universitarios de una universidad pública del interior de Minas Gerais (Brasil). En la investigación participaron 268 estudiantes universitarios seleccionados al azar. Los instrumentos que se utilizaron fueron cuestionario de hábitos sociodemográficos y de estilo de vida, el Medical Outcomes Study 36 -item Short Form (SF-36) y la Escala de soledad brasileña (UCLA-BR). Se realizaron análisis descriptivos e inferenciales (correlación, Kruskal-Wallis y regresión logística). El dominio de la calidad de vida con la puntuación más alta fue la capacidad funcional, y el de la vitalidad fue la más baja. En cuanto a la soledad, el 60,82% de la muestra presentó nivel mínimo. Hubo una asociación significativa entre la soledad y seis dominios de calidad de vida. La soledad duplicó la posibilidad de una peor calidad de vida para los dominios: aspectos sociales (β = 2,66), limitación emocional (β = 2,18) y salud mental (β = 2,61). Se concluye que la soledad afecta negativamente la calidad de vida de los estudiantes universitarios y, por lo tanto, está prohibida para esta población.(AU)

Como ser psicólogo hospitalar na pandemia de covid-19 no Brasil? Uma pesquisa documental / How to be a hospital psychologist in the covid-19 pandemic in Brasil? A documental research

Resumo Com alta transmissibilidade e demanda por atendimento hospitalar, a covid-19 teve impactos (como ansiedade, medo e insegurança) sobre o equilíbrio psicológico de pacientes, seus familiares e profissionais da saúde. Diante disso, o objetivo deste artigo é mapear intervenções psicológicas no contexto hospitalar frente à covid-19, a fim de subsidiar a constituição de protocolos. Observou-se que visitas virtuais, trabalho de luto antecipatório e técnicas de psicoeducação, através de psicoterapia breve, mostram-se necessários dentro do contexto de unidades fechadas, Unidades de Terapia Intensiva (UTIs) e emergências, como forma de enfrentamento que permite a elaboração de sentimentos, como medo, angústia e ansiedade. Para ambulatórios, destacam-se os plantões psicológicos, através de videochamadas, de demanda espontânea, além de encaminhamento para psicoterapia externa, voltados a profissionais com sintomas de pânico, ansiedade, depressão e exaustão. Mesmo com intervenções psicológicas originadas a partir desse contexto, evidencia-se a falta de protocolos com abrangência nacional e eficazes para o ambiente hospitalar, tanto para pacientes e familiares como para profissionais que atuam diretamente com o vírus. Portanto, cabe ao Brasil aperfeiçoar o modelo apresentado pela Comissão Nacional de Saúde da China, ou construir protocolos próprios de acordo com o contexto sociocultural, compreendendo suas diferentes formas de comunicação e enfrentamento. É essencial considerar sentimentos de cansaço dos profissionais da saúde, de forma que se sugerem ações como grupo de acolhimento de demandas emocionais geradas nesta pandemia.

Abstract With high transmission and demand for hospital care, COVID-19 caused impacts (such as anxiety fear, and insecurity) on the psychological balance of patients, family members, and health professionals. Therefore, the objective of this article is to map psychological interventions in the hospital context against COVID-19, to support the constitution of protocols in this environment. We observed that virtual visits, anticipatory mourning work, and psychoeducational techniques, via brief psychotherapy are necessary within the context of closed units, Intensive Care Units (ICU's), and emergencies, as a way of coping that allow the elaboration of feelings such as fear, anguish , and anxiety. For outpatient clinics, psychological shifts in hospitals, via video calls, of spontaneous demand, in addition to referral to external psychotherapy, for professionals with symptoms of panic, anxiety, depression, and exhaustion stand out. Even with psychological interventions originating from this context, the lack of protocols with national coverage and effectiveness for the hospital environment is evident, both for patients and families and for professionals who work directly with the virus. Therefore, it is up to Brazil to improve the model presented by the National Health Commission for the People's Republic of China, or build our own protocols according to the sociocultural context, comprising their different forms of communication and confrontation. In addition, it to Considering the feelings of tiredness of health professionals is essential, so that actions such as a group to acknowledge emotional demands generated in this pandemic are suggested.

A Model of Panic Buying and Workforce under COVID-19.

Allowing there to be an undersupply of medical resources and infection amid the social workforce, this paper proposes a theory to show how panic buying is induced and how bad the workforce status could be. By developing a novel general equilibrium model, we find that for any retail price that is higher than the buyer's reserve value, the buying competition will be induced and the medical resources supply will further be tightened. Moreover, if the transmission rate of COVID-19 surpasses the theoretical threshold that is proposed by this paper, the whole workforce in our simulated economy will inevitably be infected.

Panic Food Purchasing amid COVID-19 Pandemic: Does the Impact of Perceived Severity, Anxiety and Self-Isolation Really Matter?

This research examines the influences of perceived severity, anxiety, and self-isolation intention, amid the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), on panic food purchasing. The research adopted a quantitative approach using a pre-examined instrument, which was self-administered by the research team (with support from a data collection-specialised company) to consumers who were urgently shopping for food in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The results of structural equation modelling (SEM) using analysis of a moment structures (AMOS) software showed a significant positive impact of perceived severity on consumers' anxiety and self-isolation intention amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Self-isolation intention was found to have a significant positive impact on the anxiety of consumers amid the pandemic. Additionally, perceived severity, anxiety, and self-isolation have a significant positive impact on panic food purchasing. Both anxiety and self-isolation were found to have partial mediating effects in the link between perceived severity and panic purchasing intention. The results of the current research contribute to a better understanding of factors that influence panic purchasing behaviour, especially amid a pandemic. This will help policymakers to deal with this behaviour when such issues arise in the future. Other implications for scholars and policy makers are discussed.

Do open data impact citizens' behavior? Assessing face mask panic buying behaviors during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Data are essential for digital solutions and supporting citizens' everyday behavior. Open data initiatives have expanded worldwide in the last decades, yet investigating the actual usage of open data and evaluating their impacts are insufficient. Thus, in this paper, we examine an exemplary use case of open data during the early stage of the Covid-19 pandemic and assess its impacts on citizens. Based on quasi-experimental methods, the study found that publishing local stores' real-time face mask stock levels as open data may have influenced people's purchase behaviors. Results indicate a reduced panic buying behavior as a consequence of the openly accessible information in the form of an online mask map. Furthermore, the results also suggested that such open-data-based countermeasures did not equally impact every citizen and rather varied among socioeconomic conditions, in particular the education level.