A population-scale temporal case-control evaluation of COVID-19 disease phenotype and related outcome rates in patients with cancer in England (UKCCP).

Patients with cancer are at increased risk of hospitalisation and mortality following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. However, the SARS-CoV-2 phenotype evolution in patients with cancer since 2020 has not previously been described. We therefore evaluated SARS-CoV-2 on a UK populationscale from 01/11/2020-31/08/2022, assessing case-outcome rates of hospital assessment(s), intensive care admission and mortality. We observed that the SARS-CoV-2 disease phenotype has become less severe in patients with cancer and the non-cancer population. Case-hospitalisation rates for patients with cancer dropped from 30.58% in early 2021 to 7.45% in 2022 while case-mortality rates decreased from 20.53% to 3.25%. However, the risk of hospitalisation and mortality remains 2.10x and 2.54x higher in patients with cancer, respectively. Overall, the SARS-CoV-2 disease phenotype is less severe in 2022 compared to 2020 but patients with cancer remain at higher risk than the non-cancer population. Patients with cancer must therefore be empowered to live more normal lives, to see loved ones and families, while also being safeguarded with expanded measures to reduce the risk of transmission.

Broadband backscattering from scyphozoan jellyfish.

As the ecological importance of gelatinous organisms becomes increasingly appreciated, so has the need for improved knowledge of their abundance and distribution. Acoustic backscattering measurements are routine for fisheries assessments but are not yet widely used to survey populations of gelatinous zooplankton. The use of acoustic backscattering techniques to understand the distribution and abundance of organisms requires an understanding of their target strength (TS). This study presents a framework for a sound scattering model for jellyfish based on the Distorted Wave Born Approximation that incorporates size, shape, and material properties of individual organisms. This model, with a full three-dimensional shape rendition, is applied to a common species of scyphomedusa (Chrysaora chesapeakei) and verified experimentally with broadband (52-90 and 93-161 kHz) laboratory TS measurements of live individuals. Cyclical changes in the organism's shape due to swimming kinematics were examined, as well as averages over swimming position and comparisons with scattering from simpler shapes. The model predicts overall backscattering levels and broad spectral behavior within <2 dB. Measured TS exhibits greater variability than is predicted by scaling the size of the organism in the scattering model, showing that density and sound speed vary among individuals.

Association of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Antibody Vaccine Response With Infection Severity in Patients With Cancer: A National COVID Cancer Cross-sectional Evaluation.

Importance: Accurate identification of patient groups with the lowest level of protection following COVID-19 vaccination is important to better target resources and interventions for the most vulnerable populations. It is not known whether SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing has clinical utility for high-risk groups, such as people with cancer. Objective: To evaluate whether spike protein antibody vaccine response (COV-S) following COVID-19 vaccination is associated with the risk of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection or hospitalization among patients with cancer. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a population-based cross-sectional study of patients with cancer from the UK as part of the National COVID Cancer Antibody Survey. Adults with a known or reported cancer diagnosis who had completed their primary SARS-CoV-2 vaccination schedule were included. This analysis ran from September 1, 2021, to March 4, 2022, a period covering the expansion of the UK's third-dose vaccination booster program. Interventions: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 COV-S antibody test (Elecsys; Roche). Main Outcomes and Measures: Odds of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection and COVID-19 hospitalization. Results: The evaluation comprised 4249 antibody test results from 3555 patients with cancer and 294 230 test results from 225 272 individuals in the noncancer population. The overall cohort of 228 827 individuals (patients with cancer and the noncancer population) comprised 298 479 antibody tests. The median age of the cohort was in the age band of 40 and 49 years and included 182 741 test results (61.22%) from women and 115 737 (38.78%) from men. There were 279 721 tests (93.72%) taken by individuals identifying as White or White British. Patients with cancer were more likely to have undetectable anti-S antibody responses than the general population (199 of 4249 test results [4.68%] vs 376 of 294 230 [0.13%]; P < .001). Patients with leukemia or lymphoma had the lowest antibody titers. In the cancer cohort, following multivariable correction, patients who had an undetectable antibody response were at much greater risk for SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection (odds ratio [OR], 3.05; 95% CI, 1.96-4.72; P < .001) and SARS-CoV-2-related hospitalization (OR, 6.48; 95% CI, 3.31-12.67; P < .001) than individuals who had a positive antibody response. Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that COV-S antibody testing allows the identification of patients with cancer who have the lowest level of antibody-derived protection from COVID-19. This study supports larger evaluations of SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing. Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to patients with cancer should be prioritized to minimize impact on cancer treatments and maximize quality of life for individuals with cancer during the ongoing pandemic.

Do Sanctions Affect Undetected Sexual Offending?

Undetected sexual offending creates challenges for risk assessment since estimated sexual recidivism rates are based on documented charges or convictions. Courts and other stakeholders may be primarily interested in the true risk for sexual reoffense and not simply risk for detected sexual offenses. Attempts to study and quantify the rate of undetected sexual offending have resulted in a wide variety of estimates. In this study, we explore whether sanctions imposed for detected sexual offenses increase the detection rate of subsequent offenses, and thereby suppress undetected sexual offending in an exceptionally high-risk sample who were ultimately committed as Sexually Violent Persons. Results indicate the detection rate of sexual offenses increased following an initial sanction, subsequently decreasing the proportion of undetected to detected offending. This effect only occurred after the first sanction. Overall, the sample had a high detection rate and spent little time in the community before subsequent arrests. These results differ from other reports that high rates of sexual offenses go undetected.

Why are individuals over age 60 still committed as sexually violent persons?

Civilly committed sexually violent persons (SVPs) are a select group of individuals designated as high risk for future sexual violence. Despite risk reduction in older age, SVP programs are seeing aging client populations, with many individuals remaining committed after age 60 (60+). Recent research found a sexual recidivism rate of 7.5% for 60+ individuals released from an SVP civil commitment program. The current paper follows up by examining reasons why individuals remain committed after age 60. It compares SVPs discharged after age 60 to those who are 60+ but remain civilly committed. Results of bivariate analyses reveal older SVPs who remain committed have significantly higher actuarial risk scores and are more likely to be of minority race. Multivariate logistic regression analyses found actuarial risk scores (Static-99R) predicted continued commitment, after controlling for other relevant variables. Barriers to community reintegration and suggestions for multi-disciplinary case management for older SVPs are discussed.

Treatment Satisfaction in a Civil Commitment Facility for Sexually Violent Persons.

Evaluating patient satisfaction in therapeutic settings is consistent with a Risk-Needs-Responsivity (RNR) model. This study provides results from a program improvement initiative in a sexually violent person (SVP) civil commitment facility that queried patients and treatment providers about their satisfaction with therapeutic processes and assessment methods. Overall, patients reported high levels of satisfaction with treatment at the facility, with the highest levels of satisfaction on items about being treated with kindness and respect and staff acting professionally. Providers rated current assessment methods such as the Penile Plethysmography (PPG) assessment, polygraph testing, and neuropsychological testing as most helpful for patients in treatment progress; however, patients rated PPG assessment and polygraph testing as the least helpful of the assessments conducted. Soliciting patient feedback periodically could be important for maintaining treatment engagement and discovering opportunities to enhance patient satisfaction to treatment in a SVP civil commitment setting.

Vitamin D Status and Physical Activity during Wintertime in Forensic Inpatients-A Randomized Clinical Trial.

This study aimed to gain deeper knowledge about the relationship between vitamin D and physical activity in a sample of forensic inpatients. Sixty-seven male forensic inpatients participated. Participants were randomly assigned into an Intervention group (vitamin D) or a Control group (placebo). The Physical Activity-Rating (PA-R) questionnaire was used to measure physical activity from January to May. Vitamin D status was measured as 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OHD) pre- and post-intervention. The results revealed that vitamin D status at post-test was positively correlated with physical activity, but there was no effect of vitamin D supplementation looking at the two randomized groups. However, controlling for body mass index (BMI), the results showed an effect of BMI and a main effect of groups with a higher level of physical activity in the Intervention group. No interaction effects were found. Participants were also assigned into High and Low vitamin D groups based on the vitamin D status at post-test; i.e., the upper (75.1 nmol/L) and lower quartile (46.7 nmol/L). T-tests revealed that participants with a vitamin D status above 75 nmol/L showed significantly higher levels of physical activity than participants with a vitamin D status below 46.7 nmol/L. Thus, a vitamin D status above 75 nmol/L seems to be an optimal level.

Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Sexual Offenders: Associations With Sexual Recidivism Risk and Psychopathology.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are increasingly recognized as a public health crisis. Cumulative effects of these experiences lead to a wide range of deleterious physical and psychological outcomes. Prior research has identified higher prevalence rates of ACEs and increased criminal behavior in samples of individuals who have committed sexual offenses. In a sample of civilly committed individuals who have committed sexual offenses (N = 317), we examined the prevalence of ACEs (cumulative scores and the two components of child harm and family dysfunction) and their association with risk for sexual recidivism and adult psychopathology. ACEs were much more prevalent in this sample compared with the general population and to lower risk samples of individuals who had committed sexual offenses. Although ACE scores were unrelated to risk for sexual recidivism, higher ACE scores were associated with increased risk of psychopathology, including anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, substance use disorders, and Antisocial Personality Disorder. ACEs related to family dysfunction were uniquely associated with Alcohol Use Disorder and the presence of a dual diagnosis of a paraphilia and personality disorder. Results suggest that higher risk individuals who commit sexual offenses may have greater need for trauma-informed models of care that recognize the effect of these experiences on their mental health and offense-related behavior.

Vitamin D Supplementation during Winter: Effects on Stress Resilience in a Randomized Control Trial.

Vitamin D status may be important for stress resilience. This study investigated the effects of vitamin D supplements during winter on biological markers of stress resilience such as psychophysiological activity, serotonin, and cortisol in a placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. Eighty-six participants were randomly assigned to the Intervention (vitamin D) or Control (placebo) groups. Before and after the intervention participants were exposed to an experimental stress procedure. Psychophysiological activity was measured during three main conditions: baseline, stress, and recovery. Fasting blood samples were taken in the morning and saliva samples were collected at seven different time points across 24 h. Prior to intervention both groups had normal/sufficient vitamin D levels. Both groups showed a normal pattern of psychophysiological responses to the experimental stress procedure (i.e., increased psychophysiological responses from resting baseline to stress-condition, and decreased psychophysiological responses from stress-condition to recovery; all p < 0.009). Post-intervention, the Intervention group showed increased vitamin D levels (p < 0.001) and normal psychophysiological responses to the experimental stress procedure (p < 0.001). Importantly, the Control group demonstrated a classic nadir in vitamin D status post-intervention (spring) (p < 0.001) and did not show normal psychophysiological responses. Thus, physiologically the Control group showed a sustained stress response. No significant effects of vitamin D were found on serotonin and cortisol.

Intergenerational transmission of delay discounting: The mediating role of household chaos.

INTRODUCTION: Adolescence is a period when impulsive decision making may be especially vulnerable to environmental influences. Impulsive decision making is often assessed using a delay discounting paradigm, which measures the preference for smaller rewards sooner over larger rewards with a delay. Research is needed to clarify the relationship between parents' and adolescents' delay discounting and to identify related environmental processes that might facilitate the intergenerational transmission of delay discounting. The current prospective longitudinal study examined the competing mediating processes of household chaos and harsh parenting in the intergenerational transmission of delay discounting between parents and adolescents. METHODS: Participants included 167 adolescents (mean age = 14.07 years at Time 1; 53% male) and their parents (mean age = 41.98 years at Time 1; 87% female) recruited from the southeast United States. Parents' delay discounting was collected at Time 1, and adolescents' delay discounting was collected both at Time 1 and at Time 3 via a computerized delay discounting task. Parents and adolescents reported household chaos and harsh parenting at Time 2. RESULTS: A parallel mediation model indicated that parents' delay discounting at Time 1 indirectly predicted adolescents' delay discounting Time 3 residualized change scores (regressing Time 3 delay discounting onto baseline delay discounting) through household chaos but not through harsh parenting at Time 2. CONCLUSIONS: These results underline the importance of household chaos in facilitating the intergenerational transmission of delay discounting between parents and adolescents. Furthermore, our findings point to household chaos as a potential environmental target for interrupting intergenerational impulsivity.

Structural Home Environment Effects on Developmental Trajectories of Self-Control and Adolescent Risk Taking.

Extant literature has demonstrated that self-control is critical for health and adjustment in adolescence. Questions remain regarding whether there are individuals that may be most vulnerable to impaired self-control development and whether aspects of the structural home environment may predict membership in these subgroups, as well as the behavioral consequences of impaired self-control trajectories. The present study utilized growth mixture modeling and data from 1083 individuals (50% female, 82% White) from age 8.5 to 15 years to identify four latent classes of self-control development. Additionally, higher household chaos and lower socioeconomic status at age 8.5 were associated with maladaptive trajectories of self-control at ages 8.5-11.5. In turn, maladaptive self-control trajectories at ages 8.5-11.5 were associated with higher risk taking at age 15. The results highlight the importance of increased structure and support for at-risk youth.

Impact of Disgust on Intentions to Undergo Colorectal Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Surgeons present patients with complex information at the perioperative appointment. Emotions likely play a role in surgical decision-making, and disgust is an emotion of revulsion at a stimulus that can lead to avoidance. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of disgust on intention to undergo surgical resection for colorectal cancer and recall of perioperative instructions. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional observational study conducted online using hypothetical scenarios with nonpatient subjects. SETTINGS: The study was conducted using Amazon's Mechanical Turk. PATIENTS: Survey respondents were living in the United States. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Surgery intention and recall of perioperative instructions were measured. RESULTS: A total of 319 participants met the inclusion criteria. Participants in the experimental condition, who were provided with detailed information and pictures about stoma care, had significantly lower surgery intentions (mean ± SD, 4.60 ± 1.15) compared with the control condition with no stoma prompt (mean ± SD, 5.14 ± 0.91; p = 0.05) and significantly lower recall for preoperative instructions (mean ± SD, 13.75 ± 2.38) compared with the control condition (mean ± SD, 14.36 ± 2.19; p = 0.03). Those within the experimental conditions also reported significantly higher state levels of disgust (mean ± SD, 4.08 ± 1.74) compared with a control condition (mean ± SD, 2.35 ± 1.38; p < 0.001). State-level disgust was found to fully mediate the relationship between condition and recall (b = -0.31) and to partially mediate the effect of condition on surgery intentions (b = 0.17). LIMITATIONS: It is unknown whether these results will replicate with patients and the impact of competing emotions in clinical settings. CONCLUSIONS: Intentions to undergo colorectal surgery and recall of preoperative instructions are diminished in patients who experience disgust when presented with stoma information. Surgeons and care teams must account for this as they perform perioperative counseling to minimize interference with recall of important perioperative information. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/A776.

Advances in the Assessment of Sexual Deviance.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This paper reviews recent research into four different approaches to the assessment of offense-related sexual deviance. RECENT FINDINGS: Two of these approaches, structured rating scales and phallometry, have a sufficient basis in research for clinical use but have undergone significant refinements in recent years. One approach, the use of cognitive tasks to indirectly assess sexual deviance, is approaching the point where it has a sound research basis for clinical use though too many promising tasks have yet to make the transition from laboratory to clinical practice. This approach has however begun to map the earlier stages of sexual response including preconscious processes. The final approach, assessment through neuroimaging, is at the earliest stage of development with research findings having yet to reach sufficient stability for clinical application. Existing assessment technologies, despite their limitations, allow professionals to assess offense-related sexual deviance. New approaches, currently being developed, potentially allow a better understanding of underlying processes and, when sufficiently mature, will be more therapeutically useful.

Naïve models of dietary splurges: Beliefs about caloric compensation and weight change following non-habitual overconsumption.

The mechanisms that lead to overeating and the consumption of tempting, unhealthy foods have been studied extensively, but the compensatory actions taken afterwards have not. Here we describe the naïve models individuals hold around dietary splurges (single bouts of overeating) and associated weight changes. Across six online experiments, we found that, following a hypothetical dietary splurge, participants did not plan to adequately adjust calorie consumption to account for the additional calories consumed (Studies 1 and 2), and this pattern was worse following hypothetical splurges characterized by a large amount of food consumed in a single bout (Study 3). Participants expected weight changes to happen faster than they do in reality (Study 4) and they expected that weight gained from a dietary splurge would disappear on its own without explicit compensation attempts through diet or exercise (Study 5). Similarly, participants expected that when compensation attempts were made through calorie restriction, the rate of weight loss would be faster following a dietary splurge compared to normal eating (Study 6). This research contributes novel data demonstrating an important mechanism that likely contributes to weight gain and failed weight loss attempts.

The Interaction Between Punishment Sensitivity and Effortful Control for Emerging Adults' Substance Use Behaviors.

BACKGROUND: Within the dual systems perspective, high reward sensitivity and low punishment sensitivity in conjunction with deficits in cognitive control may contribute to high levels of risk taking, such as substance use. OBJECTIVE: The current study examined whether the individual components of effortful control (inhibitory control, attentional control, and activation control) serve as regulators and moderate the association between reward or punishment sensitivity and substance use behaviors. METHOD: A total of 1,808 emerging adults from a university setting (Mean age = 19.48; 72% female) completed self-report measures of reward and punishment sensitivity, effortful control, and substance use. RESULTS: Findings indicated significant two-way interactions for punishment sensitivity and inhibitory control for alcohol and marijuana use. The form of these interactions revealed a significant negative association between punishment sensitivity and alcohol and marijuana use at low levels of inhibitory control. No significant interactions emerged for reward sensitivity or other components of effortful control. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings provide preliminary evidence suggesting the dual systems theorized to influence risk taking behavior interact to make joint contributions to health risk behaviors such as substance use in emerging adults.

The Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire: Measurement Invariance and Reliability Among a School Sample of Portuguese Youths.

Aggression is an important risk factor for various forms of problem behaviors in adolescence, and research has often distinguished between reactive and proactive forms of aggression. The aim of the present study was to compare the psychometric properties (i.e., structural invariance, internal consistency, and criterion validity) of the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ) between males and females among a mixed-gender school sample of 782 Portuguese youth (M = 15.87 years, SD = 1.72). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that a two-factor first-order structure obtained the best fit and cross-gender measurement invariance was demonstrated after excluding item 21. The Portuguese version of the RPQ demonstrated generally adequate psychometric properties of internal consistency measured by Cronbach's alpha and omega coefficient, convergent validity, discriminant validity, criterion-related validity, and known-groups validity. Findings are discussed in terms of the use of the RPQ with male and female youths.

Psychometric properties of Basic Empathy Scale among female juvenile delinquents and school youths.

Research on empathy often distinguishes between affective and cognitive empathy, but there is limited knowledge regarding the application or measurement of these two dimensions of empathy among female youth, especially forensic samples of female youth. The main aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES) among a Portuguese sample of female youths (N=377), composed of incarcerated female juvenile offenders (n=103) and school youths (n=274). The two-factor structure of the BES obtained a good fit among the school sample, but the fit among the forensic sample was poor. Both samples demonstrated adequate psychometric properties in terms of Cronbach's alpha, omega coefficient, mean inter-item correlations, corrected item-total correlation range, and criterion validity. However, some caution is advised when using the BES with female youth involved in the juvenile justice system, particularly with incarcerated female youth.

The moderating role of emotional reactivity in the link between parental hostility and eating disorder symptoms in early adolescence.

Parent-adolescent relationship quality and affective functioning have been implicated in eating disorder development. This study examined whether maternal and paternal hostility interact to explain adolescents' eating disorder symptoms and whether parental hostility effects are more pronounced among adolescents with high emotional reactivity. A sample of 699 adolescents, ages 11-12 years, reported their parents' hostility and their own eating disorder symptoms, and parents reported adolescents' emotional reactivity. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that for emotionally reactive adolescents, paternal hostility was positively associated with eating disorder symptoms at both high and low levels of maternal hostility. In addition, eating disorder symptoms were amplified when both parents were high in hostility. Findings from this study lend support for the role of emotional reactivity in the link between parent hostility and eating disorder symptoms during adolescence.

Executive functioning and substance use in adolescence: Neurobiological and behavioral perspectives.

The current review is guided by the theoretical perspective that emphasizes the regulating role of executive functioning (Carver et al., 2009) and presents studies that elucidate the ways that executive functioning (inhibition and working memory) explain individual differences in adolescent substance use independently or by regulating the reactive system (reward and punishment sensitivity). Behavioral studies indicate that main effects of executive functioning on adolescent substance use are often nonsignificant or weak in effect sizes. In contrast, emerging evidence suggests consistent and stronger regulating effects of executive functioning over reward and punishment sensitivity. Functional neuroimaging studies reveal significant associations between executive functioning task-related hemodynamic responses and substance use with strong effect sizes. There is also direct evidence from studies testing statistical interactions of the regulating effects of EF-related brain activation, and indirect evidence in studies examining functional connectivity, temporal discounting, and reinforced control. We note key future directions and ways to address limitations in existing work.