Releasing and tracking the distribution of adventive Trissolcus japonicus (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) in Virginia.

Adventive populations of Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead), an egg parasitoid of the invasive agricultural pest, brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), have been detected in the United States since 2014. Given its importance as an H. halys biocontrol agent, efforts to redistribute T. japonicus began within some US states. Our surveillance for T. japonicus in northwestern Virginia in 2016-2017 yielded annual detections only in 1 county. Thus, to promote its broader establishment, releases of H. halys egg masses parasitized by T. japonicus from Virginia occurred in 2018 (2 releases) and 2020 (1 release) at 9 sites throughout Virginia's tree fruit production regions. Monitoring of T. japonicus and H. halys, using yellow sticky cards deployed in H. halys host trees and pheromone-baited sticky traps, respectively, was conducted from 2018 to 2022. Annual captures of H. halys adults and nymphs appeared to reflect adequate populations to support T. japonicus establishment across most or all sites. Prerelease monitoring yielded a single T. japonicus at 1 site. By 2022, T. japonicus was detected at or near 7 of the remaining 8 release sites, with first detections varying between 1 and 2 yr from the releases in 2018 and 2020. Captures at most sites were very low, but establishment at several locations was indicated by detections in 2-4 seasons. In 2022, T. japonicus surveillance at 11 additional sites in northwestern Virginia yielded detections at all locations, including those at which it had not been detected in 2016-2017, providing evidence for its range expansion.

Failure to tolerate continuous subcutaneous treprostinil in pediatric pulmonary hypertension patients.

Continuous subcutaneous (SubQ) treprostinil is an effective therapy for pediatric patients diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension (PH). To date, the clinical characteristics and factors associated with failure to tolerate this therapy have not been described. The purpose was to describe patient-reported factors contributing to SubQ treprostinil intolerance in pediatric patients with PH. A retrospective descriptive study was performed at 11 participating sites in the United States and Canada for patients younger than 21 years of age diagnosed with PH who failed treatment to tolerate SubQ treprostinil between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2019. All data were summarized using descriptive statistics. Forty-one patients met the inclusion criteria. The average age at SQ treprostinil initiation, and length of treatment, was 8.6 years and 22.6 months, respectively. The average maximum dose, concentration, and rate were 95.8 ng/kg/min, 6.06 mg/mL, and 0.040 mL/h, respectively. The reasons for failure to tolerate SubQ treprostinil included intractable site pain (73.2%), frequent site changes (56.1%), severe site reactions (53.7%), infections (26.8%), and noncompliance/depression/anxiety (17.1%). Thirty-nine (95.1%) patients transitioned to a prostacyclin therapy with 23 patients transitioning to intravenous prostacyclin, 5 to inhaled prostacyclin, 5 to oral prostacyclin, and 7 to a prostacyclin receptor agonist. A subset of pediatric PH patients failed to tolerate SubQ treprostinil infusions despite advances in SubQ site maintenance and pain management strategies. Intractable site pain, frequent SubQ site changes, and severe localized skin reactions were the most common reasons for failure.

Temporal analysis suggests a reciprocal relationship between 3D chromatin structure and transcription.

To infer potential causal relationships between 3D chromatin structure, enhancers, and gene transcription, we mapped each feature in a genome-wide fashion across eight narrowly spaced time points of macrophage activation. Enhancers and genes connected by loops exhibit stronger correlations between histone H3K27 acetylation and expression than can be explained by genomic distance or physical proximity alone. At these looped enhancer-promoter pairs, changes in acetylation at distal enhancers precede changes in gene expression. Changes in gene expression exhibit a directional bias at differential loop anchors; gained loops are associated with increased expression of genes oriented away from the center of the loop, and lost loops are often accompanied by high levels of transcription within the loop boundaries themselves. These results are consistent with a reciprocal relationship where loops can facilitate increased transcription by connecting promoters to distal enhancers, whereas high levels of transcription can impede loop formation.

Routine Activities and Stalking Victimization in Sexual Minority College Students.

Sexual minority individuals, due to additional chronic stress they experience from living with a marginalized identity, may be perceived as vulnerable targets by motivated perpetrators of stalking. Using campus climate data collected over 11 years, researchers explore stalking victimization with a particular focus on the experiences of sexual minority college students. To get a better understanding of stalking as experienced by this population, this study investigated descriptive qualities and prevalence of stalking victimization among college students to compare experiences of sexual minority and heterosexual individuals. Additionally, using a routine activities theory framework, this study explored multiple sexual minority identities as unique predictors of stalking victimization. Results showed that bisexual and pansexual women were significantly more likely to experience stalking than heterosexual women, and gay men were significantly more likely to experience stalking than heterosexual men. In samples that included heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and pansexual students, having a sexual minority identity predicted stalking victimization for men, and having a non-monosexual (bisexual or pansexual) identity predicted stalking victimization for women. When looking across all sexual orientations, sexual minority identity significantly predicted stalking victimization for both men and women. Results are discussed in the context of routine activities theory and future directions for exploring stalking in sexual minority populations are identified.

Predicting Different Types of Intimate Partner Aggression Perpetration: The Roles of Problem Alcohol Use and Distress Tolerance.

Intimate partner aggression (IPA) victimization and substance use have been well established as risk factors for IPA perpetration (Leonard, 2005; Sprunger et al., 2015). Recent research has identified a negative association between distress tolerance and physical and psychological IPA perpetration, specifically in males in substance use treatment (Shorey et al., 2017). Research examining the interplay of problem substance use, distress tolerance, and other forms of IPA (i.e., sexual coercion, controlling behaviors) in non-clinical samples is limited. The present analysis aimed to examine the potential moderating effect of distress tolerance on problem alcohol use and four types of IPA perpetration (physical assault, psychological aggression, sexual coercion, and controlling behaviors) in a diverse, national sample (N = 323; 44.3% female; 52.9% sexual minority; age M = 33.61 years, SD = 8.71). Results showed that alcohol use and distress tolerance had differing influences on each IPA perpetration type. In line with hypotheses, distress tolerance significantly moderated the relationship between problem alcohol use and two forms of IPA (physical assault and controlling behaviors); this relationship was stronger for individuals with low levels of distress tolerance. Significant interaction effects did not emerge for psychological aggression or sexual coercion. Findings suggest that treatment strategies that focus specifically on increasing distress tolerance may be effective in reducing alcohol-facilitated IPA perpetration involving physical assault and controlling behaviors.

The integrated constructionist approach to emotions: A theoretical model for explaining alterations to positive emotional experiences in the aftermath of trauma.

Prior research has assumed that individuals with PTSD find positive emotions enjoyable and rewarding. While intuitive, this assumption is problematic for a number of reasons. A growing body of literature suggests that positive emotions can be unwanted and uncomfortable experiences for many people, particularly individuals with PTSD. Yet our empirical and theoretical models of PTSD do not adequately account for this complexity. Throughout the following pages, we argue that the same behavioral processes that have been heavily researched and associated with fear and avoidance of negative emotions and PTSD can be extended to positive emotions as well. We propose the integrated constructionist approach to emotions, which integrates learning theory principles with a constructionist approach and suggest that trauma experiences lead to a shift in the evaluation, interpretation, and labeling of an individual's internal experiences. This evaluative shift results in generalized patterns of emotional responding characterized by efforts to downregulate internal stimuli that were previously defined as positive and may have been appetitive pre-trauma. We subsequently highlight the theoretical, empirical, and clinical importance of taking an idiographic approach to understanding and working with emotions among individuals with PTSD.

Metalloproteinases and their inhibitors are associated with pulmonary arterial stiffness and ventricular function in pediatric pulmonary hypertension.

Disturbed balance between matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their respective tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) is a well-recognized pathophysiological component of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Both classes of proteinases have been associated with clinical outcomes as well as with specific pathological features of ventricular dysfunction and pulmonary arterial remodeling. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the circulating levels of MMPs and TIMPs in children with PAH undergoing the same-day cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and right heart catheterization. Children with PAH (n = 21) underwent a same-day catheterization, comprehensive cardiac MRI evaluation, and blood sample collection for proteomic analysis. Correlative analysis was performed between protein levels and 1) standard PAH indices from catheterization, 2) cardiac MRI hemodynamics, and 3) pulmonary arterial stiffness. MMP-8 was significantly associated with the right ventricular end-diastolic volume (R = 0.45, P = 0.04). MMP-9 levels were significantly associated with stroke volume (R = -0.49, P = 0.03) and pulmonary vascular resistance (R = 0.49, P = 0.03). MMP-9 was further associated with main pulmonary arterial stiffness evaluated by relative area change (R = -0.79, P < 0.01).TIMP-2 and TIMP-4 levels were further associated with the right pulmonary artery pulse wave velocity (R = 0.51, P = 0.03) and backward compression wave (R = 0.52, P = 0.02), respectively. MMPs and TIMPs warrant further clinically prognostic evaluation in conjunction with the conventional cardiac MRI hemodynamic indices.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Metalloproteinases have been associated with clinical outcomes in pulmonary hypertension and with specific pathological features of ventricular dysfunction and pulmonary arterial remodeling. In this study, we demonstrated that plasma circulating levels of metalloproteinases and their inhibitors are associated with standard cardiac MRI hemodynamic indices and with the markers of proximal pulmonary arterial stiffness. Particularly, MMP-9 and TIMP-2 were associated with several different markers of pulmonary arterial stiffness. These findings suggest the interplay between the extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and overall hemodynamic status in children with PAH might be assessed using the peripheral circulating MMP and TIMP levels.

Short-Term Effects of Inhaled Nitric Oxide on Right Ventricular Flow Hemodynamics by 4-Dimensional-Flow Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Children With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Background Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) manifests with progressive right ventricular (RV) dysfunction, which eventually impairs the left ventricular function. We hypothesized that 4-dimensional-flow magnetic resonance imaging can detect flow hemodynamic changes associated with efficient intracardiac flow during noninvasive inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) challenge in children with PAH. Methods and Results Children with PAH (n=10) underwent 2 same-day separate iNO challenge tests using: (1) 4-dimensional-flow magnetic resonance imaging and (2) standard catheterization hemodynamics. Intracardiac flow was evaluated using the particle tracking 4-flow component analysis technique evaluating the direct flow, retained inflow, delayed ejection flow, and residual volume. Respective flow hemodynamic changes were compared with the corresponding catheterization iNO challenge results. The RV analysis revealed decreased direct flow in patients with PAH when compared with controls (P<0.001) and increase in residual volume (P<0.001). Similarly, the left ventricular analysis revealed decreased direct flow in patients with PAH when compared with controls (P=0.004) and increased proportion of the residual volume (P=0.014). There was an increase in the RV direct flow during iNO delivery (P=0.009), with parallel decrease in the residual volume (P=0.008). Conclusions Children with PAH have abnormal biventricular flow associated with impaired diastolic filling. The flow efficiency is significantly improved in the RV on iNO administration with no change in the left ventricle. The changes in the RV flow have occurred despite the minimal change in catheterization hemodynamics, suggesting that flow hemodynamic evaluation might provide more quantitative insights into vasoreactivity testing in PAH.

Fear of Stigma Mediates the Relationship between Internalized Stigma and Treatment-Seeking among Individuals with Substance Use Problems.

BACKGROUND: Despite the high prevalence and significant health consequences of substance use disorders, rates of treatment seeking are low. Identifying as an "addict" caries a mainstream connotation that the individual is blameworthy, which contributes to unique stressors and stigma that shape how they are viewed and treated. While substantial literature demonstrates this stigmatizing perspective may serve as a barrier to treatment-seeking, other studies present discrepant findings. The current study seeks to examine the role of fear of stigma and anticipation of being stigmatized in the relationship between internalized stigma and help-seeking for substance use disorders. OBJECTIVE: We examined substance use-related stigma, fear of stigma, and treatment-seeking behaviors in a national sample of young adults with a history of problematic substance use. METHODS: Participants (N = 171) completed an online, anonymous survey. RESULTS: When controlling for enacted stigma and severity of alcohol and other drug use problems, more fear of stigma significantly mediated the relationship between higher internalized stigma and more help-seeking intentions. The sequentially mediated paths between internalized stigma and both help-seeking intentions and previous behaviors through fear of stigma and anticipated stigma were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the importance of fear of substance-related stigma as one mechanism by which internalized stigma may motivate individuals to seek treatment for substance use problems.

The Role of Guilt and Shame in Psychosocial Functioning in a Sample of Women With Borderline Personality Disorder.

Individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) experience significant and pervasive impairment in interpersonal, social, and vocational functioning, and accumulating evidence suggests that impairments in functioning often persist despite significant decreases in symptom severity. Previous research indicates that shame-proneness and guilt-proneness are associated with symptoms of BPD that can affect functioning (such as aggression toward others), but very few studies have examined the impact of shame-proneness and guilt-proneness on validated measures of psychosocial functioning. Forty women with BPD completed measures of shame-proneness and guilt-proneness, psychosocial functioning, and BPD symptom severity. Results from multiple regression analyses indicate that women with BPD who tend to experience higher levels of shame-proneness and lower levels of guilt-proneness report poor performance in school and work settings and in interpersonal relationships. Strengths of the study include the use of a validated measure of functioning as the primary outcome. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Envisioning a future: Values clarification in early recovery from opioid use disorder.

High rates of relapse and overdose during early recovery from opioid use disorder (OUD) highlight the importance of providing effective treatment during this crucial phase. While early treatment often focuses on managing urges and withdrawal symptoms, eliciting personally salient motivators may help to target predictors of treatment outcomes such as motivation and self-efficacy. This experimental study examined the effect of a brief values clarification exercise on motivation and self-efficacy for abstinence in a sample of n = 93 individuals in brief residential treatment for OUD. Participants were randomly assigned to values clarification or a time management control condition exercise. Self-efficacy for abstinence as measured by a validated single-item measure was higher for participants in the values condition (M = 8.7) compared to control (M = 7.8, p = .013), while motivation for abstinence as measured by the commitment to sobriety scale was similarly high for both the values clarification (M = 28.0) and control (M = 27.8, p = .642) groups. There were no group differences in delay discounting, the theorized mediator of these relationships. Taken together, these results suggest that even a brief values clarification exercise may increase self-efficacy for abstinence when added to early residential treatment for OUD.

Betrayal vs. nonbetrayal trauma: Examining the different effects of social support and emotion regulation on PTSD symptom severity.

OBJECTIVE: Betrayal Trauma Theory posits that interpersonal traumas are particularly injurious when the perpetrator is a person that the victim previously trusted and was close to. A relevant protective factor to examine is social support, which may influence PTSD symptomology through its influence on emotion regulation. The aim of the current study was to examine differences in the associations between social support, emotion regulation, and PTSD symptom severity for survivors of betrayal trauma and nonbetrayal trauma. METHOD: Two hundred and 73 trauma survivors (age: M = 25.96 years, SD = 9.42 years; 80.2% female; 63.7% White) completed the anonymous, online survey. RESULTS: Across both groups, emotion regulation mediated the relationship between social support and PTSD symptom severity. A multiple-samples SEM analysis showed that the betrayal group evidenced a weaker relationship between social support and emotion regulation. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that survivors of high betrayal trauma may not engage with their social support in ways that foster emotion regulation skills. Therefore, for high betrayal trauma survivors specifically, group interventions that involve the survivor and close contact(s), may be particularly beneficial in enhancing emotion regulation and decreasing PTSD symptomology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The Relationship Among Shame, Nonsuicidal Self-Injury, and Suicidal Behaviors in Borderline Personality Disorder.

Shame has been individually linked to nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation and behavior and is highly prevalent in individuals with borderline personality disorder. The current study investigated the relationship between shame, nonsuicidal self-injury, and suicidal ideation in a sample of women with borderline personality disorder. Participants were 40 women recruited from a Women's Dialectical Behavior Therapy Partial Hospital Program in a psychiatric hospital in New England as part of a larger, six-month treatment development study. Results indicated that shame-proneness predicts nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation and behavior above and beyond the severity of borderline personality disorder symptoms, suggesting that shame may be an important treatment target for individuals with borderline personality disorder. Clinical implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

An Analysis of Help-Seeking Patterns Among College Student Victims of Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, and Stalking.

Despite the negative outcomes associated with sexual assault (SA), dating violence (DV), and stalking victimization, many victims, particularly college students, do not seek help for these crimes. To date, the majority of help-seeking research has focused on one form of victimization, despite substantial evidence that many victims experience more than one form of interpersonal violence. In addition to consideration of such polyvictims, intervention efforts to increase help-seeking to improve victim outcomes may benefit from a clearer understanding of overlapping predictors of help-seeking across victimization types. Using the health belief model (HBM) as a guiding framework, the current study examined predictors of help-seeking for SA, DV, and stalking in a college student sample. Data were collected via a multiyear anonymous email survey of general health and well-being. Demographic predictors of help-seeking and severity indicators informed by the HBM were evaluated across violence types. In addition to replicating previous work, results provided support for the HBM, such that a number of severity indicators, particularly those representing overlap across victimization types, predicted help-seeking at the multivariate level. Results also provide new evidence for overlap of barriers to help-seeking across violence types, with victim's belief that the incident was not serious enough the most commonly reported reason for not seeking help across all three types of victimization. This overlap may provide opportunities for consolidating prevention and intervention efforts across victimization types.

Differential Gender Responses to an Empathy Component of a Sexual Assault Prevention Program.

Although sexual assault (SA) prevention programs on college campuses are increasingly prevalent, no studies explore the influence of program components on outcomes. Empathy exercises are frequently included in such programs, with the intent of changing participant emotions and attitudes in order to change subsequent behavior. This study evaluated whether the inclusion of an empathy exercise within a SA prevention program impacted participants' emotions and attitudes, and subsequent helping behaviors in SA bystander situations. Three-hundred and seventy students (63% women) participated in an evaluation of a mandatory bystander intervention program; half the students received the program containing an empathy exercise and half received the program that did not. For women only, participation in the program with the empathy exercise led to more negative emotions and fewer attitudes condoning SA, the latter of which influenced greater prosocial bystander behaviors 6 months later.

Stigma and help-seeking: The interplay of substance use and gender and sexual minority identity.

Problematic substance use is a global public health concern. However, despite high rates of substance use (SU) and related consequences, rates of treatment seeking remain low. Furthermore, individuals who identify as a gender/sexual minority (GSM) have both increased rates of problematic use and less mental health treatment utilization. Society has stigmatized both SU and GSM identity and created marginalized communities. Individuals who identify with both groups are uniquely situated in that they experience stigma related to both their SU (SU stigma) and their GSM identity (GSM stigma). The objective of this study was to examine how identifying with these stigmatized groups may influence help-seeking behavior for SU treatment. Participants were N = 171 individuals with a history of problematic SU recruited on a national scale, including N = 67 identifying as GSM. Results from multiple and logistic regression found main effects for SU stigma, such that, more anticipated SU stigma predicted more help-seeking intentions (ß = 0.25, p = .04), and, controlling for SU severity, more enacted SU stigma was associated with a higher likelihood of having sought help in the past (Expß = 4.18, p = .001). However, while we found a main effect for GSM stigma of the same direction when predicting intentions to seek help (ß = 0.28, p = .02), GSM stigma was not associated with past help-seeking behavior. Lastly, the interaction between SU stigma and GSM stigma was not significant. Clinical implications are discussed, as well as future directions for subsequent research.

Subcutaneous and Intravenous Treprostinil Pharmacokinetics in Children With Pulmonary Vascular Disease.

This study evaluated the pharmacokinetics of intravenous (IV) and subcutaneous (SC) treprostinil in pediatric patients with pulmonary vascular disease, and compared them with existing adult data from a similar cohort. Blood samples were collected from pediatric patients receiving steady-state IV or SC treprostinil and were assessed for plasma treprostinil concentration using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Forty participants, 15 receiving IV and 25 receiving SC treprostinil, were included in the analysis. Age ranged from 0.1 to 15.6 years. The median dose of treprostinil was 45.5 ng·kg·min with a range of 8-146 ng·kg·min. There was a linear relationship between treprostinil dose and plasma concentration with an R of 0.57. On average, there were higher blood concentrations per given dose of IV treprostinil compared with those per given dose of SC, but the difference was not significant. Compared with adult data, the slope of the pediatric data was similar, but the y-intercept was significantly lower. Additionally, the concentration per dose ratio was significantly higher in adults compared with children. Pediatric patients have significantly lower average blood concentrations of treprostinil per given dose compared with adults, and higher, but not significantly so, blood concentrations when treprostinil is administered IV as compared with SC administration.

Oral treprostinil use in children: a multicenter, observational experience.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a progressive, incurable disease that occurs in adults and children alike. Therapeutic options for children are limited and infrequently described, including newer agents such as treprostinil, an oral prostanoid. Herein, we describe the pooled pediatric experience in 28 patients from four pediatric pulmonary hypertension programs over two years. This descriptive, observational study describes the various methods of initiation of oral treprostinil in both prostanoid-naïve patients and those transitioning from parenteral or inhaled prostanoids. The youngest patient was four years old and the smallest weighed 16 kg. We describe adverse reactions and their management. Most patients in this study (27/28) were able to successfully initiate therapy. However, gastrointestinal adverse reactions were common; half of the patients started on this therapy had discontinued it within the two-year study period.

A randomized controlled trial of distress tolerance treatment for smoking cessation.

We previously developed a distress tolerance (DT)-based treatment that showed promising results for smokers with a history of early lapse. In the current study, we conducted a randomized controlled trial of this DT treatment for a general population of smokers not limited to those with a history of early lapse. We randomized 116 participants (41% female) to DT or standard treatment (ST). Both treatments included 1 individual session during Week 1 followed by 7 group sessions during Weeks 2-9 (quit date at Session 4), two 20-min phone sessions, and 8 weeks of transdermal nicotine patch. Results indicated no significant differences between conditions in the primary outcome of biochemically verified 7-day point prevalence smoking abstinence or in time to 1st lapse. Verified abstinence rates in DT were 38.7%, 38.7%, 46.77%, 40.32%, 20.9%, and 17.7% versus 40.7%, 37.0%, 53.7%, 44.4%, 33.3%, and 22.2% in ST at 1, 2, 4, 8, 13, and 26 weeks postquit, respectively. Additionally, we found no significant moderators of treatment efficacy and few differences in treatment process variables. These findings stand somewhat in contrast to those in our previous study and other recent studies of similar acceptance-based treatments. However, differences in methodology, inclusion of nicotine replacement therapy in both treatment conditions, and strict inclusion-exclusion criteria that excluded many smokers with affective vulnerabilities may underlie this discrepancy. Future research should evaluate the utility of DT and other acceptance-based treatments in populations with affective vulnerabilities who might specifically benefit from a DT-based approach. (PsycINFO Database Record

A Contextual Behavior Science Framework for Understanding How Behavioral Flexibility Relates to Anxiety.

There is a growing literature focusing on the emerging idea that behavioral flexibility, rather than particular emotion regulation strategies per se, provides greater promise in predicting and influencing anxiety-related psychopathology. Yet this line of research and theoretical analysis appear to be plagued by its own challenges. For example, middle-level constructs, such as behavioral flexibility, are difficult to define, difficult to measure, and difficult to interpret in relation to clinical interventions. A key point that some researchers have made is that previous studies examining flexible use of emotion regulation strategies (or, more broadly, coping) have failed due to a lack of focus on context. That is, examining strategies in isolation of the context in which they are used provides limited information on the suitability, rigid adherence, or effectiveness of a given strategy in that situation. Several of these researchers have proposed the development of new models to define and measure various types of behavioral flexibility. We would like to suggest that an explanation of the phenomenon already exists and that we can go back to our behavioral roots to understand this phenomenon rather than focusing on defining and capturing a new process. Indeed, thorough contextual behavioral analyses already yield a useful account of what has been observed. We will articulate a model explaining behavioral flexibility using a functional, contextual framework, with anxiety-related disorders as an example.