Non-suicidal self-injury function: prevalence in adolescents with depression and its associations with non-suicidal self-injury severity, duration and suicide.

Background: Given that adolescents with depression are at the highest risk for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), a thorough understanding of their NSSI functions, as well as associations between functions and severe behavioral consequences, is essential for risk assessment and invention development. Methods: Adolescents with depression from 16 hospitals across China, for whom data was available regarding their NSSI function, frequency, number of methods used, time characteristics, and suicide history were included. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed to determine the prevalence of NSSI functions. Regression analyses were conducted to explore the relationship between NSSI functions and behavioral characteristics of NSSI and suicide attempts. Results: Affect regulation was the primary function of NSSI and followed by anti-dissociation in adolescents with depression. Females recognized automatic reinforcement functions more frequently than males, while males had a higher prevalence of social positive reinforcement functions. Automatic reinforce functions played the prominent role in associations between NSSI functions and all the severe behavioral consequences. Specifically, functions of anti-dissociation, affect regulation, and self-punishment were all associated with NSSI frequency, while higher levels of endorsements for anti-dissociation and self-punishment were linked to more NSSI methods, and greater level of endorsement for anti-dissociation was related to longer NSSI duration. Only the increase in endorsement of self-punishment was associated with a greater hazard of suicide attempts. Conclusion: The dominant functions of NSSI in adolescents with depression was automatic reinforcement, specifically affect regulation. And prevalence of NSSI function differed between males and females. Anti-dissociation and self-punishment seemed to be the most risky factors as they were linked to severe NSSI or suicide behaviors. More attention should be given to these functions in risk evaluation, and the targeted interventions should be developed accordingly in a timely manner.

Correlations among Psychological Resilience, Cognitive Fusion, and Depressed Emotions in Patients with Depression.

Background: More than 300 million people worldwide suffer from depression, which is a significant contributor to the global burden of disease. This study investigated the factors influencing psychological resilience and cognitive fusion in patients with depression and the relationships of psychological resilience and cognitive fusion with depression. Methods: This study enrolled 172 participants (65.8% of them were female). Psychological resilience, cognitive fusion, and depression were assessed with the psychological resilience scale, the cognitive fusion questionnaire, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), and Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), respectively. Furthermore, the relationships of psychological resilience and cognitive fusion with depression were investigated. Results: The psychological resilience and cognitive fusion scores of patients with depression varied significantly among different education levels, and HAMA, HAMD, and SDS scores were significantly negatively correlated with psychological resilience but positively correlated with cognitive fusion. Conclusions: Depression levels in patients with depression are closely related to psychological resilience and cognitive fusion. Therefore, anxiety and depression could be alleviated by improving the psychological resilience or reducing the cognitive fusion of patients with depression.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Modulates EEG Microstates in Low-Functioning Autism: A Pilot Study.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous disorder that affects several behavioral domains of neurodevelopment. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a new method that modulates motor and cognitive function and may have potential applications in ASD treatment. To identify its potential effects on ASD, differences in electroencephalogram (EEG) microstates were compared between children with typical development (n = 26) and those with ASD (n = 26). Furthermore, children with ASD were divided into a tDCS (experimental) and sham stimulation (control) group, and EEG microstates and Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) scores before and after tDCS were compared. Microstates A, B, and D differed significantly between children with TD and those with ASD. In the experimental group, the scores of microstates A and C and ABC before tDCS differed from those after tDCS. Conversely, in the control group, neither the EEG microstates nor the ABC scores before the treatment period (sham stimulation) differed from those after the treatment period. This study indicates that tDCS may become a viable treatment for ASD.

Abnormalities of EEG Functional Connectivity and Effective Connectivity in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder that interferes with normal brain development. Brain connectivity may serve as a biomarker for ASD in this respect. This study enrolled a total of 179 children aged 3-10 years (90 typically developed (TD) and 89 with ASD). We used a weighted phase lag index and a directed transfer function to investigate the functional and effective connectivity in children with ASD and TD. Our findings indicated that patients with ASD had local hyper-connectivity of brain regions in functional connectivity and simultaneous significant decrease in effective connectivity across hemispheres. These connectivity abnormalities may help to find biomarkers of ASD.

QT interval is correlated with and can predict the comorbidity of depression and anxiety: A cross-sectional study on outpatients with first-episode depression.

Object: Patients with depression are at an increased risk for developing cardiovascular diseases. The associations between electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities and the severity of psychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety, have not been clearly elucidated. The present study aims to investigate the associations between depression and anxiety symptoms with ECG indices, and to predict the severity of depression and anxiety using ECG indicators. Methods: 61 outpatients with first-episode depression from the Shanghai Pudong New Area Mental Health Center were selected and met the diagnostic criteria of DSM-IV. All participants provided self-reported scores on the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and underwent the standard 12-lead ECG assessment. Results: Among the 61 included outpatients (mean [standard deviation, SD] age: 37.84 [13.82] years; 41[67.2%] were female), there were 2 (3.3%) outpatients without depression symptoms, 16 (26.2%) with mild depression, 19 (31.1%) with moderate depression, and 24 (39.3%) with severe depression. Ten (16.4%) outpatients did not have anxiety symptoms, 19 (31.1%) exhibited mild anxiety, 20 (32.8%) exhibited moderate anxiety, and 12 (19.7%) exhibited severe anxiety. Only 1 (1.6%) outpatient exhibited neither depression nor anxiety, 9 (14.8%) and 1 (1.6%) outpatients only exhibited depression and anxiety, respectively, and most outpatients (50 [82.0%]) had comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms. In the correlation analysis, depression and anxiety severity levels were significantly positively correlated (r = 0.717, p < 0.01). Moreover, categorical anxiety significantly differs in QT interval (p = 0.022), and continuous SAS scores were significantly correlated with QT interval (r = 0.263, p = 0.04). In addition, the correlations between ECG measurements and both categorical depression and continuous SDS scores were not statistically significant. The comorbidity of anxiety and depression was significantly correlated with heart rate (p = 0.039) and QT interval (p = 0.002). Disorder status significantly differed with different QT intervals (p = 0.021). In the prediction analysis, QT interval was the only significant predictor (p = 0.01, b = 0.058, Odds Ratio = 1.059) for comorbid anxiety and depression symptoms. Conclusion: This study found that comorbid symptoms of depression and anxiety were significantly associated with QT interval and heart rate. Additionally, QT interval could predict the comorbidity of these two psychiatric disorders. Further prospective research in a larger and high-risk population is needed.

The Potential Impact of Childhood Traumatic Experiences on Coping Styles and Emotion Regulation of Nurse Practitioners During the COVID-19 Outbreak.

Background: During an epidemic of a novel infectious disease, frontline medical staff suffer from high psychological stress. Previous studies have found that traumatic childhood experiences are associated with mental and physical health in adulthood. Anxiety and depression were measured and analyzed in relation to childhood trauma and coping styles. This study aims to explore the correlational study between traumatic childhood experiences and coping styles among nurse practitioners. Method: This study sampled 278 nurse practitioners from hospitals designated for the treatment of the novel coronavirus in Sichuan Province. The study measures included the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form. This research intends to use correlational study methods to explore the relationship between the two factors. Results: Statistical analysis showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the general demographic data between the two groups. Conclusion: Childhood traumatic experiences have a significant impact on the active coping of nurse practitioners, and active coping may be emotionally protective for nurse practitioners.

Retrospective Evaluation of the Correlation Between Previous Hospitalizations, the Type of Current Living Space, and Quality of Family Function.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: There are important public health issues involving rehabilitation of patients living with schizophrenia in the community. The purpose of this study was to analyze the correlations between number of previous hospitalizations, living space and quality of family function in the rehabilitation of patients living with schizophrenia in the community. The study attempts to determine the potential ways to use beneficial factors in recurrent hospitalization for improving treatment and rehabilitation efforts for patients living with long-term chronic schizophrenia. METHODS: The study included 281 rehabilitations of patients living with schizophrenia in the community. A homemade general questionnaire was used to collect information about the number of previous hospitalizations and the living space of the participants. A family assessment device was used to evaluate the quality of family function of the patients. RESULTS: The number of previous hospitalizations of persons living with schizophrenia in the community was negatively correlated with the quality of family function (B = 0.063), and there was no statistical difference in the number of previous hospitalizations and the quality of family function of patients in different living spaces. CONCLUSIONS: The number of previous hospitalizations had a negative impact on family function in the rehabilitation of patients living with schizophrenia in the community. Living space may not have a significant positive effect on family function or the number of previous hospitalizations.

Correlation Analysis of the Quality of Family Functioning and Subjective Quality of Life in Rehabilitation Patients Living with Schizophrenia in the Community.

Background: Recently, the community rehabilitation model for schizophrenia patients has become increasingly popular, and the Shanghai Pudong New Area has developed a relatively complete community rehabilitation model. This study analyzed the correlation between family function and subjective quality of life in the rehabilitation of patients living with schizophrenia in the community. Methods: This study evaluated persons living with schizophrenia using the Family Assessment Device and the Subjective Quality of Life Scale. A convenient sampling method was used to select 281 rehabilitation patients living with schizophrenia in the community and 166 hospitalized persons living with schizophrenia. Results: There was a significant difference in the Family Assessment Device scores between rehabilitation patients living with schizophrenia in the community and hospitalized persons living with schizophrenia (p < 0.0001). The difference in the scores of the subjective quality of life assessment between rehabilitation patients living with schizophrenia in the community and hospitalized persons living with schizophrenia was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). The regression analysis showed that quality of family function had a significant effect on the subjective quality of life in rehabilitation patients living with schizophrenia in the community and hospitalized persons living with schizophrenia. (F = 10.770 p < 0.001), (F = 2.960 p < 0.01). Conclusions: The quality of family function plays an important role in improving the subjective quality of life in rehabilitation patients living with schizophrenia in the community. It may be beneficial to add some methods to improve family function in the current model of rehabilitation in the community.

Impact of Group Art Therapy Using Traditional Chinese Materials on Self-Efficacy and Social Function for Individuals Diagnosed With Schizophrenia.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of group art therapy using traditional Chinese materials on improving the self-efficacy and social function of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. In China, little research has been conducted on patients to measure the effectiveness of group art therapy, especially using traditional Chinese materials. To address this research gap, 104 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia were tested in a group art therapy program that included 30 treatment sessions and used a wide variety of materials, including traditional Chinese materials, such as Chinese calligraphy, traditional Chinese painting, Chinese embroidery, and Chinese beads. The effect of art therapy was analyzed using the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) and Scale of Social Skills for Psychiatric Inpatients (SSPI). This study demonstrates that group art therapy using traditional Chinese materials can improve self-efficacy and social function, reducing social and life function problems, and promote the recovery of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Impact of serotonin transporter gene on rTMS augmentation of SSRIs for obsessive compulsive disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is beneficial for treatment-resistant patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) may be associated with OCD. We aimed to determine whether SLC6A4 impacts the beneficial effects of rTMS in patients with OCD treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). METHODS: Fifty-seven untreated patients with OCD were randomly assigned to receive active or sham rTMS in a 4-week double-blind study. The participants received 1-Hz rTMS over the supplementary motor area once per day, for 5 days a week, for 4 weeks. One of the widely employed SSRIs was utilized at the initiation of active or sham rTMS. Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale (Y-BOCS) scores were used for assessing the symptoms. The most-researched polymorphism of SLC6A4, 5-HTTLPR (L/S), was also examined. RESULTS: Y-BOCS scores in the active group at the completion of the treatment were significantly lower than those in the sham group. Interestingly, the improvement in Y-BOCS scores in patients with the LL genotype treated with active rTMS was significantly (p<0.05) greater than in those treated with sham rTMS. Conversely, rTMS did not produce significant improvements in S allele carriers. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that rTMS can augment the beneficial effects of SSRIs in OCD patients with the LL genotype of 5-HTTLPR. Therefore, the presence of 5-HTTLPR (L/S) in SLC6A4 may be a predictable biomarker for the beneficial effects of rTMS, although more studies using larger sample sizes are warranted for confirming the results.

Preparation of a genipin blue from egg protein and genipin.

Genipin blue is a pigment prepared from the reaction of genipin with amino acid. We describe herein a new method used to prepare genipin blue, water-soluble blue pigments, through the reaction of hen egg protein with genipin. The effects of reaction time, reaction temperature, the pH value of the solution and the mass ratio of the reactants on the preparation are studied. One part of genipin reacted with eight parts of hen egg protein (w/w) in water (pH value of reaction system 7.5) at 60°C for 96 h and gave blue pigments with the maximum colour value of 146.2. The blue pigments showed identical absorption activity in UV spectroscopy (λ(max )= 584 nm) to that of gardenia blue pigments, which were prepared from the reaction of genipin with amino acid.