Impact of COVID-19 on the Self-Report Assessment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent guidelines have had a substantial effect on social norms. This likely affected self-report assessment of psychopathology, namely those that assess obsessive-compulsive tendencies routinely used to screen for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It was hypothesized that self-report assessment of OCD likely produces inflated, non-discriminating scale scores. Methods Data collection occurred prior to the COVID-19 pandemic with the aim of validating a new psychological test; however, data collection was abruptly halted in March 2020. Data collection was allowed to resume in the latter half of the year. Both groups were racio-ethnically and gender diverse. Results Self-report measures of OCD yielded inflated scores. For instance, the total obsessive-compulsive inventory-revised (OCI-R) average score of all participants went from normative levels prior to COVID-19 (M = 13.69, SD = 10.32) to an average score that was above the clinical cut-off on the OCI-R (M = 32.89; SD = 12.95) during the pandemic (t(135) = 9.66, p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 1.66). Conclusions OCD-related scale scores likely produced false positives in research and practice due to COVID-19 health guidelines put in place to protect against infection that may otherwise be considered contamination fears on OCD measures.

Reevaluating the Binge Eating Scale cut-off using DSM-5 criteria: analysis and replication in preoperative metabolic and bariatric surgery samples.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic and bariatric surgery is effective for sustained weight loss, but binge eating disorder (BED) can be associated with poorer outcomes and lead to weight regain. A common measure used to screen for BED is the Binge Eating Scale (BES). A BES cut-off score of ≥17 previously identified patients who have a high likelihood of meeting criteria for BED. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), lowered the threshold for meeting criteria for BED, and the psychometrics of the BES need to be reevaluated. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the current investigation is to evaluate whether alternative cut-scores on the BES result in better classification of BED based on the DSM-5 revision of the the BED diagnostic criteria. SETTING: Academic medical hospital in the Midwestern United States. METHODS: Patients (n =1133) seeking metabolic and bariatric surgery were randomly split into 2 samples for validation and replication. The validation sample consisted of 561 patients (30.1% men, 35% non-White). The replication sample consisted of 572 patients who were demographically similar to the first random split sample (e.g., 25.3% men, 34.4% non-White). RESULTS: Of these patients, 13.5% met DSM-5 criteria for BED in the validation sample and 13.8% met criteria for BED in the replication sample. Lowering the interpretative cut-off to ≥15 on the BES yielded sensitivity values of >.72, specificity values of >.67, and an accurate classification of BED in >.70 of patients across both samples. These classification values were as good as or better than the standard cut-off score of ≥17 in both samples. CONCLUSIONS: The BES is appropriate to screen for BED in patients who are seeking bariatric surgery. A 2-point decrease in the BES score for clinical interpretation is appropriate-lowering it from 17 to 15 given DSM-5 updates to diagnostic criteria.

Identifying incoherent mixing effects in the coherent two-dimensional photocurrent excitation spectra of semiconductors.

We have previously demonstrated that in the context of two-dimensional (2D) coherent electronic spectroscopy measured by phase modulation and phase-sensitive detection, an incoherent nonlinear response due to pairs of photoexcitations produced via linear excitation pathways contributes to the measured signal as an unexpected background [Grégoire et al., J. Chem. Phys. 147, 114201 (2017)]. Here, we simulate the effect of such incoherent population mixing in the photocurrent signal collected from a GaAs solar cell by acting externally on the transimpedance amplifier circuit used for phase-sensitive detection, and we identify an effective strategy to recognize the presence of incoherent population mixing in 2D data. While we find that incoherent mixing is reflected by the crosstalk between the linear amplitudes at the two time-delay variables in the four-pulse excitation sequence, we do not observe any strict phase correlations between the coherent and incoherent contributions, as expected from modeling of a simple system.

Frenkel biexcitons in hybrid HJ photophysical aggregates.

Frenkel excitons are unequivocally responsible for the optical properties of organic semiconductors and are predicted to form bound exciton pairs (biexcitons). These are key intermediates, ubiquitous in many photophysical processes such as the exciton bimolecular annihilation dynamics in such systems. Because of their spectral ambiguity, there has been, to date, only scant direct evidence of bound biexcitons. By using nonlinear coherent spectroscopy, we identify here bound biexcitons in a model polymeric semiconductor. We find, unexpectedly, that excitons with interchain vibronic dispersion reveal intrachain biexciton correlations and vice versa. Moreover, using a Frenkel exciton model, we relate the biexciton binding energy to molecular parameters quantified by quantum chemistry, including the magnitude and sign of the exciton-exciton interaction the intersite hopping energies. Therefore, our work promises general insights into the many-body electronic structure in polymeric semiconductors and beyond, e.g., other excitonic systems such as organic semiconductor crystals, molecular aggregates, photosynthetic light-harvesting complexes, or DNA.

The Importance of Quantifying the Composition of the Amorphous Intermixed Phase in Organic Solar Cells.

The relation of phase morphology and solid-state microstructure with organic photovoltaic (OPV) device performance has intensely been investigated over the last twenty years. While it has been established that a combination of donor:acceptor intermixing and presence of relatively phase-pure donor and acceptor domains is needed to get an optimum compromise between charge generation and charge transport/charge extraction, a quantitative picture of how much intermixing is needed is still lacking. This is mainly due to the difficulty in quantitatively analyzing the intermixed phase, which generally is amorphous. Here, fast scanning calorimetry, which allows measurement of device-relevant thin films (<200 nm thickness), is exploited to deduce the precise composition of the intermixed phase in bulk-heterojunction structures. The power of fast scanning calorimetry is illustrated by considering two polymer:fullerene model systems. Somewhat surprisingly, it is found that a relatively small fraction (<15 wt%) of an acceptor in the intermixed amorphous phase leads to efficient charge generation. In contrast, charge transport can only be sustained in blends with a significant amount of the acceptor in the intermixed phase (in this case: ≈58 wt%). This example shows that fast scanning calorimetry is an important tool for establishing a complete compositional characterization of organic bulk heterojunctions. Hence, it will be critical in advancing quantitative morphology-function models that allow for the rational design of these devices, and in delivering insights in, for example, solar cell degradation mechanisms via phase separation, especially for more complex high-performing systems such as nonfullerene acceptor:polymer bulk heterojunctions.

Estrogenic, Antiestrogenic and Antiproliferative Activities of Euphorbia bicolor (Euphorbiaceae) Latex Extracts and Its Phytochemicals.

Estrogen receptor antagonists are effective in breast cancer treatment. However, the side effects of these treatments have led to a rise in searching for alternative therapies. The present study evaluated the estrogenic, antiestrogenic, and antiproliferative activities of Euphorbia bicolor (Euphorbiaceae), a plant native to south-central USA. Estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities of latex extract and its phytochemicals were evaluated with a steroid-regulated yeast system expressing the human estrogen receptor α and antiproliferative properties were assessed in the ER-positive MCF-7 and T47-D and triple-negative MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-469 breast carcinomas. Genistein and coumestrol identified in the latex extract induced higher estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities compared to diterpenes and flavonoids. The latex extract, resiniferatoxin (RTX) and rutin induced antiproliferative activities in all cell lines in a dose-dependent manner, but not in human normal primary dermal fibroblast cultures. A biphasic effect was observed with MDA-MB-468 breast carcinoma in which the latex extract at low concentrations increased and at high concentrations decreased cell proliferation. Treatments with latex extract in combination with RTX or rutin reduced even more the proliferation of MCF-7 breast carcinoma compared to the individual latex, RTX, and rutin treatments. E. bicolor latex phytochemicals could contribute to developing commercial therapeutic agents for breast cancer treatment.

Photophysics of a cis axially disubstituted macrocycle: rapid intersystem crossing in a tin(IV) phthalocyanine with a half-domed geometry.

We have studied the photophysical properties of a tin(IV) phthalocyanine which coordinates two myristate groups through their carboxylate functionalities in a cis disposition at the tin center. Such a coordination mode, anisobidentate through the same side of the macrocycle, makes this phthalocyanine acquire a capped or half-domed shape. This bis myristate tin(IV) molecule shows an intersystem crossing channel which populates the triplet manifold with high efficiency and with a time constant of 300 ps, about an order of magnitude faster than planar phthalocyanines, including some previously reported tin(IV) phthalocyanines. For comparison purposes, we also include the description of a planar silicon(IV) phthalocyanine that keeps the more common stereochemistry, of trans type, with the same axial myristate groups. The characterization of these systems included steady state and time-resolved spectroscopy through femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion and transient absorption. We also studied the initial S(n) → S(1) internal conversion dynamics when these compounds are excited to upper states with 387.5 nm light. In addition, we include measurements of the rate for singlet oxygen production through the formation of an ESR-active adduct in aerated solutions. Such measurements indicate that, associated to its photophysics, the tin(IV) phthalocyanine produces (1)O(2) with an efficiency significantly larger than the silicon(IV) counterpart, making it an interesting option for sensitization applications. Finally, we performed excited state calculations at the TD-DFT level which describe the effects of the reduced symmetry together with the state ordering and indicate the presence of near dark intermediate states between the Q and B transitions for both of these macrocycles.