Expression and Function of VEGFRs in Normal Epidermis and Psoriatic Lesional Keratinocytes.

The study aimed to explore the expression and function of VEGFRs in normal epidermis and keratinocytes of psoriatic lesions. In this study, the expression and role of VEGFRs in keratinocytes were examined using examples from psoriatic and healthy individuals. The experiment was completed by immunofluorescence analysis, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and real-time quantitative RT-PCR after the skin of nonlesional, adjacent, and lesional skin was excised. Observations indicated that in non-lesional psoriatic areas and adjacent lesional areas of the skin of psoriasis patients, the fluorescent signals of VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2 were strongly labelled with keratinocytes, and in psoriatic lesions, keratinocytes were present throughout the entire thickness of the epidermis, with the exception of the stratum corneum. The distribution of VEGFR-3 in psoriatic nonlesional and adjacent lesional skin was consistent with that in normal epidermis, whereas all layers of the epidermis of psoriatic lesions expressed VEGFR-3. The mRNA expression levels of VEGFR-1,2,3 steadily increased from the normal epidermis to the psoriatic nonlesional, adjacent lesional, and perilesional areas, with the lesional epidermis' keratinocytes exhibiting the greatest levels of mRNA expression. Ca ions upregulate VEGFR-1,2,3 mRNA and protein expression in keratinocytes of nonlesional areas of psoriasis. VEGFRs protein expression and cortical IOD values of psoriatic and normal population cells showed a positive correlation. Hence, in comparison to normal epidermal keratinocytes, psoriatic lesional regions' keratinocytes considerably enhanced their expression of VEGFR-1,2,3 mRNA and protein. The overexpression of VEGFR-1,2,3 in psoriatic lesions may be encouraged by VEGF and Ca þ ions.

Predicting compassion fatigue among psychological hotline counselors using machine learning techniques.

During the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019, psychological hotline counselors frequently address help-seekers' traumatic experiences from time to time, which possibly causes counselors' compassion fatigue. The present study aimed to explore the predictors of compassion fatigue among a high-risk population of psychological hotline counselors. Seven hundred and twelve psychological hotline counselors were recruited from the Mental Health Service Platform at Central China Normal University, Ministry of Education, then were asked to complete the questionnaires measuring compassion fatigue, trait empathy, social support, trait mindfulness, counselor's self-efficacy, humor, life meaning, and post-traumatic growth. A chi-square test was utilized to filter for the top-20 predictive variables. Machine learning techniques, including logistic regression, decision tree, random forest, k-nearest neighbor, support vector machine, and naïve Bayes were employed to predict compassion fatigue. The results showed that the most important predictors of compassion fatigue were meaning in life, counselors' self-efficacy, mindfulness, and empathy. Except for the decision tree, the rest machine learning techniques obtained good performance. Naïve Bayes presented the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.803. Random forest achieved the least classification error of 23.64, followed by Naïve Bayes with a classification error of 23.85. These findings support the potential application of machine learning techniques in the prediction of compassion fatigue. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-01776-7.

Mechanical Properties and Constitutive Model of the Cement-Improved Loess under Freeze-Thaw Conditions.

Cement-improved loess (CIL) is used as a common filler for subgrade construction projects in loess areas. The freeze-thaw (F-T) conditions have a significant effect on the stability of cement-improved loess subgrades in seasonally frozen regions. In this paper, the CIL samples, experiencing different numbers of F-T cycles at varying freezing temperatures, were used in consolidated undrained triaxial compression tests to investigate the effect of F-T conditions on the mechanical properties of CIL. The results show the stress-strain curves of CIL are of a strain-softening type with strong elastic brittleness. The initial tangent modulus of CIL increases with the growing confining pressure and gradually decreases with the increase in the F-T cycle number and the decreasing freezing temperature. It loses 46.4% of its original value after the twelfth F-T cycle with the confining pressure of 150 kPa and at the freezing temperature of -15 °C. The strength of CIL decreases with the increasing F-T cycle number, but it gradually tends to keep stable after the sixth F-T cycle. The strength also decreases with the reduction in the freezing temperature. It loses 37.7% of its original value after the twelfth F-T cycle with the confining pressure of 150 kPa and the freezing temperature of -15 °C. To express the nonlinearity correlation between the strength and confining pressure under F-T conditions, the Weibull function was applied and a nonlinear Mohr-Coulomb strength criterion was proposed. Through introducing a breakage rate function and a local strain coefficient, a binary-medium constitutive model consisting of bonded elements (soil-particle cohesion) and frictional elements (soil particles or soil aggregations) was established to describe the stress-strain relationships of CIL under F-T conditions. The test results indicated that the model can well describe the strain-softening phenomenon of the stress-strain curve of CIL and reflect the breakage mechanism of CIL.

The efficacy and optimal matching of an Internet-based acceptance and commitment therapy intervention for depressive symptoms among university students: A randomized controlled trial in China.

OBJECTIVE: The present study tested the efficacy of an unguided internet-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (iACT) program for depression, and identified the psychological characteristics of participants who benefitted the most from the program. METHOD: Undergraduate students with mild to severe symptoms of depression were randomized to the iACT group (n = 95) or the waiting-list group (WLC group; n = 87). Depressive symptoms and positive mental health were assessed at baseline (T0 ), at the end of the 6-week program (T1 ), and at a 3-month follow-up (T2 ). RESULTS: Compared with the WLC group, the iACT group showed significantly more improvement in depressive symptoms (d = 1.27) and positive mental health (d = 0.59), both at T1 and T2 . Latent Profile Analysis identified three classes of participants: Sensitive-to-Relationship, Low-Reactive-Depression, and Endogenous-Depression group. In general, the treatment was particularly suitable for the Sensitive-to-Relationship class. CONCLUSION: The iACT was effective in treating the depressive symptoms of undergraduates, especially suitable for the clients with high baseline depression, high externality, high resistance, and high sensitivity to relationships.

Meaning in life: Perspectives of experienced Chinese psychotherapists.

We attempted a cross-cultural replication of Hill et al.'s (2017) consensual qualitative study of experienced Western therapists' perspectives on working with meaning in life (MIL) in psychotherapy. We thus interviewed 12 experienced Chinese therapists about their views on MIL, working with MIL in psychotherapy, and the meanings they derived from working as psychotherapists. Chinese participants typically defined MIL as involving freedom, responsibility, and valuing life and viewed MIL as underlying many clients' presenting concerns and thus playing a critical role in therapy. In terms of working with clients on MIL, therapists described specific intervention strategies (e.g., challenging clients to broaden their meaning) and related outcomes (e.g., enhanced motivation to change). They further indicated that for MIL work to be effective, therapists need to be competent for working with MIL and clients need to be aware of MIL issues and ready to work with them. Therapists also reported that they gained both personal and professional benefits from working with MIL in psychotherapy. A comparison with Hill et al. (2017) indicated some similarities (e.g., both viewed MIL as part of human existence and as underlying most client presenting concerns) and differences (e.g., Chinese therapists perceived MIL as involving a sense of responsibility to others whereas Western therapists did not mention this) between Chinese and Western therapists regarding MIL in psychotherapy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Comparative efficacy and acceptability of psychosocial treatments for disruptive behaviour disorders in children and adolescents: study protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Disruptive behaviour disorders are common among children and adolescents, with negative impacts on the youths, their families and society. Although multiple psychosocial treatments are effective in decreasing the symptoms of disruptive behaviour disorders, comprehensive evidence regarding the comparative efficacy and acceptability between these treatments is still lacking. Therefore, we propose a systematic review and network meta-analysis, integrating both direct and indirect comparisons to obtain a hierarchy of treatment efficacy and acceptability. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The present protocol will be reported according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols. Ten databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, APA PsycArticles, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, OpenDissertations, The Cochrane Library, Embase and CINAHL, will be searched from inception for randomised controlled trials of psychosocial treatments for children and adolescents with disruptive behaviour disorders, without restrictions on language, publication year and status. The primary outcomes will be efficacy at post-treatment (severity of disruptive behaviour disorders at post-treatment) and acceptability (dropout rate for any reason) of psychosocial treatments. The secondary outcomes will involve efficacy at follow-up, severity of internalising problems and improvement of social functioning. Two authors will independently conduct the study selection and data extraction, assess the risk of bias using the revised Cochrane Collaboration's Risk of Bias tool and evaluate the quality of the evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework to network meta-analysis. We will perform Bayesian network meta-analyses with a random effects model. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses will be performed to evaluate the robustness of the findings. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The research does not require ethical approval. Results are planned to be published in journals or presented at conferences. The network meta-analysis will provide information on a hierarchy of treatment efficacy and acceptability and help make a clinical treatment choice. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020197448.

Mental Health Literacy from the Perspective of Multi-Field Experts in the Context of Chinese Culture.

The study aimed to explore the opinions of multi-field Chinese experts on mental health literacy and further build a comprehensive picture of mental health literacy based on these opinions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten Chinese experts from the fields of psychiatry, clinical psychology, mental health education, and social work. A mixed deductive-inductive thematic analysis was used in the analysis of the qualitative data. The experts noted that mental health literacy applies both to persons with mental illness and the people who help them. The comprehensive view of mental health literacy that emerged from the interviews included knowledge about mental illness, an attitude of acceptance, respectful behavior, and recognition of the importance of getting help. Characteristically, Chinese components of mental health literacy included living in harmony with others and achieving balance in all aspects of life. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first qualitative study of experts' views of the concept of mental health literacy in the context of Chinese culture. The experts' responses to the interviews generated a comprehensive view of mental health literacy, including several elements that may be especially salient in Chinese culture. The results have implications for researchers and clinicians.

The incidence and prognostic effect of Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 gene internal tandem and nucleolar phosphoprotein 1 genes in acute myeloid leukaemia: A PRISMA-compliant systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Molecular genotyping is an important prognostic role in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. We aimed to design this meta-analysis to discuss the incidence and prognostic effect of nucleolar phosphoprotein 1 (NPM1) and Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 gene internal tandem (FLT3-ITD) gene in AML patients. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Medline, and Cochrane library were systematically searched due to May 15, 2020. Four combinations of genotypes (FLT3-ITDneg/NPM1mut, FLT3-ITDpos/NPM1mut, FLT3-ITDneg/NPM1wt, FLT3-ITDpos/NPM1wt) were compared in association with the overall survival (OS) and leukemia-free survival (LFS) outcome, which expressed as pooled hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Twenty-eight studies were included in our study. The incidence of FLT3-ITDneg/NPM1mut, FLT3-ITDpos/NPM1mut, FLT3-ITDneg/NPM1wt, and FLT3-ITDpos/NPM1wt was 16%, 13%, 50%, and 10%, respectively. The patients with FLT3-ITDneg/NPM1mut gene may have the best OS and LFS when comparing with FLT3-ITDpos/NPM1mut (HR = 1.94 and 1.70, P < .01), FLT3-ITDneg/NPM1wt (HR = 1.57 and 2.09, P < .01), and FLT3-ITDpos/NPM1wt (HR = 2.25 and 2.84, P < .001). CONCLUSION: AML patients with FLT3-ITDneg/NPM1mut gene type have the best survival outcome than the other 3 gene types, which should be an independent genotyping in AML classification.

Self-Oriented Empathy and Compassion Fatigue: The Serial Mediation of Dispositional Mindfulness and Counselor's Self-Efficacy.

This study aimed to explore the association between self-oriented empathy and compassion fatigue, and examine the potential mediating roles of dispositional mindfulness and the counselor's self-efficacy. A total of 712 hotline psychological counselors were recruited from the Mental Health Service Platform at Central China Normal University, Ministry of Education during the outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019, then were asked to complete the questionnaires measuring self-oriented empathy, compassion fatigue, dispositional mindfulness, and counselor's self-efficacy. Structural equation modeling was utilized to analyze the possible associations and explore potential mediations. In addition to reporting confidence intervals (CI), we employed a new method named model-based constrained optimization procedure to test hypotheses of indirect effects. Results showed that self-oriented empathy was positively associated with compassion fatigue. Dispositional mindfulness and counselor's self-efficacy independently and serially mediated the associations between self-oriented empathy and compassion fatigue. The findings of this study confirmed and complemented the etiological and the multi-factor model of compassion fatigue. Moreover, the results indicate that it is useful and necessary to add some training for increasing counselor's self-efficacy in mindfulness-based interventions in order to decrease compassion fatigue.

Telesupervision-of-supervision across national boundaries: United States and China.

This article describes technology-assisted telesupervision-of-supervision, which is a component of a 2-year U.S.-China collaborative program designed to systematically train clinical supervisors in China. Using Zoom conferencing platform, several U.S.-based supervisors facilitated telesupervision-of-supervision groups, with six to ten participants in each group, from different geographic locations in China. This article employs the perspectives of both U.S.-based supervisors and group participants who are themselves supervision scholars in China, describing their experiences and insights about the rewards and challenges of this telesupervision-of-supervision project.

Client feedback in China: A randomized clinical trial in a college counseling center.

Although client feedback has been demonstrated to improve psychotherapy outcomes in over a dozen randomized clinical trials, no studies to date have investigated the feedback effect outside of the United States or Europe. This study examined the impact of a client feedback intervention, the Partners for Change Outcome Management System, in a college counseling center in Wuhan, China (N = 186). Using a randomized design within routine care, treatment as usual (TAU; n = 85) was compared with a feedback condition (n = 101) in which therapists had access to client-generated outcome and alliance information at each session. Clients in the feedback condition demonstrated significantly greater improvement than those in the TAU condition at posttreatment. Not-on-track (n = 60) clients also demonstrated significantly more improvement at 6 times the rate of reliable change compared with the TAU condition. Survival analysis revealed that 66.7% of the clients in the feedback condition achieved reliable and clinically significant change after a median of 4 sessions whereas 57.0% of the clients in the TAU condition achieved reliable and clinically significant change after a median of 6 sessions. Alliance scores improved significantly more across treatment and were higher at posttreatment in the feedback condition. Although preliminary, this study suggests that the positive effects of improved outcomes and increased efficiency associated with systematic client feedback can also occur in a college counseling setting in China. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Therapist directives: use and outcomes in China.

We examined relationships among the use of therapist directives, client implementation of directives, and outcome for 43 Chinese therapists and their 96 Chinese clients at a university counseling center in mid-China. The results showed that most directives reported by both therapists and clients asked clients to act on or think about intrapersonal or interpersonal issues. Chinese therapists reported giving fewer, but clients reported receiving a similar number of directives than was found in Scheel et al.'s (1999) American sample. Client-rated fit, difficulty, and therapist influence did not predict client implementation directly, nor did implementation predict client-rated outcome directly. Instead, quantity and acceptability of directives interacted in influencing client implementation and use of directives facilitated client-rated outcome through strengthening working alliance.