Interpersonal contrast avoidance as a mechanism for the maintenance of worry.

Despite consistent links between interpersonal problems and worry, mechanisms explaining this relationship remain unknown. The Contrast Avoidance Model (CAM; Newman & Llera, 2011) posits that individuals at risk for chronic worry and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) fear sudden negative mood shifts, using worry to perpetuate negative moods and avoid these negative emotional contrasts. We propose interpersonal (IP) contrast avoidance (e.g., acting friendly to prevent others from causing mood shifts) as a novel explanation for interpersonal dysfunction in worriers. This study investigated IP contrast avoidance and worry in two samples. A nonclinical sample ranging in GAD symptoms (Study 1; N = 92) reported IP problems at baseline then IP contrast avoidance and worry over eight weeks (637 diaries). As expected, baseline IP problems prospectively predicted worry indirectly through chronic IP contrast avoidance. Affiliative, submissive, cold, and total IP contrast avoidance strategies predicted same-week and lagged next-week worry increases; affiliative, submissive, and total strategies also predicted maintenance of worry over eight weeks in growth models. Lastly, Study 2 showed the relevance of IP contrast avoidance strategies in a treatment-seeking clinical sample (N = 40), correlating with interpersonal problems and worry. Overall, results provide proof-of-concept for extending the CAM to the interpersonal domain.

Long term outcome and late toxicity Of SIB-IMRT in definitive management of head and neck cancers in patients not suitable for chemo-radiotherapy.

Objective: To evaluate efficacy and late toxicity of intensity-modulated radiotherapy with simultaneous integrated boost (IMRT-SIB) in definitive management of head-and-neck cancers. Methods: In this prospective interventional study, histological proven squamous cell carcinoma of oropharynx, hypopharynx, or larynx with stage T1-3 N0-3 M0 who were not candidates for concurrent chemotherapy were treated with IMRT-SIB with radical intent. Doses prescribed for IMRT-SIB to meet the clinical needs of nodal volumes were either SIB-66 schedule 66 Gray (Gy) prescribed to high risk (HR) planned target volume (PTV), 60 (Gy) to intermediate risk (IR) PTV and 54 Gy to low risk (LR) PTV in 30 fractions or SIB-70 schedule 70 Gy to PTV-HR, 59.4 Gy to PTV-IR and 56 Gy to PTV-LR in 33 fractions. Result: Forty-five patients were included. Forty-two patients were treated with SIB-66 schedule and three patients with SIB-70 schedule. The median follow-up period was 21 (6-68) months. There was residual disease in three patients. Recurrence was observed in 24 patients. Most recurrences were in HR volume (n = 19) and three patients had distant failure. Estimated 2-year locoregional control, disease-free survival, and overall survival were 55.55%, 49.7%, and 51.1%, respectively. Grade 3 late skin toxicity, subcutaneous fibrosis, and xerostomia were observed in three patients. Conclusions: Efficacy and late toxicity of IMRT-SIB observed in our study suggest it as a suitable treatment option for patients who are not fit for chemoradiation.

Disgust uniquely predicts coping and interpersonal processes beyond anxiety and dysphoria in the context of naturalistic stressors.

BACKGROUND: Disgust is theorized to serve a unique function of motivating avoidance of noxious stimuli and setting interpersonal boundaries to prevent contamination. Research has established the relevance of disgust to OCD, posttraumatic stress, and phobias, suggesting transdiagnostic features. However, research has not always accounted for overlap of disgust with other negative emotions, obscuring unique contributions. Moreover, studies have not disentangled between-person (mean levels) and within-person (state) effects. The present study examined within- and between-person relationships of disgust, anxiety, and dysphoria with responses to daily social stressors. We expected disgust would uniquely predict cognitive avoidance and boundary-setting interpersonal behavior. METHOD: Individuals (N = 159) meeting ADIS-V anxiety/depressive disorder criteria (n = 55) and healthy controls (n = 104) completed online journals about naturalistic social stressors over five weeks (1,923 records), reporting disgust, anxiety, dysphoria, and responses to social stressors. RESULTS: As expected, disgust uniquely predicted lower acceptance, greater thought suppression, greater self-assertion, and less prosocial behavior, above and beyond anxiety and dysphoria. Several disgust effects were present at both between- and within-person levels, suggesting the relevance of both mean disgust and state fluctuations. CONCLUSIONS: Results demonstrate unique relevance of disgust for how individuals respond to social stressors.

Chemical characterization, phytotoxic, and cytotoxic activities of essential oil of Mentha longifolia.

The present study assessed the phytotoxic and cytotoxic potential of the essential oil (EO) extracted from aboveground parts of Mentha longifolia (L.) Huds. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed 39 compounds constituting 99.67% of the EO. The EO was rich in monoterpenoids (mostly oxygenated monoterpenes), which accounted for 89.28% of the oil. The major components in EO were monoterpene ketones such as piperitone oxide (53.83%) and piperitenone oxide (11.52%), followed by thymol (5.80%), and (E)-caryophyllene (4.88%). The phytotoxic activities of EO were estimated against Cyperus rotundus, Echinochloa crus-galli, and Oryza sativa (rice) through pre- and post-emergence assays at concentrations ranging from 10 to 250 µg/ml and 0.5-5%, respectively. In pre-emergence assay, the phytotoxic effect of EO was most pronounced on C. rotundus, thereby significantly affecting percent germination, plantlet growth, and chlorophyll content. On the contrary, the impact was comparatively lesser on rice, with ~ 40% germination in response to 250 µg/ml of EO treatment. In the post-emergence assay, the spray treatment of EO caused a loss of chlorophyll and wilting in test plants, and subsequently affected the growth of plants, even leading to death in some cases. The cytotoxic activity of EO (at 2.5-50 µg/ml) was studied in meristem cells in onion (Allium cepa L.) root tips. EO exposure to the onion roots induced various chromosomal aberrations such as chromosomal bridges, c-mitosis, stickiness, vagrant chromosomes, etc., and negatively affected the mitotic index. At 50 µg/ml, EO treatment triggered the complete death of roots. The study concludes that M. longifolia EO has phytotoxic activities due to the mito-depressive effect, along with other physiological effects on target plants. Therefore, EO of M. longifolia could be developed into a novel bioherbicide for sustainable management of weeds in agricultural systems.

A review of EMA assessment period reporting for mood variables in substance use research: Expanding existing EMA guidelines.

Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) is an increasingly popular approach in substance use research for capturing reliable, in-situ, self-reported information about fluctuating variables, such as mood, over time. Current EMA guidelines do not sufficiently address the reporting of assessment periods (e.g., right now, past 30 min). Given the importance of time in EMA studies, variation and ambiguity in assessment period reporting risks misinterpretation of procedures and findings. The following study reviewed the methodological reporting of EMA assessment periods in substance use research. A search conducted in PsychINFO and PubMed using the terms "ecological momentary assessment" OR "EMA" AND "mood" AND "substance use" yielded 36 unique search results. The references of these results were hand searched and resulted in 126 additional studies. After deleting duplicates and applying inclusion criteria, 56 studies were included in the review. Review of these studies illustrated (1) variability and ambiguity in study assessment periods (2) within-study incongruence between assessment period descriptions and associated EMA prompts, (3) and a large temporal range of retrospective assessment periods across studies. Each of these findings are illustrated and discussed using examples from the literature. From these examples, assessment period reporting guidelines are proposed to improve EMA reporting clarity. Such improvements will facilitate increased synthesis of EMA research and position future researchers to investigate the validity and reliability of EMA data captured with different lengths of retrospection.

Exploring Temporal Patterns of Stress in Adolescent Girls with Headache.

As part of a larger study on perceived stress and headaches in 2009, momentary perceived stress, head pain levels and stress-related symptom data were collected. This paper explores a temporal analysis of the patterns of stress, as well as an analysis of momentary and retrospective stress-related symptoms compared by level of headache activity. Adolescent girls (N = 31) ages 14-18 were randomly cued by electronic diaries 7 times per day over a 21-day period responding to momentary questions about level of head pain, perceived stress and stress-related symptoms. Multivariate general linear modelling was used to determine significant differences among headache groups in relation to temporal patterns of stress. Significant headache group differences were found on retrospective and momentary stress-related symptom measures. A total of 2841 diary responses captured stress levels, head pain and related symptoms. The chronic headache (CH) group reported the highest levels of hourly and daily stress, followed by the moderate headache (MH) and low headache (LH) groups. Patterns of stress for the three headache groups were statistically distinct, illustrating increased stress in girls with more frequent head pain. This evidence suggests that because of increased stress, girls with recurrent head pain are likely a vulnerable population who may benefit from stress-reducing interventions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Paris polyphylla: chemical and biological prospectives.

Paris polyphylla J.E. Smith is extensively used in traditional systems of Indian and Chinese medicines mainly for its anticancerous property. The national and international demand for P. polyphylla is constantly increasing and most of the supplies come from wild. Illegal and unscientific exploitation coupled with habitat destruction decreases the natural population of the herb, as a consequence this species comes under vulnerable category. Restoration and conservation of the natural population of this potential herb is prerequisites. This article aims to provide an overview on chemical and biological prospective of P. polyphylla. Secondary metabolites such as daucosterol, polyphyllin D, ß -ecdysterone, Paris saponins I, II, V, VI, VII, H, dioscin, oligosaccharides, heptasaccharide, octasaccharide, trigofoenoside A, protogracillin, Paris yunnanosides G-J, padelaoside B, pinnatasterone, formosanin C and 20-hydroxyecdyson saponins have been isolated from P. polyphylla. Several biological activities such as anticancerous, antitumor, cytotoxic, anthelmintic, antimicrobial, antiangiogenic, immunostimulating, contractile and hemostatic have also been reported. Consequently, this review will be helpful to the researcher and scientist for further research.