Studies show decreased well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for healthcare providers from Asia. Less is known about the psychological responses of working during the pandemic on hospital-based registered nurses (RNs) in the United States (US). Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to report the well-being of U.S.-based hospital RNs working during the initial acute phase of COVID-19 and compare it with well-being among healthcare workers described in two global meta-analyses. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in May–June 2020 (N = 467). Well-being was measured using the following tools: Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Patient Health Questionnaire-2 for depressive symptoms, Impact of Events Scale-Revised for traumatic stress, and the Insomnia Severity Index. Compared with global rates from two meta-analyses, US-based RNs reported significantly more traumatic stress (54.6% vs. 11.4% and 21.5%; p < .001) and depressive symptoms (54.6% vs. 31.8% and 21.7%; p < .001). Rates of insomnia were also higher in U.S.-based RNs than in the meta-analysis that reported insomnia (32.4% vs 27.8%; p < .033). Rates of anxiety symptoms among US-based RNs did not differ from that reported in one meta-analysis (37.3% vs. 34.4%), while it was significantly higher in the other (37.3% vs. 22.1%; p < .001). Hospital-based RNs from the US exhibited over twice the rates of trauma and nearly double the rates of depressive symptoms than shown in reports from hospital workers globally during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lasting effects of this distress are unknown and warrant ongoing evaluation and solutions to better support emotional well-being and prevent burnout in the workplace.

Health Psychology has received numerous papers over the past several months on topics related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of them concern depression, anxiety, stress, or other forms of distress in the general population or in health care workers. We have received far fewer papers on COVID-related health behaviors and health communications-factors that have played central roles in the spread of the pandemic and that are major topics in health psychology. Our experience is consistent with the published scientific literature on the pandemic. A Medline search that we conducted in late September yielded over 23,000 English-language articles pertaining to COVID-19. Over 1,400 of them concerned topics that are within the scope of Health Psychology. As shown in Table 1, COVID-related mental disorders comprised the largest category. Many other studies concerned other forms of stress or emotional distress. At least 248 articles addressed the profound ethnic and racial disparities in COVID-19 infection and death rates and in access to health care that are accentuating longstanding health inequities; 22 (9%) of these articles addressed behavioral or psychosocial aspects of COVID-19 health disparities. Thus, the literature on the behavioral and psychosocial aspects of the pandemic has been dominated, so far at least, by research on stress or distress. Fewer reports have been published so far on critical COVID-related health behaviors, health communication, or health disparities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

We adopt thick-film technology to produce ultra high vacuum compatible interfaces for electrical signals. These interfaces permit voltages of hundreds of volts and currents of several amperes and allow for very compact vacuum setups, useful in quantum optics in general, and in particular for quantum information science using miniaturized traps for ions (Kielpinski et al. in Nature 417:709, 2002 ) or neutral atoms (Folman et al. in Phys. Rev. Lett. 84:4749, 2000 ; Treutlein et al. in Fortschr. Phys. 54:702, 2006 ; Hofferberth et al. in Nat. Phys. 2:710, 2006 ). Such printed circuits can also be useful as pure in-vacuum devices. We demonstrate a specific interface which provides 11 current feedthroughs, more than 70 dc feedthroughs and a feedthrough for radio frequencies. We achieve a pressure in the low 10^-11 mbar range and demonstrate the full functionality of the interface by trapping chains of cold ytterbium ions, which requires the presence of all of the above mentioned signals. In order to supply precise time-dependent voltages to the ion trap, a versatile multi-channel device has been developed.

Although deaths due to cardiovascular diseases have declined significantly since the 1970s, they remain the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. A large number of cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking, obesity, and sedentary lifestyle, are modifiable. Psychologists and other behavioral scientists and practitioners are engaged in not only understanding the mechanistic links between behaviors and cardiovascular health but also developing effective interventions for improving health. The purpose of this special issue is to highlight some of the more innovative psychological research in cardiovascular health promotion, disease prevention, and management. Articles included in this issue focus on 2 primary areas. First, cutting-edge research on the current state of knowledge of modifiable health behaviors and their impact on cardiovascular health include articles on e-cigarette use as a putative risk factor, psychological factors involved in adherence to medications, the role of sleep in cardiovascular health, and innovative approaches to enhancing the treatment and recovery of patients with cardiovascular diseases. Second, outstanding research identifying the mechanisms by which psychological factors such as stress, depression, and anxiety impact cardiovascular disease include an overview of the current state of science examining psychological comorbidities that can accompany cardiovascular disease and influence outcomes, discussion of the neurocognitive processes that connect stress appraisal with biological functioning and diseases processes, and the role of genetics on behavioral interventions and clinical decision-making in the context of behavioral weight loss treatments. Our goal with these innovative articles is to stimulate additional advances in cardiovascular behavioral medicine. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).