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Ugeskrift For Laeger Oct 2021Distinguishing thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) from other thrombotic microangiopathies requires measurement of ADAMTS13 enzyme activity, but treatment must... (Review)
Review
Distinguishing thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) from other thrombotic microangiopathies requires measurement of ADAMTS13 enzyme activity, but treatment must often be commenced before results from the ADAMTS13 analysis is available. Scoring systems to facilitate prediction of severe ADAMTS13 deficiency and therefore immediate clinical management have been developed. This combined with advances in treatment and monitoring holds optimism for improvements in late effects and survival in future patients. In this review, we discuss status in diagnosing, managing, and follow-up of patients with TTP.
Topics: ADAMTS13 Protein; Humans; Hyperplasia; Optimism; Protein-Energy Malnutrition; Purpura, Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic
PubMed: 34709162
DOI: No ID Found -
The Journal of Investigative Dermatology Jan 2021
Topics: Dermatology; Humans; Optimism; Periodicals as Topic; Societies, Medical; Uncertainty
PubMed: 33342504
DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2020.11.003 -
Journal of the American College of... Sep 2018Facets of positive psychological well-being, such as optimism, have been identified as positive health assets because they are prospectively associated with the 7... (Review)
Review
Facets of positive psychological well-being, such as optimism, have been identified as positive health assets because they are prospectively associated with the 7 metrics of cardiovascular health (CVH) and improved outcomes related to cardiovascular disease. Connections between psychological well-being and cardiovascular conditions may be mediated through biological, behavioral, and psychosocial pathways. Individual-level interventions, such as mindfulness-based programs and positive psychological interventions, have shown promise for modifying psychological well-being. Further, workplaces are using well-being-focused interventions to promote employee CVH, and these interventions represent a potential model for expanding psychological well-being programs to communities and societies. Given the relevance of psychological well-being to promoting CVH, this review outlines clinical recommendations to assess and promote well-being in encounters with patients. Finally, a research agenda is proposed. Additional prospective observational studies are needed to understand mechanisms underlying the connection between psychological well-being and cardiovascular outcomes. Moreover, rigorous intervention trials are needed to assess whether psychological well-being-promoting programs can improve cardiovascular outcomes.
Topics: Cardiovascular Diseases; Health Behavior; Health Promotion; Humans; Mental Health; Mindfulness; Occupational Health Services; Optimism; Social Environment; Stress, Psychological
PubMed: 30213332
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2018.07.042 -
International Journal of Environmental... Nov 2021Over the last 20 years, the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions for the development of the well-being of children and adolescents and the moderation of... (Review)
Review
Over the last 20 years, the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions for the development of the well-being of children and adolescents and the moderation of high levels of anxiety and depression in this population has been largely demonstrated. Emphasis has been placed on the promotion of well-being and prevention of mental health problems in the school context in order to foster, through positive psychology, the cognitive and socio-emotional development of primary and secondary students, e.g., by strengthening positive relationships, positive emotions, character strengths, optimism, and hope. However, little is known about the impact of these interventions on young children. This systematic review aims at examining the effects of positive psychology interventions on the well-being of early childhood children (<6 years old), both in the preschool education context with educators or teachers and also in the family context with parents. Several electronic databases were searched, and the findings systematically reviewed and reported by the PRISMA guidelines. Very few studies met the inclusion criteria (n = 3), highlighting the need for further research in this area. Indeed, all of the selected studies demonstrated the importance of positive psychology interventions with young children to promote positive aspects of development, such as gratitude, positive emotions, life satisfaction, accomplishment, positive relationship, or self-esteem. Limitations in the field are discussed.
Topics: Adolescent; Anxiety; Child; Child, Preschool; Emotions; Humans; Optimism; Psychology, Positive; Self Concept
PubMed: 34831827
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182212065 -
Consciousness and Cognition Apr 2017Here we consider the nature of unrealistic optimism and other related positive illusions. We are interested in whether cognitive states that are unrealistically... (Review)
Review
Here we consider the nature of unrealistic optimism and other related positive illusions. We are interested in whether cognitive states that are unrealistically optimistic are belief states, whether they are false, and whether they are epistemically irrational. We also ask to what extent unrealistically optimistic cognitive states are fixed. Based on the classic and recent empirical literature on unrealistic optimism, we offer some preliminary answers to these questions, thereby laying the foundations for answering further questions about unrealistic optimism, such as whether it has biological, psychological, or epistemic benefits.
Topics: Humans; Illusions; Optimism
PubMed: 27815016
DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2016.10.005 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2021The present review study determines to scrutinize EFL teachers' optimism and commitment and their contribution to students' academic success. Academic optimism, as a new... (Review)
Review
The present review study determines to scrutinize EFL teachers' optimism and commitment and their contribution to students' academic success. Academic optimism, as a new construct, is evolving from the examination of the positive psychology (PP), societal principal, and communal school assets that affect the attainment and success of all learners. In addition, within the past decades, commitment has received a great level of consideration, principally in the domain of structural research. The straightforward perseverance of this review is to extend the concept of academic optimism to individuals, that is, to hypothesize theoretical optimism and approve the efficacy of this paradigm at the instructor level in relation to students' academic success. According to the literature review, the definitions of these constructs, namely teachers' optimism and commitment, and students' academic success, as well as empirical studies in this domain are presented. As a conclusion, this study, to some extent, promotes the educators' mindfulness about their commitment. In this respect, pedagogical implications for teachers, school principals, teacher-trainers, and future researchers are presented, and new guidelines for further research are determined.
PubMed: 34733218
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.752759 -
PLoS Computational Biology Jan 2022The replay of task-relevant trajectories is known to contribute to memory consolidation and improved task performance. A wide variety of experimental data show that the...
The replay of task-relevant trajectories is known to contribute to memory consolidation and improved task performance. A wide variety of experimental data show that the content of replayed sequences is highly specific and can be modulated by reward as well as other prominent task variables. However, the rules governing the choice of sequences to be replayed still remain poorly understood. One recent theoretical suggestion is that the prioritization of replay experiences in decision-making problems is based on their effect on the choice of action. We show that this implies that subjects should replay sub-optimal actions that they dysfunctionally choose rather than optimal ones, when, by being forgetful, they experience large amounts of uncertainty in their internal models of the world. We use this to account for recent experimental data demonstrating exactly pessimal replay, fitting model parameters to the individual subjects' choices.
Topics: Computational Biology; Decision Making; Humans; Memory Consolidation; Models, Neurological; Optimism; Pessimism; Uncertainty
PubMed: 35020718
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009634 -
Health Expectations : An International... Feb 2022Growing evidence suggests a role of lifestyle modification in improved health outcomes for people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS); however, perspectives of pwMS who...
BACKGROUND
Growing evidence suggests a role of lifestyle modification in improved health outcomes for people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS); however, perspectives of pwMS who engage in lifestyle modification are lacking.
OBJECTIVE
We explored perspectives of pwMS regarding the modification of lifestyle-related risk factors in multiple sclerosis (MS) for disease management to understand attitudes to and experiences of lifestyle modification as part of self-management from a patient perspective.
DESIGN
Participants were ≥18 years and English speaking who responded to a free-text open-ended question in the Health Outcomes and Lifestyle In a Sample of pwMS (HOLISM), an international online survey. Responses were analysed utilizing inductive thematic analysis.
RESULTS
Under the exploration of lifestyle modification, themes describing the experiences and attitudes of participants included practical challenges and physical and psychological barriers, enablers of change and experienced outcomes. Although participants reported some practical and psychological challenges to adoption and maintenance of lifestyle behaviours, many expressed an ability to gain control of MS through engagement with lifestyle behaviours and the development of hope and optimism that accompanied this sense of control, at times leading to a sense of personal transformation.
CONCLUSION
Findings highlight the challenges experienced by pwMS in adopting lifestyle modifications for disease management as well as the positive benefits from following healthy lifestyle behaviours. Our findings may form the basis of more focussed qualitative explorations of the experiences and outcomes of lifestyle modification in MS in the future.
PATIENT CONTRIBUTION
Consenting pwMS completed a survey capturing data on demographics, clinical course, lifestyle behaviours and health outcomes.
Topics: Behavior Therapy; Humans; Life Style; Multiple Sclerosis; Optimism; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 34599857
DOI: 10.1111/hex.13364 -
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Jul 2020
Topics: Humans; Medicine; Optimism; Physicians; State Medicine; United Kingdom
PubMed: 32663434
DOI: 10.1177/0141076820933862 -
Health Psychology : Official Journal of... Sep 2022To test whether 2 conceptually overlapping constructs, dispositional optimism (generalized positive expectations) and optimistic bias (inaccurately low risk...
OBJECTIVE
To test whether 2 conceptually overlapping constructs, dispositional optimism (generalized positive expectations) and optimistic bias (inaccurately low risk perceptions), may have different implications for smoking treatment engagement.
METHOD
Predominantly Black, low-income Southern Community Cohort study smokers (n = 880) self-reported dispositional optimism and pessimism (Life Orientation Test-Revised subscales: 0 = neutral, 12 = high optimism/pessimism), comparative lung cancer risk (Low/Average/High), and information to calculate objective lung cancer risk (Low/Med/High). Perceived risk was categorized as accurate (perceived = objective), optimistically-biased (perceived < objective), or pessimistically-biased (perceived > objective). One-way ANOVAs tested associations between dispositional optimism/pessimism and perceived risk accuracy. Multivariable logistic regressions tested independent associations of optimism/pessimism and perceived risk accuracy with cessation motivation (Low/High), confidence (Low/High), and precision treatment attitudes (Favorable/Unfavorable), controlling for sociodemographics and nicotine dependence.
RESULTS
Mean dispositional optimism/pessimism scores were 8.41 ( = 2.59) and 5.65 ( = 3.02), respectively. Perceived lung cancer risk was 38% accurate, 27% optimistically-biased, and 35% pessimistically-biased. Accuracy was unrelated to dispositional optimism ((2, 641) = 1.23, = .29), though optimistically-biased (vs. pessimistically-biased) smokers had higher dispositional pessimism ((2, 628) = 3.17, = .043). Dispositional optimism was associated with higher confidence (Adjusted odds ratio [A] = 1.71, 95% CI [1.42, 2.06], < .001) and favorable precision treatment attitudes (A = 1.66, 95% CI [1.37, 2.01], < .001). Optimistically-biased (vs. accurate) risk perception was associated with lower motivation (A = .64, 95% CI [.42, .98], = .041) and less favorable precision treatment attitudes (A = .59, 95% CI [.38, .94], = .029).
CONCLUSIONS
Dispositional optimism and lung cancer risk perception accuracy were unrelated. Dispositional optimism was associated with favorable engagement-related outcomes and optimistically-biased risk perception with unfavorable outcomes, reinforcing the distinctiveness of these constructs and their implications for smoking treatment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Cohort Studies; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Motivation; Optimism; Personality
PubMed: 35901400
DOI: 10.1037/hea0001184