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Previous research warned that internet and social media use could have a negative effect on the social lives of excessive users. Based on the social compensation hypothesis, however, factors related to social fears could lead to problematic social networking site (SNS) use because individuals try to compensate for their offline popularity. It was shown that individuals with higher levels of social fears tend to prefer computer-mediated (CMC) instead of face to face (FTF) communication. Here, we aimed to create a model that shows the direct and indirect effects of social anxiety and self-esteem on problematic SNS use. CX-5461 A total of 215 participants filled out our survey including measures of social anxiety, self-esteem, fear of negative evaluation, social media and Internet addiction. Using structural equation modeling we tested the indirect and direct effects between the variables. Our results indicated that social anxiety and lower self-esteem could lead to favoring CMC over FTF communication, which may result in problematic internet (PIU) and SNS use as a compensatory behavior to cope with fear of negative evaluation. The indirect pathways might highlight relevant differences behind the motivation of PIU – anonymity – and problematic SNS use – control. Theoretical as well as practical implications are discussed.The central aim of our study was to widen the mental health response to the COVID-19 pandemic by developing and evaluating a measure that could be used to identify the presence of anxiety syndrome features associated with COVID-19. In Study 1, a community sample of 292 participants completed the newly developed COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome Scale (C-19ASS) and results were subjected to a Principal Components Analysis. An 11-item two-factor structure was identified. In Study 2, a community sample of 426 participants completed a battery of questionnaires including the C-19ASS. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis was performed on the C-19ASS. A 9-item two-factor structure was confirmed. Results also indicated that the C-19ASS has acceptable levels of reliability and concurrent validity. The C-19ASS perseveration factor was found to explain an additional 9.3% variance in COVID-19 anxiety, and additional 2.2% variance in work and social adjustment (functional impairment), over and above all other variables. The C-19ASS appears to be a reliable and valid measure of the COVID-19 anxiety syndrome. The implications of these findings are discussed.The dissociative subtype of posttraumatic stress disorder (D-PTSD) is estimated to occur in approximately 14% of those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and is characterized by clinically significant dissociative symptoms in addition to typical PTSD symptoms. Prior research has found childhood maltreatment contributes to dissociation and D-PTSD susceptibility, but more nuanced questions about the nature of childhood maltreatment remain unexplored. We investigated how childhood maltreatment type and severity are associated with the dissociative symptoms of D-PTSD among women with PTSD (N = 106) receiving psychiatric care at a program specializing in trauma-related disorders. Participants completed self-report surveys of psychiatric symptoms and prior trauma exposure including the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, the Dissociative Subtype of PTSD Scale, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. We used multivariate linear regression to model the association of childhood maltreatment types and dissociation. In our final model childhood emotional abuse and physical abuse significantly predicted the dissociative symptoms of D-PTSD. This suggests childhood maltreatment type and severity, in particular of emotional and physical abuse, are associated with the dissociative symptoms of D-PTSD. This work points toward potential etiological contributions to D-PTSD.In vitro peripheral nerve models provide valuable tools to study neurobiology questions and assess drug performance, in a regenerative or pathology context. To this end, we have developed a representative model of the peripheral nerve that displays three-dimensional (3D) neural anisotropy and myelination, which we showcase here as a simple and low-cost platform for drug screening. The model is composed of three main parts, including rat primary Schwann cells (SCs) seeded onto an electrospun scaffold to create bands of Büngner (BoB), primed PC12 cells as neuronal cell population, and a fibrin hydrogel to provide three-dimensionality. We also validated the use of primed PC12 as a neuron population by comparing it to rat dorsal root ganglions (DRGs) neurons. In both models we could obtain well aligned neurites and mature myelin segments. In short term cultures (7 days), we found that the addition of exogenous SCs enhanced neurite length and neurite growth area, compared to scaffolds with a laminin coating only. palrestat (1 μM), myelin deformation can be partly prevented. In sum, we developed a biomimetic nerve platform using an affordable and accessible cell line as neuronal population, which displays similar results to primary neurons, but does not require recurrent animal sacrifice. This platform holds great promise as it can be used to conveniently and inexpensively perform drug screenings on peripheral nerve-like tissue, in a normal or pathological state.Mesenchymal stem cells-derived exosomes have shown promising therapeutic effect on myocardial infarction (MI). The major hurdles remain for the use of exosomes primarily due to the low yields from cell cultures coupled with complicated purification processes. Herein we report the self-assembly of stem cell membrane-camouflaged exosome-mimicking nanocomplex that recapitulates exosome functions, achieving efficient microRNA (miRNA) delivery and miRNA-mediated myocardial repair. The nanocomplex is constructed via the self-assembly of mesenchymal stem cell membrane on miRNA loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticle surface, which enables high miRNA loading capacity and protects miRNA from degradation in body fluid. The nanocomplex can escape the clearance of immunologic system, and target to ischemic injured cardiomyocytes. miRNA is triggered to release and binds to target mRNA, which inhibits the translation of apoptosis-related proteins, and consequently promotes the proliferation of cardiomyocytes. In the MI mouse model, the administration of exosome-mimicking nanocomplex effectively leads to preservation of viable myocardium and augmentation of cardiac functions.